90 degrees in February? Record-breaking temperatures could warm SoCal this week
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Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- Record-breaking heat is forecast to hit California this week.
- How California schools and colleges are responding to Trump’s DEI crackdown.
- Opening soon: You’ll feel like you’re in Oz in these magical SoCal flower fields.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
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Winter, we hardly knew ye
Allegedly it’s winter in the Golden State. But for many in Southern California, that’s not clear if you’ve stepped outside lately.
The season has been marked by below-average regional rainfall and unusually high temperatures. That warmth will linger in the region this week, forecasters from the National Weather Service say, and record-breaking heat could arrive today and Thursday in some communities.
That includes Riverside, Anaheim and El Cajon, “which are all expected to reach into the high 80s or hit 90,” my colleagues Grace Toohey and Joseph Serna reported.
“Drier, warmer weather is generally expected across California this week — and appears to be part of a national trend,” they noted.
NWS forecasters also warned that the “unseasonably warm temperatures may affect heat-sensitive populations for all inland areas.”
Some parts of SoCal have already broken daily high temperature records. On Monday, the high desert cities of Lancaster and Palmdale reached 81 and 80 degrees, respectively, according to the NWS. Lancaster’s last daily record was set 75 years ago.
The potential for more record-setting heat will be followed by a chance of rain, though forecasters said it will be light if it ends up falling.
With spring arriving in just about three weeks, I wondered: How wintry has this winter been?
Let’s look at some of the key metrics:
- Snowpack: As of Feb. 25, state data show the Sierra Nevada is at 87% of normal snowpack for the date and about 73% of the average measured on April 1.
- Rainfall: Statewide, California is at 105% of its average, though the map view shows much of Central and Southern California has received considerably below-average precipitation so far this water year (which ends in September).
- Dryness: Most of Southern California remains in “severe” or “extreme” drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, though conditions have improved from earlier this month (thanks to some atmospheric rivers).
What’s driving the unusually warm winter? La Niña (and climate change).
Following last winter’s powerful El Niño pattern, which brought wet weather and deadly storms, NWS forecasters predicted increasing odds that a La Niña event would follow. Then it did.
The Pacific weather pattern is associated with cooler, drier conditions, as winds push hot water toward Asia, causing the jet stream over North America to shift north. That means less moisture, and the moisture that does arrive hits the Pacific Northwest more than California.
That lack of moisture in the earlier part of the wet season dried out much of SoCal, priming the region for the destructive fires that devastated parts of L.A. County last month.
In their winter outlook published in October, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials predicted above-average temperatures across Southern California, the Southwest and much of the East Coast. That’s now playing out.
“La Niña conditions are expected to persist in the near-term,” NWS forecasters reported earlier this month, noting a 66% chance that conditions will dissipate sometime between March and May.
On top of that, this warmer winter is part of a new normal in a climate supercharged by human-driven (literally) warming activities. That’s making our swings between wet and dry even more volatile, according to researchers.
A recent study led by UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain found that our collective burning of fossil fuels and other planet-warming activity is contributing to “climate whiplash” that will only make wildfires, flooding, landslides and other disasters more destructive.
“California naturally experiences some of the world’s most dramatic shifts between very wet weather and dry spells,” Times reporter Ian James explained last month. “And with more warming … scientists project the state to see these swings become even more extreme.”
That warming is well underway. The past 10 years have been the warmest ever recorded, according to NASA.
2024 was the hottest year on record, breaking the record set by 2023, which was hotter than 2022, which tied with 2015 as the fifth-hottest year on record. That was preceded by 2021 (tied with 2018 for the sixth-hottest year on record), which followed 2020 — which at the time tied with 2016 as the hottest year on record. (Still with me?)
La Niña typically brings lower global temperatures, but not this time. January 2025 was the hottest in 176 years of global record-keeping, NOAA announced this month. It broke the record set by January 2024.
Today’s top stories
How California schools and colleges are responding to Trump’s DEI crackdown
- The U.S Department of Education has set a Friday deadline for K-12 schools, colleges and universities to eliminate race-specific programming or face potential federal funding cuts.
- California public universities and many K-12 school systems are defending diversity efforts while carefully avoiding clashes with the administration.
Teens are spilling dark thoughts to AI chatbots
- A growing number of teens are turning to AI chatbots for advice and emotional support.
- Character.AI, an AI startup, is among tech companies grappling with legal and ethical issues after parents alleged the platform’s chatbots harmed their children.
L.A. coyotes are less likely to spend time in wealthy areas in their home range, a study finds
- Lush greenery and abundant wildlife — attributes of many affluent L.A. neighborhoods that lure people — would seemingly be draws for predators like coyotes too.
- But a new study found coyotes were less inclined to seek out higher-income areas in their home ranges, preferring to stick to less-wealthy parts, surprising researchers.
- It’s one of several surprising findings in the study exploring the impact of societal wealth and ecological health on the polarizing animal’s movement.
What else is going on
- Amid staff cuts and budget chaos, more than 700 national park employees take a buyout.
- They voted for Trump, but now they’re losing their U.S. government jobs.
- The Kern County immigration raid offers a glimpse into the new reality for California farmworkers.
- Evacuations failed and 85 people died during California’s deadliest wildfire. What are lessons for L.A.?
- Cal Fire releases new hazard maps for the Bay Area and wine country.
- Trump says Canada and Mexico tariffs are ‘going forward’ with more import taxes to come.
- The House narrowly OKs a budget plan for trillions of dollars in tax and spending cuts.
- A judge gives the Trump administration two days to release billions of dollars in blocked foreign aid.
- Chris Jasper, Isley Brothers singer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, has died at 73.
- LeBron and Bronny James file a response to a car crash lawsuit, denying ‘each and every allegation.’
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Commentary and opinions
- Donald Trump and Elon Musk are coming for your summer vacation, columnist Mary McNamara writes.
- Editorial: Culver City, don’t roll back your ambitious safe street redesign.
- Last year, Hollywood managed to create at least one level playing field, writes guest columnist Meg Waite Clayton.
This morning’s must-reads
Raw milk jitters? In this immigrant L.A. subculture, they spike theirs with alcohol. In covert gatherings across California, raw goat or cow milk is mixed with cane alcohol and sugars to make pajaretes. The drink is an early-morning tradition from western Mexico.
Other must-reads
- California wildfires are burning deeper into urban areas like Altadena and finding new victims.
- Russians seek escape from sanctions and the draft on Thailand’s Phuket Island. Not everyone is happy.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 🌸🌷🌼Opening soon: You’ll feel like you’re in Oz in these magical SoCal flower fields.
- 🍲This splashy new WeHo restaurant wants to take you on Italian holiday.
- 🐐Roasted baby goat tacos hide in a rural street food row near San Bernardino.
Staying in
- 🤑Come on down to the 10,000th episode of ‘The Price Is Right.’
- 💿 A timeline of Roberta Flack’s career in 10 essential songs.
- 🥑🥓 Here’s a recipe for OG spicy chicken sandwich with avocado and bacon.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
A question for you: What’s your comfort TV show?
David Fetzer writes: “As a long time fan, I’m glad that ‘Hollywood Squares’ is back with both old favorites and new discoveries.”
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Today’s great photo is from Elizabeth Roper of Laguna Woods: Titus Canyon, Death Valley National Park.
Elizabeth writes: “When is a good time to go to Death Valley? NOW!!! This was taken February 22nd during the Death Valley Dark Sky Festival. At Death Valley it’s so quiet you can hear yourself think and breathe.”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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