The Brief

This story is no longer updating. Get the latest on the storm:

• Dangers Of Landslides Remain After Record-Breaking Storms Leave The Southland Saturated

Los Angeles officials on Tuesday reported some progress in responding to the two atmospheric storms that have left the Southland saturated and still at risk of debris flows.

The pair of record-breaking storms have shut down roads, forced mandatory evacuations and severely damaged property in landslides and debris flows.

And while the worst of the storm system had passed, they warned the region has a ways to go in terms of clean up and recovery.

"The road to recovery may be long and it requires an all hands approach," L.A. City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a news conference Tuesday evening. "We will rebuild, we will recover, and we will emerge stronger."

Mayor Karen Bass said she was preparing official requests for assistance from state and federal officials.

Power has been reported to 59,000 L.A. customers, with just over 6,600 customers remaining with lights out, mainly because of a downed tree in Brentwood.

As of Tuesday evening, Crowley said the following had been recorded in L.A.:

• 475 mudslides
• 390 fallen trees
• Multiple successful water rescues
• 12 structure fires
• 919 catch basin and storm water systems cleared
• 441 reports of potholes recorded

From around 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, forecasters said they were expecting another burst of rain, which could prove perilous for already saturated ground.

Expect more flooding, downed trees, debris flows and other hazards as the storm system slowly makes it way southeast.

Rain and thunderstorms will be sticking around a bit longer.

(

National Weather Service in Oxnard

/

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

)

Mud and rock slides were especially prevalent along mountain areas that got hit by the historically heavy rain.

At around 9 p.m. Sunday, 16 residents were evacuated from nine Studio City homes after a mudslide damaged two structures on Lockridge Road. And L.A. firefighters evacuated people from at least three homes affected by debris flows on West Boris Drive in Tarzana. A landslide on Beverly Crest damaged at least six homes, forcing the evacuation of 15 people.

Culver City issued an evacuation warning for residents in Culver Crest as mudflows were reported on Cranks road and Flaxton street. At noon on Tuesday, Hacienda Road in La Habra heights was closed due to an active debris flow moving through the town.

In Santa Barbara, officials evacuated an estimated 40 people from apartment buildings due to cliff erosion.

A view of mudslide damage in Los Angeles, California.

(

Mario Tama

/

Getty Images

)

There should be a lull in the rain Wednesday morning before the region has to deal with a bit more storm activity through Thursday.

A flash flood warning will likely remain in effect until Wednesday afternoon from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Hollywood Hills and Griffith Park, as well as the adjacent foothills, the cities of Malibu and and Beverly Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains in southeastern Ventura County.

About that rainfall

"This has truly been a historic storm for Los Angeles," said Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Oxnard, who pointed out that this has been the third wettest two-day stretch for the city since they started keeping records back in the 1870s.

People view the Los Angeles River swollen by storm runoff as a powerful long-duration atmospheric river storm, the second in less than a week, continues to impact Southern California on February 5, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

(

Mario Tama

/

Getty Images North America

)

While on Monday, downtown L.A. saw 4.1 inches of rain — breaking the previous daily rainfall record of 2.55 inches set in 1927 — stations across the Santa Monica Mountains are where the real intense rainfall was centered.

Three-day rainfall totals as of noon Tuesday:

• Bel Air: 12.32 inches
• Sepulveda Canyon at Mulholland: 12.01
• Topanga: 11.95 inches
• Woodland Hills: 11.70 inches
• Mt. Baldy: 9.37 inches
• Santa Fe Dam: 8.61
• Downtown L.A.: 8.13 inches
• Hollywood Reservoir: 7.47 inches
• Santa Monica: 6.79 inches
• Santa Barbara: 5.42 inches
• Saticoy: 5.08 inches

To put those rainfall totals in perspective, the average annual rainfall for L.A. is usually around 14 inches or so.

Don't be surprised if more records fall.

Flood watches and warnings are in place from Santa Barbara to San Diego counties through Tuesday as hazards remain.

