San Diego County edged closer to drought Tuesday, whipped by fierce and damaging Santa Ana winds that further dried out a region that hasn’t gotten a long, deep soaking of rain since March.

Parts of Southern California are still facing "elevated to brief "critical conditions" into Thursday night as a fast-moving wildfire that forced thousands in Malibu to evacuate continues to grow.Threat level: Red Flag warnings ended as powerful Santa Ana winds eased on Wednesday afternoon,

But in California, the same effect is named the Santa Ana wind. Instead of melting snow, Santa Ana winds deliver warm air with very low humidity to the coast of California and this wind is often very strong where it is channeled through the canyons common along California's coastal region.