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Shortly before 4 p.m., it was 111 degrees in Lancaster. In Santa Monica, the temperature was 70.
—Jesus Sanchez
It's not fair. But shortly before 3 pm today, there was a 40 degree temperature difference between Santa Monica and Lancaster:
Santa Monica: 68 degrees
Lancaster: 108 degrees
It's time to either turn up the AC or make a friend along the coast.
-- Jesus Sanchez
The video is time-lapse, but today it could just as easily be real-time.
--Veronique de Turenne
Video: Vimeo
Just a sweet little photo (Maricruz Petty holding her little boy, Rio, taking in the mist at the LA Zoo) to help you think cool thoughts on this hot, hot day.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Temps are soaring and everyone's looking for a way to cool off. Casey Maclean, 7, settles on the fountain at Universal CityWalk as way to escape the 100-degree heat. Love the bright yellow Crocs.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Benjamin Reed / Los Angeles Times
At least you are not in Thermal. In a trailer. With no air conditioning. The power for about 100 residents at the Palm Resort Trailer Park went out this weekend after a fire. Sounds bad, but most residents are sticking it out, says the Desert Sun. Today's forecast for Thermal, by the way, is 111 degrees.
-- Jesus Sanchez
County crews work to clear mud from new slides in Sierra Madre today. Two streets are closed, and the rain continues.
Meanwhile, county health officials are warning that water quality at the beaches will be iffy, what with the discharge pouring from creeks, storm drains and roadways.
No beach closures so far, but that can change. Info available 24/7 at (800) 525-5662. You can also check the Department of Public Health web site.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: AP
Here's just one of several YouTube videos of the tornadoes in Moreno Valley on Thursday. This one's shot on a cellphone camera. Watch a few different videos in a row and you gain a great appreciation of people who shoot without trying to narrate.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Video: Big Steve / YouTube
We totally get why this guy stopped his car to take a picture. Can't tell which is more interesting, the snow or the photog's name: Udo Winkler, of Running Springs. He's on Highway 18 near Snow Valley. It snowed for a while, and then it stopped. And sorry, skiers, it didn't stick.
Elsewhere, rain and floods and mudslides.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: AP / The Press-Enterprise, Greg Vojtko
Zack Newcott of La Mirada took a photo of himself and Rex, one of the concrete dinosaurs in Cabazon, during high winds that scraped across Southern California on Wednesday. High-wind warnings remained in effect this morning in many areas. While the winds are expected to die down, the weather is expected to remain cool and unsettled through the Memorial Day weekend in many areas. Thunderstorms are possible and the highest mountains might even see a little snow, according to forecasters.
-- Jesus Sanchez
Photo: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times
 Anyone unclear that the heat wave continued today? Yeah, didn't think so. (That's 9-year-old Brenda Duron cooling off in the photo.)
A $10k reward for murder info. LAPD blog
Tree-savers plan ficus tree protest at Santa Monica City Hall. LAist
Gas prices be damned -- close to 3 million drivers are hitting the road this weekend. LADN
Where are the kids causing trouble in Long Beach? Check out the map in the Press-Telegram.
Redondo Beach man found dead a few hours after graduating from UC Berkeley. Daily Breeze
It's the Marines vs. the scavengers. Desert News
Goodyear looks at slimming down the cost of running the blimp. Daily Breeze
--Veronique de Turenne & Jesus Sanchez
Photo: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times
Daniela Jimenez and her son, Justin
Leon, found a way to beat the heat yesterday at the Cerritos Civic Center, where a fountain became the main attraction.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
 Hot enough to set some records and send thousands of us here in SoCal seeking relief at the beach. Robert Lopez has the info:
A high pressure system lodged over Southern California has sent inland
and valley temperatures soaring. Records were set in Long Beach (93),
Woodland Hills (102), at UCLA (92) and at Los Angeles International
Airport (89). Downtown L.A. tied its record of 96, which was last felt
116 years ago in 1892.
"We're about 20 degrees above normal for
this time of year," said Jamie Meier, a meteorologist for the National
Weather Service.
Expect more of the same today - heat and, of course, escape-the-heat traffic.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times
Two small brush fires, in Pomona and near Corona, have popped this morning as a heat wave is expected to send temperatures soaring to record highs in some areas. The weather is expected to remain hot across the region through the weekend.
Times staff have a full story that is being updated through the day.
-- Jesus Sanchez
Yep, that UFO-shaped swirl is, in fact, a cloud. Reader Richard Kaufman, an elementary science teacher in Irvine, shot the photo while on a weekend trip to Palm Springs with his wife. (She spotted the cloud, he snapped the pix.)
Occasionally mistaken for space ships, lenticular clouds actually have a fascinating bit of science behind them, having to do with mountains, moisture content and air flow. They've also got a very cool name: altocumulus standing lenticularis. More great pix of lenticular clouds here.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Richard Kaufman / Your Scene
Just a bit of California dreamin' by Julian Smith, 27, of El Monte and his 6-year-old dog, Pup, at Santa Monica Beach. Temps today could break into the low 80s, then cool off as we hit the weekend.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times
Not as hot today as it was over the weekend, the weather experts are saying, and more cooling to come. For a look at how the rest of the country is faring, a useful map here.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
A reader shares a photo of the rolling hills in the West Valley, turned soft and green by recent rains. "Not for long," the caption reads, and that's exactly right. A few more weeks and a bit more sun and the grasses will go gold, then crispy brown. Right now, though, in this lovely moment, it's green and green, California spring.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: t / Your Scene
That storm system we heard so much about yesterday dumped just enough rain to delay the Dodger game last night (they lost), then moved quickly on. A few clouds, a few sprinkles and that's that. Clear and sunny tomorrow. So much for April showers.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times
 Southern California's rainy season apparently took a break last month, with no significant rainfall measured in many spots, including San Diego and Orange counties. The dry spell, however, is expected to end on Wednesday when a late-season storm is expected to keep much of the region wet for most of the day and into the night, according to the National Weather Service.
Only one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch of rain is expected in coastal areas. But some mountain locations might get hit with up to two inches of rain and, at the highest elevations, even a few inches of snow.
Regardless of rainfall amounts, you can pretty much count on a tough morning commute followed by a day of endless storm-watch coverage on TV.
-- Jesus Sanchez
Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times
 Couldn't resist another weather shot. A California Conservation Corps crew chops weeds as the rain comes and goes in Rancho Cucamonga this afternoon.
Photo: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
 A trace of rain has moistened downtown Los Angeles. About one-tenth of an inch has been reported along the coast. You probably would get more wet from the misting jets in the produce section. By comparison, it's soggy in the foothills, where maybe a half-inch of rain has collected. Being Southern Californians, we are still surprised/shocked that it has rained, even in February, normally the wettest month of the year.
Speaking of which....the OC Register reports that February is proving to be drier than normal, with some forecasters warning of less rain than usual in the months ahead. So far this month, less than half an inch has fallen downtown, or about one-third the normal amount for the period, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Kittell. But, Kittell points out, rainfall in January totaled nearly 8 inches, or more than twice the normal amount for the month. That means this rainy season is still wetter than normal.
Today's storm should move out later today, and the forecast calls for dry weather until the middle of next week, when there is a slight chance of rain. Where's that umbrella?
-- Jesus Sanchez
Photo: Los Angeles Times
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Veronique de Turenne
Veronique de Turenne is a journalist, essayist, book critic and blogger, and has been a staff writer at virtually every newspaper in Southern California. One of the highlights of her career was interviewing Vin Scully in his broadcast booth at Dodger Stadium, then receiving a handwritten thank you note from him a week later. She lives in Malibu.
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