Long, sustained periods of rain are characteristic of El Niño storms. Warmer than normal waters off the coast — often associated with the climate phenomenon — are juicing our recent storms by sending more heat and water into the atmosphere.

Reports of landslides

Mud inundates parts of the Hollywood Hills on Monday. Another day of steady rain is forecast Tuesday.

(

David McNew

/

AFP via Getty Images

)

It's not uncommon for rocks and mud to flow off steep hillsides and onto roads during heavy rains. And debris flows were reported across the region over the past several days. Additional incidents are possible.

Overview of notable incidents as of Tuesday morning:

• Studio City: Two homes damaged by mudflow, with a total of 16 residents evacuated from nine homes.
• Tarzana: Three homes damaged by a mudflow and two people evacuated from a home.
• Beverly Crest: Seven homes have been damaged by debris flow and 15 people were evacuated.
• Palos Verdes: Eastbound Palos Verdes Drive south is closed due to mud.
• Culver City: An evacuation warning has been issued for residents of the Culver Crest area after mudflows were seen behind multiple homes.
• La Habra Heights: Hazardous levels of mud were reported along Hacienda Road at noon on Tuesday.

Coastal erosion

On Tuesday morning, Santa Barbara County officials evacuated approximately 40 people from four apartment buildings in the beachside college town of Isla Vista. Residents were later allowed to return with some of the property cordoned off.

County public information officer Jackie Ruiz said officials were concerned that the columns holding up the structures could give way because of cliff erosion below the buildings.

She said no other evacuations had been issued in the area, and that safety and planning officials were assessing damages to the buildings to determine needed repairs.

Up in the mountains

So far, snow levels have been relatively high, mostly above 5,500 feet.

Winter storm warnings are in effect in both the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests until late Tuesday night.

Snowfall totals as of 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday:

• Mountain High: 24 inches at 7,000 feet
• Mountain Baldy: 24 inches at 7,8000 feet
• Snow Valley: 17 inches at 7,000 feet
• Bear Mountain: 17 inches at 7,000 feet
• Wrightwood: 2 inches at 5,900 feet.

Higher mountain peaks like San Jacinto (10,834 feet) could get around 1 to 3 feet of snow, while Mt. San Antonio (10,064 feet) could see 4 to 6 feet.

The eastern San Gabriel mountains and the San Bernardino County mountains are under a winter storm warning until 10 p.m. Tuesday for areas above 6,000 feet.

Travel is expected to be difficult, if not impossible. Higher mountains could see winds up to 70 mph, which can damage trees and knock them onto roadways. If you must head in or around these areas, pack emergency supplies in your car just in case.

The Mount Wilson observatory closed Saturday until further notice because of the weather. Mountain High Resort will reopen today starting at 9 a.m.

The Angeles National Forest is urging people to stay away from the area at least for the next few days. Very hazardous conditions are expected, including heavy rain, fast-moving landslides, snow, and flooding.

What's up with the L.A. River?

Social media has been inundated with videos of the Los Angeles River gushing with water as historic rains pummel Southern California.

Jon Sweeten, a reservoir regulation engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, said videos of the river seemingly on the verge of overflowing shouldn't necessarily be cause for alarm.

“People see a lot of water in a channel that they see that's normally dry and they go, ‘Oh my goodness, there's a lot of water,’” he said. “That's just the channel operating in the way it was designed.”

The system, Sweeten added, “is designed to hold some of the water behind the dams and release it into concrete line channels that will convey the flow very effectively to the ocean.”

Since the 51 miles of river pass through different cities, at the time the infrastructure was built, municipalities were responsible for building bridges within their respective boundaries. At the time, local officials pushed for a narrower river, so that it would be cheaper to build the bridges while also preserving more land for development.

“In order to make the system work well, they designed it so that it flowed very fast so — the system flows much faster than a natural stream would flow,” Sweeten said. “Which is why it's dangerous for people to stand on the concrete in the L.A. River, because water up to your ankle is capable of knocking you off your feet.”

Sewage spills

Avoid fecal coliform bacteria and all sorts of nasty chemicals by not going into the ocean during or right after it rains.

