"LA's fine, the Sunshine's
most 'the time, And the feeling is laid back - palm trees grow, rents
are low...." croons Neil Diamond in his hit song "I am I Said".
Well the part about the weather is certainly true - not that
sure about rents in today's market! Los Angeles has great
weather most of the year. A word of caution however regarding
that last statement.
Sometimes the LA area, and most
specifically the areas close to the ocean will have what is
called the June Gloom. This typically hits in the months of May
and June - of course fog can hit anytime of the year in the LA
area; its just these months can be more gray than other months.
The June Gloom is when thick fog rolls in and can actually drop
a bit of precipitation. Typically this fog blankets the coastal
regions only and if you move inland several miles the
temperature may be quite a bit higher and the sun shining. The
other caution regarding LA weather is the smog. |
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Downtown Los Angeles from the 110 |
Sometimes the LA
area can be blanketed in really bad smog - its not as bad as it used to
be, but on certain days its crazily hazy. The Riverside area can get it
the worst if the winds are blowing right - the smog will blow over the
Riverside area like a big fat orange blanket.
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The famed Santa Ana winds named after a Santa Ana canyon can blow
anytime of the year but are most common in late Fall and into the winter
season. They are warm strong winds that blow down from the canyons
heating up the LA basin area.
These are particularly bad when they
cause fires after a dry hot summer in which all the vegetation becomes
bone dry. If after a fire has ripped through a canyon and the winter
produces strong rains, you have the makings for hillside mudslides and
additional rain produced disasters. |
Is it winter where you are? Just look at the number
that appears in the Los Angeles weather widget above; it is a number
that is prone to a cause a reaction where you might say "I need a
vacation to somewhere warmer, sunny Southern California...now"!
View ABC 7's webcam of downtown here.
The day time temperatures are usually quite mild in the wintertime in
Los Angeles. The LA area typically does not receive much rain - the
exception being the wet winter of 2004/2005 in which over 37 inches of
rain fell on downtown LA! That’s well more than 2x their average of
about 15 inches a year. Another year in early 2000 produced only about 4
inches. Once nice feature of the weather in LA is in the middle of
winter you can have spells that produce temperatures in the 80's for a
few days or longer. Temperatures in the 70's are not at all uncommon in
the wintertime.
On a clear day in the winter - you can easily see the San Bernardino
mountains north/east of downtown.
The following chart shows the average highs and lows for each month
(temperatures below are in degrees Fahrenheit.
| |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sept |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Avg. High |
67 |
67 |
68 |
68 |
72 |
74 |
78 |
84 |
84 |
82 |
78 |
72 |
| Avg. Low |
48 |
50 |
51 |
54 |
57 |
61 |
64 |
65 |
64 |
60 |
54 |
48 |
|
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