A sundowner is an offshore northerly Foehn wind in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It occurs when a region of high pressure is directly north of the area, whose coast trends east–west. This contrasts with the more typical onshore flow. The winds blow with greatest force when the pressure gradient

Pressure gradient

In atmospheric sciences , the pressure gradient is a physical quantity that describes in which direction and at what rate the pressure changes the most rapidly around a particular location. The pressure gradient is a dimensional quantity expressed in units of pressure per unit length...

 is perpendicular to the axis of the Santa Ynez Mountains

Santa Ynez Mountains

The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California.-Geography:...

, which rise directly behind Santa Barbara. These winds often precede Santa Ana events by a day or two, as it is normal for high-pressure areas to migrate east, causing the pressure gradients to shift to the northeast.

Sundowners are particularly dangerous during wildfire season because the air heats and dries as it descends from the mountains to the sea. Gale force hot, dry winds can make firefighting impossible. A sundowner quickly burned a swath from the mountain peaks through populated areas and across Highway 101 into Hope Ranch

Hope Ranch, California

Hope Ranch is an unincorporated suburb of Santa Barbara, California, located in Santa Barbara County. As of the 2000 census, the area had an approximate population of 2,200. The ZIP codes are 93105 and 93110, and the community is in area code 805.-History:...

 during the 1990 Painted Cave

Painted Cave, California

Painted Cave is an unincorporated community located in the Santa Ynez Mountains and is so named due to its proximity to Painted Cave State Historic Park. It is primarily served by Camino Cielo Road and California State Route 154, which link the community both to the nearby Santa Ynez Valley and...

 Fire. The most intense periods of the Jesusita Fire

Jesusita Fire

The Jesusita Fire was a wildfire that began at approximately 1:45 PM on May 5, 2009 in the hills of Santa Barbara, California. The fire burned , destroyed 80 homes and damaged 15 more before being 100% contained....

's destruction have also been blamed on sundowner winds.