What Los Angeles Weather Is Really Like
Is it going to be sunny, sunny, or maybe something worse? The summers are hotter than your steering wheel, and the winters are what everyone pretends autumn is. Here's what else is going on around Los Angeles that will impact the time you spend outside.
Jessica, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Jessica is a born and raised Angeleno who has spent 30 years bouncing between East LA, the Westside, and the Valley, usually with a trunk full of boxes and a strong opinion about neighborhoods. She moved eight times between 2013 and 2023 and genuinely loves it, especially the decluttering part and the chance to reinvent herself with each new move. A former teacher of eight years, she has taught everyone from pre K kids learning their ABCs to high schoolers stressing over college essays. She loves California for the beaches, sunshine, hidden lakes, and hikes that feel like they belong in another state entirely. Her guilty pleasure is the Custard Front Drive donut from Donut Friend, she road trips whenever possible, and she is slowly working through a bucket list of every national park. She lives with two bonded cats, Marty the black cat and Jelly the tabby. At Snappy Scout, Jessica edits California guides with deep local instincts built over decades of real CA living.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What's the Weather Really Like in Los Angeles?
The forecast, the fashion, and the fine print locals wish someone had told them sooner.
Summer temps be like
Perpetual 82 and sunny (okay fine, mid-90s) and ACs working harder than anyone in the industry
Winter lows are
A brutal 55 degrees (locals wear Canada Goose) and everyone’s claims they’re “freezing”
The humidity makes me
Forget what frizzy hair feels like
Unique weather patterns
June Gloom rolls in like coastal depression, marine layer burns off by noon, Santa Ana winds turn everyone feral and the hills into tinderboxes
Local weather fashion tip
Master the layered look because it's 58 at dawn and 78 by lunch, and no, you still don't need an umbrella
You know it's time to get out of town when
It hits 95 and there's no AC in your 1940s bungalow, or when the fire evacuation map includes your zip code
Bugs be like
Mostly a non-issue unless you count aggressive pigeons or that one mosquito that found the only standing water in a 5-mile radius
You're stuck indoors again today because
The air quality index just hit 150 and going outside feels like smoking a pack of cigarettes, or it's raining and nobody here knows how to drive in weather
Green thumb enthusiasts love
Year-round growing season for tomatoes, succulents that actually thrive on neglect, and the ability to have both Meyer lemons and avocados in the same backyard
My Favorite Season in Los Angeles
Fall in LA is special. Daytime temps still linger in the 80s (and sometimes 90s) with cooler nights. Beach days are still a good hang out option, and there are smaller crowds and less tourists. There’s also no shortage of concerts, comedy shows, sporting events, and things to do!
— Jessica Montes
California Local Expert
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