A rare Particularly Dangerous Situation warning has been issued for Southern California as a powerful and potentially damaging Santa Ana wind event​ is expected.

The Hughes Fire near Castaic, California, has burned over 5,000 acres, prompting evacuations and school closures.

The Santa Ana winds are dry, powerful winds that blow down the mountains toward the Southern California coast. The region sees about 10 Santa Ana wind events a year on average, typically occurring from fall into January. When conditions are dry, as they are right now, these winds can become a severe fire hazard.

The Santa Anas are expected to be most powerful Monday night into Tuesday. Fire services across the region say they are ready.

Katabatic winds? Adiabatic compression? Time for a thermodynamics lesson! The record lack of rain has also made this Santa Ana event different.

After a much quieter weekend, Southern California is experiencing a major shift in the weather pattern. The winds will peak Monday evening and overnight but extend into Tuesday morning.

The winds will come and go, with the strongest gusts expected early next week, especially next Monday night and into Tuesday, forecasters said.

The Eaton Fire was 95% contained as firefighters managed to further surround the blaze despite another round of threatening Santa Ana winds that prompted red flag warnings that will be in effect until 10 a.

Firefighters made progress on the more than 10,000-acre Hughes Fire Friday, which sent thousands fleeing after sparking near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic a day earlier.

After weeks of dealing with fires, Southern California will soon have to brace for possible weekend storms and potential mudslides.

Weekend rains could bring some relief to Southern California, as firefighters continue to fight to establish greater containment over the Hughes, Palisades and Eaton fires. But if dry weather returns,