Publication Date

Fall 2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Meteorology and Climate Science

Advisor

Craig Clements; Adam Kochanski; John Abatzoglou

Abstract

Diablo winds in northern California are known for driving some of the most destructive wildfires in state history. The Camp Fire of 2018, which caused at least 85 civilian fatalities, is just one example of the devastating outcomes associated with these rapidly developing downslope windstorms. While they are known to occur most frequently from fall through spring, much about the structure, evolution, and full spatial extent of these events remains poorly understood. Most previous studies have focused on a limited number of high-impact cases or have defined events using humidity-based thresholds in isolated regions such as the North Bay. As a result, the broader climatology of northeast winds across northern and central California (NE winds) has remained unclear, particularly regarding how these winds evolve in space and time. This study addresses the spatiotemporal characteristics, synoptic evolution, and fire weather implications of NE winds using 34 years of WRF 2km reanalysis data. We show that these events consistently initiate in the north and progress southward, often with peak wind speeds occurring first over the Sierra Nevada and later over downstream coastal ranges. A pronounced diurnal pattern is observed, with peak activity in the mid-morning hours and a sharp decline in the afternoon, consistent with the influence of boundary layer mixing on downslope momentum transfer. These results establish NE winds as synoptically forced, spatially extensive, and fire-conducive events that share key characteristics with more traditionally referenced Diablo wind events while also revealing spatiotemporal features not previously captured in regional Diablo wind climatology studies. The broader understanding of these events that this thesis presents has the potential improve fire weather forecasting and resource coordination across California’s most vulnerable landscapes.

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