A new study helmed by UCLA climate scientists suggests that the frequency of rapid, year-to-year swings from extreme dry to wet conditions in California may become more common in the state as a result of global warming, resulting in extreme weather patterns like the ones seen in Santa Clarita in recent years.

Over the past several years, California has experienced weather extremes from long droughts to heavy flooding. In the Santa Clarita Valley, this has resulted in mudslides and conditions that aggravate wildfires.

Now, a study led by Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, suggests that these “precipitation whiplash events” are set to to double in Southern California alone by the end of the century.

This would mean that such whiplash events would occur in the state around eight times per century, compared to the average of four times per century, according to Swain.

California has also been experiencing amplified ridges and troughs in the jetstreams above the state, according to Curt Katlan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“Ocean temperatures are tied into the troughs and ridges,” said Katlan. “Troughs generally bring cool weather and rain, and ridges bring warmer temperature and thin cloud layers.”

Climate change is also likely to change prevailing wind and storm track patterns over the Pacific in a way that favors both wetter California winters in some years and drier winters in other years, Swain said.

Katlan observed that the Santa Ana winds had been lasting for longer periods of time than usual over the past several years.

The study noted that the extremes would also increase in Northern California, but not at the dramatic rate of Southern California.

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