A summer-like climate surprised Los Angeles this week with record temperatures as high as 86 on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather, which is too similar to previous heat waves to be attributed to global warming, has inspired some students to take advantage of the conditions, while forcing others to avoid them.
“I’ve lived in Southern California my whole life, but I’m pretty shocked we can get this kind of weather in January,” said Aaron Rabkin, a first-year business economics student.
UCLA Professor Robert Fovell, who specializes in meteorology, said that the Santa Ana winds caused this week’s weather.
The winds visit Southern California every year and could point to global warming if they become more frequent or intense, or hotter and drier.
A large pressure gradient that forms between Nevada’s Great Basin and Los Angeles creates the winds. Because the Great Basin is at a higher elevation, the air must descend into Los Angeles.
The downslope causes the air to heat up, gaining 29 degrees in one mile of descent.
Fovell said that this process occurs throughout fall and winter, beginning in September in Southern California.
While the temperature of the Santa Anas is usually cold when the winds begin to form in Nevada, Los Angeles can still get warm winds depending on Nevada’s temperature and the descent of the winds.
Across campus, some students are taking advantage of the nice weather.
While Rabkin said he has been riding his bike to class this week, others, like first-year chemical engineering student Susanna Nordrum, have gone to the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center’s lap pool to cool off and work out.
“I’m loving the sunshine,” she said. “It makes swimming irresistible. I feel so much more alive now than over break, although I’m not so sure it’s healthy for the schoolwork.”
Dramatic weather has rocked both coasts of the country this week.
While the eastern United States has reached temperatures as low as 38 below zero in Minnesota, for example, the National Weather Service has recorded highs of 80 or above since Monday in Southern California.
The warm weather has caused some obstacles for UCLA’s runners, however.
Jonathan Simmons, a freshman member of the cross-country and track teams, said that the team is making adjustments to its workout schedule.
“We go to the beach or Will Rogers Park to run to avoid the heat,” he said. “It definitely stops us from longer runs because we get dehydrated faster, and we don’t carry water on us.”
As for why it’s so warm in the middle of January, Fovell said that this week’s weather would not have stood out so much if precipitation had come earlier in the winter.
“We had a little rain in December this year,” he said. “But we really haven’t had enough. That’s why it’s iffy.”
The reason why the Santa Anas cause fires throughout September and November is because they occur before the winter rains start.
Though a change in precipitation levels could cause major climate change eventually, Professor David Neelin of the department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences said, “You can’t attribute individual heat waves to global warming.”
He added that the mean temperature would have to increase before specifically unusual temperatures could arise.
Southern Californians can focus more on enjoying this week’s sun.
For those Bruins working on their first homework assignments of winter quarter, highs in the 80s are expected through Sunday, and the weather forecast here is sunny and clear through next Tuesday.