It's a notion that holds doubly true for Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, and every swimming area in Long Beach, as an estimated 8 million gallons of sewage have flowed down into the water.

A sanitation department spokesperson said sewer systems were so overwhelmed by rain that they backed up and spilled out into the Dominguez Channel, which leads to the Port of Long Beach, and into Compton Creek, which flows into the L.A. River.

An additional 40,000 gallons of sewage are also estimated to have spilled into the L.A. River following a backup in Commerce.

Public health officials advise people to wait at least 72 hours after significant rainfall to go into the ocean water.

More information on the spills can be found here.

Evacuations

Multiple evacuation orders and warnings for L.A., Ventura and Santa Barbara counties have been canceled, though it's possible as the storm progresses that additional alerts will be issued.

Los Angeles County

• Topanga Canyon: Evacuation order and warning issued for the area around Santa Maria Road in the Owen Fire burn scar.
• Soledad Canyon: Evacuation warning issued for the Agua Fire Burn scar east of Acton.
• Juniper Hills: Evacuation warning issued for Juniper Hills and Valyermo area.
• San Gabriel Mountains: Evacuation warnings are in effect for areas near the Bobcat Fire (north end) and Lake Fire burn scars.
• Duarte: Evacuation warning is in effect for the area in the Fish Fire burn scar.
• Culver City: Evacuation warning in effect through 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday for areas of Culver City’s Upper Crest area due to potential mud or debris flows. The city is asking people who live above, below, or adjacent to a hillside in or below the Upper Crest neighborhood to take extra precautions.
• Warnings and orders will likely remain in place until 6 p.m. Tuesday. More info about above incidents is here.

Orange County

• A voluntary evacuation warning was issued for Irvine Lake, Black Star and Baker Canyon, Silverado Canyon, Williams Canyon, Modjeska Canyon, Live Oak and North Traduce Canyon, and Traduce, Rose, and Holy Jim Canyons.
• Canyon residents were strongly encouraged to prepare and voluntarily evacuate on Sunday, especially those with disabilities, access and/or functional needs, and canyon residents with large animals.
• More info here.
  

San Bernardino County and Riverside County

• Evacuation warning issued due to potential mud and debris flow in the El Dorado and Apple fire burn scars.

Schools

• Los Angeles Unified School District announced that all schools will be open on Tuesday with the exception of Topanga Elementary Charter and Vinedale College Preparatory Academy. Topanga students may report to Woodland Hills Academy while Vinedale students may report to Glenwood Elementary School.
• Santa Monica schools are open Tuesday; Malibu schools are closed.
• Long Beach Unified schools are open Tuesday.
• Santa Barbara Unified school district reopened on Tuesday.

About 62% of LAUSD students attended school on Monday. In a statement issued later that evening, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said close to 90% of teachers made it in as well.

The superintendent also noted some bus delays but said more than 90% of bus drivers reported to work and all routes were eventually completed. One bus had a breakdown that delayed students for an hour and a half.

LAist has asked the district for more details on that incident and how it's accommodating Vineland and Topanga elementary school students.

Road closures

In short, it's a mess.

Rockslides, mudslides, flooding and snow have inundated roads from Ventura to San Bernardino.

Check in with your local department of transportation for the latest updates:

• Caltrans (best for highway and mountain conditions)
• L.A. County
• L.A. City
• Ventura County
• Santa Barbara County
• Riverside County
• San Bernardino County

Universities

• UCLA- Normal operations. Classes will occur as usual
• USC- Normal operations. Classes will occur as usual
• In person classes have resumed at Cal State Fullerton.
• UC Santa Barbara campuses are set to reopen Tuesday.
• Cal State Long Beach said it expects normal operations and classes to resume on Tuesday.
• Cal Poly Pomona returns to normal campus operations Tuesday.
• Cal State Northridge also resumes campus operations Tuesday.

Emergency proclamations and preparation

L.A. County issued an emergency proclamation Sunday night. Supervisors said that move aligned the county with the state's emergency order and would make it easier to act quickly to deploy resources.

In, L.A., Mayor Bass declared a local state of emergency on Monday.

