Critical fire conditions are expected to continue through Friday. But rain could be on the way this weekend. Here's what to know.

Southern California will continue to face "dangerous fire weather conditions" including strong Santa Ana winds and extremely low humidity through later this week, forecasters said Tuesday.

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

Millions of California residents were placed under a red flag warning through Thursday amid threats of further fires with looming winds in the forecast, according to multiple reports.

Santa Ana winds will continue whipping through Southern California through Thursday, sparking fears that progress made fighting wildfires that have scorched over 40,000 acres and left 28 dead ...

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.

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

California Governor Gavin Newsom has deployed fire engines, water-dropping aircraft and hand crews across the region—to enable a rapid response if a new fire does break out, according to The Associated Press.

Not only do these winds accelerate the speed and spread of the fires, they also affect how the fires are fought. The strong winds can make it dangerous to fly aircraft used for containing the fires.

Meteorologists said there was a chance the winds would be as severe as those that fueled the Palisades and Eaton fires, but that different locations would likely be affected.

Things will remain relatively calm for the weekend, but "a difficult to resolve weather pattern" begins early to mid-next week, the NWS said.

Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, are guests on WHA radio (970 AM) at noon the last Monday of each month. Send them your questions at [email protected] or [email protected].