Where's the heat? Los Angeles experiencing a cool summer so far

Where's the heat?

That's what some in Los Angeles are asking as the region posts temperatures that are far from red-hot.

First came the 40 straight days from late May to the end of June when downtown L.A. had below-average temperatures every single day. Then July ended cooler than normal. 

Now August is here, and Southern California’s traditionally hottest month hasn’t exactly started on fire.

Summer just hasn’t been itself. 

“At this point, August looks like it could be more of the same,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada-Flintridge. “Mother Nature definitely cut us a break.” 

There was the heat wave in the middle of July. But overall this summer, weather experts said, the L.A. region is experiencing milder-than-average temperatures.

That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been warm -- just that it’s been, well, just warm. 

Patzert said the problem is that it has also been dry. L.A. has had four below-rainfall years in a row, and that’s an especially bad thing in a region that should see the return of Santa Ana winds in September, adding to  wildfire conditions. 

“Things are pretty crispy out there,” Patzert said Monday.

Don't expect a change anytime soon.

In fact, today may be the nominal “hot” day this week, peaking at about 87 degrees for downtown --  far from a record-breaker. Then things will begin to cool again starting Wednesday, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. 

Temperatures are expected to rise again by the weekend, but only to about 84 degrees.

--Hector Becerra

Comments

[Mark Moshlak]

Leave it to the Los Angeles Times to point this out and jinx the rest of summer. Watch what happens now. In a week or two we'll be at 120 degrees with fires all over the place.

[KateNonymous]

I've heard that we're leading up to El Nino, which might be why it's been cooler so far. Hopefully that will also bring more rain.

[L.A. eastsider]

Really? Do all the Times writers live on the west side(don't answer that!)? Here in Pasadena we've had about 14 unbroken days of 90+ heat and it barely goes down at night. I don't have central A/C, either(I rent).

Or did you mean those REALLY fun "sunny" days of 104 in Burbank,/Pasadena, day after day after day?

I hate it here sometimes. And I've lived here since 1969 and no, it wasn't always this bad.

[Jen]

Agree with LA Eastsider! I, too, live in Pasadena, and we've been so hot this summer we're about to break down and shell out the bucks to have central air installed in our 80+ year old house. A couple of weekends ago, we drove to Malibu just to escape our like 12th day in a row of 100+ degree weather. Cooler summer? My ass.