San Bernardino County also declared a state of emergency Sunday night in anticipation of extreme rain and snow expected through Wednesday.

A man and his dog were rescued from the Pacoima Wash near Foothill Boulevard via helicopter after he jumped into the water after his pet. LAFD Fire Chief Kristen Crowley said both the man and the dog are safe.

Bass said more than 100 unhoused people had to be evacuated from a tiny home complex. She added that they’re being moved into a nearby shelter that wasn’t being used, but now will be “instantly” filled.

Bass also answered a call from President Joe Biden toward the end of Monday’s news conference and held the phone up to the microphone so he could speak to the people of Los Angeles.

“We’ll get any help on the way as soon as you guys request it, so just let me know,” Biden said.

More ahead

Residents in mountain, canyon and coastal areas should prepare for the risk of debris flows and flooding to remain at least through Tuesday.

Those in landslide prone areas like the Palos Verdes Peninsula should be on the lookout for indications of land movement, including the formation of new cracks, the fracturing of underground utilities, doors and windows falling out of plumb and sounds of creaks and groans coming from the ground.

Sandbags are available at all Los Angeles Fire Department locations. Sand is also available at select other locations, and updates on availability can be checked here.

Los Angeles County Fire Department locations also have sandbags and sand.

Sand and sandbags are available at these locations in Orange County.

Understanding National Weather Service warnings

Here’s an excerpt from our guide to understanding flood warnings, if any are issued:

• Flood advisories are how the NWS begins to raise the alarm. The goal is to give people enough time to take action.
• Flood watches are your indicators to get prepared to move.
• A flood warning is issued when a hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. When one is issued for your area, you need to get to higher ground immediately.
• A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is coming or in progress. Flash floods are sudden and violent floods that can start within minutes.

Read more: Flash Flood Warnings? Watches? Here’s What You Need To Know

Tips for driving in the rain

Advice on driving in the rain:

• Check weather and road conditions all along your planned route
• Slow down
• Keep a wider-than-usual distance between your vehicle and the one in front
• Don't drive through standing water — as little as 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, and two feet can carry away SUVs and trucks.
• Make sure tires are fully inflated
• Check windshield wiper blades and replace if necessary

Read more: What You Should Do If You End Up Driving In A Flooded Area

Downed tree, power line or flooded road?

Dial 911 if it's an emergency.

However, if you need to report a flooded road or a downed tree, you can call the following non-emergency numbers:

• L.A. City: Dial 311 for a flooded road or downed tree. Call (800) DIAL-DWP if you see a downed power line.
• L.A. County: (800) 675-HELP
• Ventura County: (805) 384-1500
• Orange County: (714) 955-0200 or visit here.

If you're in L.A. County and need sand bags you can find some at local fire houses.

Staying safe when the winds are high

• Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.
• Make sure you have a battery-operated radio and flashlights. Check the batteries to make sure they are fresh. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they may pose a significant fire hazard.
• If you’re in a vehicle with a fallen power line on it, stay in the vehicle and remain calm until help arrives. It is OK to use your cellphone to call 911. If you must leave the vehicle, remember to exit away from downed power lines and exit by jumping from the vehicle and landing with both feet together. You must not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time. Then proceed away from the vehicle by shuffling and not picking up your feet until you are several yards away. 
• Water and electricity don’t mix. Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Do not step in or enter any water that a downed power line may be touching.
• Do not use any equipment inside that is designed for outdoor heating or cooking. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
• If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it, using a heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews.
• Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed to keep food as fresh as possible. Place blocks of ice inside to help keep food cold. Check food carefully for signs of spoilage. 
• Check on your neighbors to make sure everyone is safe.

