The Malibu Fire has caught a lot of people by surprise, but is it? I will propose an answer in this blog.
If you are a sailor, then you know something about wind. There is one very special type of wind that most sailors know about and that is a "Williwaw". I think I spelled that correctly. There are several conditions that are necessary to cause a "Williwaw" wind. Here is what they are.
The first time that European sailors encountered the unusual "Williwaw" wind was when they first sailed around the Horn of South America. In that area the tall mountains went right down to the ocean as well as canyons. What happened was that day time winds flowed up the canyons to a much higher altitude. At the high altitude the air mass cooled very significantly and thus became more dense than air in that area. The result was that the heavier air flowed back down the canyons with a much higher velocity. The sailors who were sailing in modest winds were often blown over when they pasted on of these canyons. The strong wind seemed to come out of no where.
I think that what is happening in the Malibu area is some of these "Williwaw" winds that is mystifying many of the young weather reporters. It happens only in special location adjacent to the ocean. Realize that it is only next to the ocean where you have these significant steep enough canyons. Normally there are only Williwaw's very far North or South. Having the Williwaw on the California coast is very rare.
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