Fire Risk and 80s Continue Mid Week

12am Update:

We tied the daytime high record and broke the record for warmest overnight low.

Previous discussion:

Santa Ana winds gradually decrease through Thursday morning, but locally breezy east to northeasterly winds and low relative humidity lingers, leading to elevated fire weather conditions--especially along the Coast. Currently much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties are under a Red Flag Warning until 6pm.

Highs today are warm! Reaching 5-10 degrees above average, with inland areas hitting the low 80s and even the coast experiencing temperatures in the mid-80s. This is all thanks to the high pressure ridge that has dominated the region, with winds expected to weaken this afternoon.

By Thursday, conditions will start to "cool" as the ridge of high pressure shifts, and the cooling trend will continue into the weekend. For Southern California, a weak upper-level trough will bring slightly cooler conditions and increase high cloud coverage, with noticeable cooling west of the mountains.
The Winter Solstice on Saturday marks the official start of winter at 1:20am for the Northern Hemisphere, bringing the season's cooler air into the region--or more importantly (in my mind) the days start finally getting "longer" with increasing daylight hours beginning this weekend.

Looking ahead to Christmas Eve: a quick-moving trough will bring gusty westerly winds to the mountains and deserts, along with a slight chance of showers (25-35% chance) across areas west of the mountains. Models vary regarding exact timing and strength of the winds and precip amounts remain uncertain.. but I'll be keeping a close eye on it.
Christmas Day/Hanukkah: Mostly cloudy with a much sharper dip in temps. We may only climb to the low 60s--which is below seasonal normal levels.