Tips on staying warm

• State law requires residential units to have heating systems that can keep indoor temperatures at a minimum of 70 degrees. That means every dwelling unit and guest room offered for rent or lease should offer heating equipment, usually central air conditioning (A/C) or a wall heater. — Caitlin Hernández
• Use heat smartly to save money: Cranking things like the A/C and wall heaters can be expensive. If money is tight, be judicious about how and when you use your utilities. For example, only use heaters at night or only set the thermostat to around 70 degrees.
• Open and close those vents: If you have central A/C, look at where the vents are around your home. Are any open in places where you don’t stay long? Practice opening and closing those so warm air only goes where you need it (most vents should have a small toggle lever). Humidifiers can also help you warm things up — and it’s useful to add moisture into our dry air.
• Adjust your wall heaters: If you have a wall heater, you can change the output by adjusting the knob (usually at the bottom). Since wall heaters can only warm the areas where they’re placed, it’s essential to close doors to rooms you won’t be in so hot air doesn’t get wasted.
• Turn on your ceiling fan (really): If you have a ceiling fan, try turning it on. This sounds counterintuitive, but there’s science behind it. The direction a fan turns can push air in different directions, and since hot air floats up, you’ll want to move that around. Your fan should spin clockwise to create an updraft to circulate. Not all fans will have this option, though.
  

Sign up for emergency alerts

• L.A. City: Notify L.A.
• L.A. County: Ready L.A. County
• Ventura County: Ready Ventura County
• Orange County: AlertOC
• Riverside County: AlertRivCo

How we're reporting on this

George Kiriyama, a senior editor, is tracking the storm and adding updates along with Kevin Tidmarsh, a producer, and Fiona Ng, LAist's weekend editor. Other LAist staff members, including host Sharon McNary and associate producer Gillian Morán Pérez
also kept a close eye, while other members of the newsroom have been keeping watch during the week.

This is a developing story. We fact check everything and rely only on information from credible sources (think fire, police, government officials and reporters on the ground). Sometimes, however, we make mistakes and/or initial reports turn out to be wrong. In all cases, we strive to bring you the most accurate information in real time and will update this story as new information becomes available.

Your questions or ideas

Inglewood Unified is one step closer to independence more than a decade after the state took over the school district amid a financial crisis.

A July report found the district has improved its financial and facilities management enough to operate independently. If Inglewood maintains this progress, the district could regain local control in 2027 with some guardrails.

“They've met the standards that really demonstrate we have strong systems in place, sound financial management, that the district is operating effectively so that students can learn and thrive and do well,” Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools, told LAist.

The county, which has authority over the 6,000-student school district, announced the news that the district had met 153 standards at a press conference Thursday at City Honors International Preparatory High.

James Morris, who has served as the county-appointed administrator for the district since 2023, said one example of a change the district has made is setting up a system to monitor utility bills.

“This is an achievement that was built by people, not just spreadsheets,” Morris said. “Our teachers, our classified staff, our labor partners, community partners, have all been working hard for 14 years.”

The backstory

In 2012, the Inglewood Unified Board of Trustees requested a multimillion-dollar loan from the state to balance its budget.

A state report said the district’s financial insolvency had been created by overstatement of attendance (which is the basis for state funding), understatement of salary costs, deficit spending and declining enrollment among other factors.

The district ultimately borrowed $29 million and became one of only 10 school districts in the state to enter receivership since 1990 as a condition of an emergency loan. Inglewood’s board lost the power to make decisions and an administrator was appointed, first by the state, and later by the L.A. County Office of Education.

Ernesto Castillo was a senior at City Honors when the district was placed under receivership.

“It was a really scary time, and it felt that I was leaving a sinking ship when I graduated,” Castillo, who’s now a member of the district’s board, said. “To see it still kind of flounder for years under state control was really disappointing and disheartening, especially as it affected my cousins, it affected the residents of my community.”

John Hughes has been an educator in the district for nearly three decades and is the president of the Inglewood Teachers Association.

“ When you have an outside entity's scrutiny, I think it creates a feeling among educators of a lack of autonomy,” Hughes said. “But also a lack of a voice to be heard with the real needs that they're experiencing day to day.”

Marcie Brown, vice president of the Inglewood Council of PTAs, said the most recent county-appointed administrator, has been more transparent with the community.

(

Mariana Dale

/

LAist

)

Marcie Brown, vice president of the Inglewood Council of PTAs, said the receivership created a negative perception of the district that obscured the rich experience that her grandchildren had in the district.

