Santa Ana Winds
Posted: October 27, 2019 Filed under: the California Condition Leave a comment
“ There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge. ” — Raymond Chandler, “Red Wind”
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If you’re a reader of Helytimes you’ve probably come across these quotes about the dry, spooky winds that originate in the desert and blow into Los Angeles.
The definition of these winds in common use gets kind of loose. Any wind that’s blowing not the cooling, perfume air of the Pacifc, but the dry, harsh air off the desert, can get counted as a Santa Ana wind.
One of the oldest references to the Santa Ana winds appears to be in a January, 1943 issue of California Folklore Quarterly. Luckily we have that issue handy, and present it here for any interested California scholars.
Maybe next week we’ll look into The Vanishing Hitchhiker
Helytimes 
