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Holiday wishes from \u201cthis bright and sunny Southland\u201d on a vintage postcard.<\/p>\n
(From Patt Morrison\u2019s private collection)<\/p>\n
Record-breaking humidity<\/p>\n
According to the weather service office in Tampa, Fla., a dew point<\/a> of below 60 degrees is comfortable; above 65 feels muggy; above 70, very humid and uncomfortable; and above 75, oppressive. The dew point reached 76 on Tuesday in Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach shortly after noon \u2014 a similar dew point to that found in New Orleans and Orlando, Fla., at the exact same time. <\/p>\n (National Weather Service)<\/p>\n The humidity makes heat feel even hotter. <\/p>\n And that\u2019s what makes this summer feel so different.<\/p>\n Coastal Southern California enjoys its relatively mild summer climate thanks to several factors, including a cool ocean\u2019s air-conditioning effect, protective mountains, proximity to deserts, and a weather pattern that usually avoids drawing in tropical moisture. <\/p>\n Southern California\u2019s dry summers typically exist because of its land-to-sea breezes in the morning and sea-to-land breezes in the afternoon, according to meteorologist Kristan Lund of the weather service\u2019s Oxnard office. The morning cycle brings humidity-lowering dry air from the deserts into the L.A. Basin, while the afternoons see air over the chillier ocean water move inland. High pressure over Southern California in the summer tends to result in warm weather that\u2019s dry and doesn\u2019t pull in tropical moisture. <\/p>\n The ocean off of Southern California is also much chillier than along the Gulf Coast and East Coast. The average coastal water temperature in Santa Monica in September is 67.9 degrees, but is 86.3 degrees in Tampa Bay in Florida, and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico influences the humidity all around the region, as well as up the East Coast. <\/p>\n All of those protections against humidity spectacularly broke down this summer in Southern California.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the same thing as you might say, \u2018Yeah, Woodland Hills, they always get to 110 every summer,\u2019\u201d Swain said, which might typically feel cooler, because, as you sweat, a dry breeze cools you, especially in the shade. But when the air is humid, people can\u2019t shed heat as quickly, Swain said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe other problem here, too, is that the very highest heat-index values I\u2019m seeing are in Central and South Central L.A.,\u201d where a number of people don\u2019t have air conditioning at home, Swain said. \u201cThis is, you know, right at the upper edge of humid heat that we\u2019ve ever really observed in the L.A. area.\u201d<\/p>\n L.A. County health officials urged people to be on the lookout for symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, such as dizziness, nausea, rapid heartbeat and confusion. <\/p>\n A postcard with a 1934 postmark shows people in heavy swim costumes holding onto a safety rope in the surf.<\/p>\n (From Patt Morrison\u2019s private collection)<\/p>\n \u201cHeat causes more deaths in the U.S. annually than floods, storms, and lightning combined. Those most likely to get ill during the heat include older adults, young children, outdoor workers, athletes, and individuals with chronic medical conditions,\u201d said Dr. Muntu Davis, the L.A. County health officer. <\/p>\n Causes for the extreme humidity<\/p>\n The extreme humidity is being fueled by the remnants of Hurricane Marie, which formed during an unusually active hurricane season in the eastern Pacific Ocean, likely related to El Ni\u00f1o, a climate pattern that refers to a warming of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. <\/p>\n \u201c[Marie] was able to funnel its moisture over our area from the southwest, and that brought more humid conditions because it\u2019s tropical moisture,\u201d Lund said. The tropical moisture is combining with monsoonal moisture that can come into Southern California from the southeast at this time of year. <\/p>\n Marie\u2019s remnants also fueled the thunderstorms and rain that have washed over the region, and is contributing to the heat being felt across Southern California, the Central Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area, Swain said. <\/p>\n An extraordinary marine heat wave is further adding to the humidity. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s marine heat wave tracker<\/a>, it has spread all along the California coastline. <\/p>\n There\u2019s also a stretch of exceptionally warm ocean water from the shores of the Gal\u00e1pagos all the way to Alaska, according to Swain.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really warm off the coast of Baja [California] now \u2014 it is ridiculous. It is off-the-charts warm,\u201d Swain said. \u201cRight now, off the coast of Baja near Ensenada, we\u2019re talking about water temperatures that are essentially 10 degrees Fahrenheit above average.\u201d<\/p>\n And off California, ocean-water temperatures are well above average, Swain said. \u201cThe water off of L.A. is at or above its warmest-ever-observed levels. And the water west of San Francisco is currently right around those highest-observed levels as well \u2014 relative to what\u2019s typical west of San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n Swain expects future waves of humidity are probable in coming years.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will probably not be the most extreme humid heat event we see even this decade in Southern California, even though it is at the very upper edge or even beyond what we\u2019ve seen historically,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Concerns about the winter<\/p>\n![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788952330_669_.png\")
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