“ We heard all the buzzwords, underdeveloped, underprivileged. I'm like, ‘We never accepted any of those words at all,’” Brown said. “Our children got to … live large regardless.”

Castillo, the board member, said it was challenging for the board not to have the final say on the decisions such as closing five schools in 2025.

“It created anxiety about who and what is being served with these decisions,” Castillo said. “ Now moving forward, the district and the community knows that the board is gonna make decisions on behalf of their voters, on behalf of their students or their families, and I think that's gonna help regain trust.”

Inglewood Unified’s road to recovery

Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), the California agency that supports public schools' financial and business practices, has evaluated Inglewood Unified across five areas since 2013:

• Community relations and governance 
• Personnel management
• Pupil achievement
• Financial management 
• Facilities management

The first step for the district to exit receivership is to meet 153 standards that touch on everything from budget development to data collection.

Michael Fine, FCMAT’s CEO, said most districts exit this phase within six years.

“ Inglewood's a bit unique in that it has been in phase one since inception,” Fine said.

The district cycled through several external administrators appointed by the state before a change in the law transferred oversight to the county in 2018.

“ Leadership turnover is really detrimental to a district,” Duardo, the County Superintendent, said. “You have to have leaders that are gonna stick around and know the community and know the staff and be able to do the work.”

The district met the FCMAT standards for community relations and governance in 2023 and personnel and student achievement in 2025.

The district met the standards in the last two areas— financial and facilities management— in the most recent report released this month.

What’s next

FCMAT will return to conduct another evaluation of the district next year. If Inglewood maintains or improves its scores, the county can return power to the board.

However, an assigned trustee will have the power to reverse board decisions until the district pays off the initial state loan and passes an external audit.

FCMAT’s most recent evaluation also outlines remaining challenges, including continued deficit spending and declining enrollment.

“ If in receivership, with all this extra assistance and focus, they're not balancing their budget, then what happens when those extra protections disappear?” Fine asked.

Los Angeles housing officials say they’ve averted a crisis that could have put thousands of families at risk of homelessness by the start of 2027.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of low-income Angelenos moved into apartments with the help of federally funded emergency housing vouchers. More than 4,300 households in the city and county still rely on those vouchers to subsidize their rents.

But L.A. officials have warned that federal funding to support this program will dry up at the end of December 2026, potentially leading to evictions and homelessness for tenants unable to pay the full rent on their units.

On Thursday, city and county housing authorities announced that increased federal funding and improved local budgets will now allow all emergency housing voucher holders to transition out of the temporary pandemic program and into the traditional Housing Choice Voucher program, widely known as Section 8.

“This is housing for the long term for these families,” said Marcie Vega, director of assisted housing programs for the Housing Authority of the City of L.A.

How many families are affected?

The city’s housing authority oversees leases for more than 2,700 emergency housing vouchers. The county’s housing authority oversees another 1,600.

Officials say as long as participants still qualify for federal housing aid, they will be able to stay in their current homes without having to complete an onerous amount of paperwork.

“The housing authority is doing the administrative work to transition these families over,” Vega said, noting that the plan is to complete the transition by September.

Tenant advocates who work with renters on the temporary program say the news will ease a lot of anxiety.

“Folks we've been hearing from are in desperate panic,” said Manuel Villagomez, an attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. “It's a huge relief.”

How voucher programs work

Participants use these vouchers to find apartments on the private rental market, which can be a challenge given how many L.A. landlords are reluctant to accept them.

Tenants typically pay about 30% of their income toward their rent, with vouchers covering the rest.

The number of renters with incomes low enough to qualify for a voucher is far larger than the amount of vouchers L.A. housing authorities can offer.

Cities rarely open their waitlists, and they often pick applicants by lottery for a spot on the list. Once tenants are on the list, they can wait for years before getting a voucher.

It’s hot out there, and it’s only going to get hotter.

National Weather Service forecasters issued a slew of alerts this week as a heat wave settles into Southern California with even hotter weather right around the corner.

