The first widespread Santa Ana winds of autumn will deliver a one-two punch to critically dry San Diego County, briefly roaring to life Monday before hitting harder starting Tuesday night, about the time polls close in the presidential election, the National Weather Service says.

The winds are expected to lead to fire weather watches in some parts of the county by Sunday night and might be followed by red flag warnings on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

The offshore winds pose more of a threat than usual because most of the county received little or no rain during October, which further dried out chaparral, the most flammable type of vegetation in the nation. The relative humidity also will fall below 20 percent in some spots, making things worse.

Forecasters say the first winds will arrive from the north on Sunday night, initially moving into Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire.

The winds will spread out on Monday and be felt in places like Oceanside, Campo and along the Interstate 15 corridor. And its possible they will gust 30 mph to 40 mph around Interstate 8 east of Alpine.

The second round of winds will arrive from the northeast, following a path that more directly carries Santa Anas across San Diego County. Gusts could hit the range of 40 mph to 60 mph in the heavily vegetated backcountry.

But trouble can happen anywhere. Wildfires broke out on Thursday in San Diegos College Area and Talmadge neighborhoods, leading to evacuations.