A heat advisory is in effect until Tuesday for much of the region, with triple-digit temperatures expected in some places. Then, from Tuesday through Thursday, July 16, L.A. County and its neighbors to the north are under a more severe extreme heat watch.

An extreme weather warning is already in place for the Coachella Valley, where highs are expected to approach 115 degrees on Friday.

Southern Californians are no strangers to hot weather in the summer, but heat waves are getting hotter, longer and more frequent as the climate changes.

And the words forecasters use to describe these weather events has changed too. The NWS rolled out new heat alert language last year after the previous summer broke records for the hottest in U.S. history.

So, what exactly triggers these heat alerts? And what should you do about them? Here’s a guide:

Heat Advisory: Advisories are issued when temperatures are expected to be hot enough to cause discomfort and potentially lead to heat-related illnesses, especially for more vulnerable populations like young children and the elderly. During a heat advisory, consider staying in a cool place and limiting outside activity, especially during the day. For those who spend time outside, be sure to drink plenty of water and take breaks in the shade.

Extreme Heat Watch: Watches are essentially forecasts for upcoming periods of extreme heat. Forecasters say heat watches often cover wide areas and will be revised into more focused warnings and advisories as conditions become clearer over time. Watches are a good time to prepare for extreme heat by, for example, locating a nearby cooling centers if you don’t have access to air conditioning.

Extreme Heat Warning: Warnings are issued when heat levels are or will likely become extremely dangerous. Under extreme heat warnings, it's a good idea to avoid strenuous outdoor activity, stay hydrated and help loved ones and pets stay cool.

Not one-size-fits-all

Forecasters say it is important to keep Southern California’s diverse geography in mind when thinking about what these alerts mean.

L.A. County, for example, covers beaches, valleys, mountains and deserts. Some areas have tree cover, while others are mostly concrete and asphalt. Temperatures can vary a lot between those landscapes. It might be 80 degrees near the coast when it’s 100 degrees in the desert.

Not everywhere under a heat advisory, watch or warning will necessarily see the highest temperatures in the forecast either. But it is likely that some places within the alert area will.

Heat is also experienced differently from community to community. For someone accustomed to living in the desert, 100-degree heat may feel different than it would for someone who lives near the beach.

National Weather Service forecasters often consult with local emergency management, fire and public health authorities about the needs of their particular residents when deciding where and when to issue alerts.

When I was 16, my family moved to Madrid, where I got a crash course in Spanish culture — including a legal drinking age that happened to match my own. Lucky me. (For those wondering, it’s now 18).

In Spain, there’s a whole rhythm to drinking; it’s less about getting drunk and more about the intentionality of what you reach for and when. A vermouth before lunch to open the appetite. And after dinner, a gin tonic, (yes, that's gin tonic, the Spanish way — not gin and tonic) nursed slowly over a long conversation. And if things get loose, a kalimotxo: red wine and Coke, the drink Spanish teenagers have been mixing in plazas since before they were legally allowed to.

Over the last few years, a wave of Spanish drinking culture has been quietly making its way into L.A. Even José Andrés — the chef behind downtown's San Laurel, and probably the city’s most famous Spaniard — devotes a chapter of his new book, Spain, My Way, to how his countrymen drink, arguing it's inseparable from how they eat. It's a good match for L.A. too: like Spain, we have a Mediterranean climate — hot, dry summers made for chilled, low-ABV drinking.

You can now experience those rituals I first saw in Madrid — enjoying vermouth, kalimotxo, gin tonic — at spots around town. So why not get a taste of Spain… without booking a flight?

La hora del vermut

LAIE, a cava-based Spanish vermouth, served over ice with orange and an olive.

(

Brook Olsen

/

Courtesy LAIE

)

Most of us will know vermouth as the splash in a good martini. But it can be so much more than that, if you know what to drink. "It's not just a mixer… it's something you can enjoy by itself," says Alex Cardona, co-founder of a Barcelona-based vermouth company, LAIE (pronounced El-ay-yeah) with California restaurateur Raj Nallapothola.

The traditional way to drink vermouth — or vermut — in Spain is the ritual known as la hora del vermut — the vermouth hour, a midday get-together to share the drink over a few snacks.

There are many different kinds of vermouth, from pale, dry blanco to sweet, dark rojo. LAIE is a rojo, light in color but finishing sweet, made by a longtime family producer just outside Barcelona. It drinks like a lighter-bodied wine, blended with more than twenty botanicals. If you've ever enjoyed an Italian amaro, you're almost there.

Serve it before lunch, over ice with an orange slice and an olive — and if you want to kick things up, a splash of gin.

Kalimotxo

Wine and Cola's five styles launched exclusively in L.A. this summer.

(

Courtesy Wine and Cola

)

In 1999, when I was a teenager in Madrid, I’d see young people in the evening filling the plazas in droves, corner-store box wine and two-liters of Coke in hand — and the municipal workers who'd hose it all down by morning, only for the scene to repeat the next weekend.

Yes, wine and Coke, known in Spanish as kalimotxo, apparently go very well together, and dates to the ‘70s Basque Country, where festival-goers mixed spoiled wine with Coke to save it. While my taste for wine wasn’t really developed at the time, I appreciated the ingenuity of the drink for what it was.

Now, a ready-to-drink, canned version is arriving in L.A., the straightforwardly named Wine and Cola. The brand is modernizing the kalimotxo for the U.S. market, according to CEO Dale Laflam, who works with beverage brands for a living and saw canned cocktails booming while wine sat flat. Putting a kalimotxo in a can, ready to grab from a cooler, was the obvious move.

It's a deliberate 50-50 wine-and-cola blend, built cola-forward so it lands even if you're not a wine drinker. The cola leads, with a dry wine hum underneath. It comes in five styles — Original, Diet, Cherry, Rosé, and a citrusy one that drinks like white wine and Sprite.

Most lean sweet, thanks to that cola-forward base; I'd have taken more cherry in the Cherry, but that's me. I found the citrus the most balanced.

If you need more convincing, the drink's got famous fans. Lady Gaga has said her go-to is red wine and Diet Coke — a kalimotxo by any other name — and soccer's GOAT, Lionel Messi, recently copped to loving red wine with Sprite, the lighter cousin behind the citrus can.

As Laflam puts it, the whole thing "sounds wrong, tastes right."

Gin tonic — and the art of the sobremesa

Bar manager Gerard Belmonte builds Telefèric's gin tonics, including the color-changing Ibiza.

(

Gab Chabrán

/

LAist

)

After a lovely Spanish dinner — a paella, maybe, or a chuletón with patatas and piquillo peppers — the meal doesn't really end. It eases into sobremesa, the long stretch of table time after the plates are cleared, and that's when the gin tonic arrives.

Yes, that’s right. Spain loves their gin tonics. It isn't Spanish by birth (it was actually started by British officers in India drinking quinine-laden tonic to beat malaria), but Spain adopted it and made it a national obsession, where the drink is poured over ice in big balloon glasses and loaded with botanicals.

At the Telefèric Barcelona resturant in Long Beach, at 2nd & PCH, with locations in California and Arizona, drinking gin tonics is a nightly ritual. It's owned by the Padrosa family, and the lineage traces back to their original location in Barcelona.

"We always do a gin tonic after dinner," bar manager Gerard Belmonte told me. "We keep it on the table for three, four hours, talk with people. It's a good digestive, too — that's in our culture."

Belmonte walked me through three of the house pours, each of which pays homage to a different corner of Spain. The Catalan is the driest — mostly gin and tonic, garnished with juniper, rosemary, grapefruit, and a touch of lemon for a clean, refreshing finish. The Galicia gets a blue stripe of Bombay Sapphire's edible paint brushed inside the glass, then builds on Nordés, a Galician gin with Atlantic notes, with cardamom and bay leaf. And the Ibiza — named, Belmonte says, for the island's party-and-good-vibes energy — starts with Bombay Premier Cru infused with butterfly pea tea and a touch of edible silver dust. As it's built, the drink shifts from blue to purple, shimmering like a magic potion out of Harry Potter.