What to expect: Temperatures across the Southland will range in the 60s for today. The coasts will be continue to be impacted by high surf and flooding of low-lying areas and there's a chance of rain coming up for the weekend.
Very high surf and coastal flooding are expected to continue through the weekend due to large ocean swells coming from cyclones in the northern Pacific. And rain moves into the southland Saturday.
Temperatures across the Southland will range in the 60s again today. Along the coast, expect highs in the mid 60s for L.A. and Orange County beaches.
Highs in the valleys and inland will range in the upper end of the 60s, up to 70 degrees in San Bernardino.
Tonight's lows will drop to 50 degrees for most of the Southland.
Avoid lighting up your chimney or fire pits and stay away from the beaches.
Indoor and outdoor wood burning continues to be prohibited across most of the Southland today.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has extended a no-burn order until midnight due to high levels of pollution in the air.
The no-burn order applies to the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino — except for the desert areas.
The public is being asked to stay away from the waters and be alert for flooding.
Los Angeles and Ventura county beaches are under a coastal flooding advisory until 10 p.m. Saturday. Friday and Saturday morning will experience residual high tide of 6 to 6.5 feet that will increase the risk of coastal flooding.
Surf Report 12/29/23: 8-12', Overhead - Double Overhead
— LACoLifeguards (@LACoLifeguards) December 29, 2023
Another day to target as it currently looks close to Thursday in the morning as good size WNW swell holds. Slow fade in the PM. Solid but also mostly walled at average spots. Wind looks ok at this time. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/XTBy7qpHLQ
The Central Coast and Ventura County beaches are taking the brunt of it, according to Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Oxnard office.
"We did receive reports of injuries from surf in Ventura County. As far as the surf we've seen, our Channel Islands harbor report 14 feet and that was as of 1a.m.," he said. "In general we've been seeing anywhere between six to 12 feet across the LA and Ventura county beaches."
To the south, its San Diego office forecasts surf of 6 to 12 feet with sets to 15 feet in northern Orange County through Sunday, with the highest surf tomorrow.
A High Surf Warning is in effect until 2 a.m. Monday for both Orange and San Diego counties.
Flooding of low lying coastal areas such as parking lots, beaches and walkways are expected.
Looking ahead to your weekend forecast — the National Weather Service says some showers are expected to come to the Central Coast today and spread over to the southland Saturday.
There's a 20% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms that will bring under a quarter inch of rain to Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Up to three-tenths of an inch of rain is expected in the Inland coast like Anaheim.
The chance of rain lessens come Sunday but temperatures will be chilly with highs in the lower 60s and there's a 20% chance of rain on New Years Day in Pasadena, but no more than a tenth of an inch of rain in the morning is expected.
Snow levels will drop to 6,000 feet, but not much accumulation is expected, only up to 2 inches on the highest peaks of San Bernardino on Saturday.
On this day in 2012, two waterspouts were reported off Dana Point and Oceanside.
Happy Friday! Be sure to check out our full list of things to do this weekend down below if you're looking for ways to spend NYE and New Years Day.
Check out our full list of things to do this weekend.
Topline:
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said today that he will run for Senate Majority Leader in the next Congress, setting up a challenge to Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer after the party swept to power in the midterm elections.
Why now: Van Hollen’s challenge comes after he said he was considering a bid and after Schumer has said he has the necessary support to win. The closed-door, secret-ballot election will be held in early December. The race will be the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades. The question of whether to reelect Schumer has already divided the caucus and many senators will not say publicly how they will vote. They have privately deliberated about what message to take from the election, and Schumer recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and raised money for them.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Thursday that he will run for Senate Majority Leader in the next Congress, setting up a challenge to Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer after the party swept to power in the midterm elections.
Van Hollen said in a statement that “the American people called for change” and that is why he is running.
“It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” Van Hollen said. “This is not about any one person — it’s about answering the call of the American people. That is why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader.”
Van Hollen’s challenge comes after he said he was considering a bid and after Schumer has said he has the necessary support to win. The closed-door, secret-ballot election will be held in early December.
The race will be the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades. The question of whether to reelect Schumer has already divided the caucus and many senators will not say publicly how they will vote. They have privately deliberated about what message to take from the election, and Schumer recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and raised money for them.
Schumer has been talking to Democratic senators since the election about forming an agenda for 2027.
“I’m going to win it,” Schumer told The Associated Press in an interview last week.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Unified School District may lease spaces in its elementary, middle and high schools to use as childcare spaces for babies.
What’s new: The district is putting together a list of qualified providers and looking to identify spaces it could lease. Ranae Amezquita, executive director of the district’s early childhood education division, said once the district has a list of spaces, it will start a request for proposal process that childcare providers can apply to during the 2027-2028 school year.
The backstory: In April, LAUSD board members passed a resolution in an aim to expand childcare and early education slots in the district. The district currently runs about 90 preschools, called early education centers, for children 2 to 4 years old, but it has only four centers that serve children under 2. “ The problem with infant care — the reason we can't open them ourself at this time, is because of the cost,” said Amezquita at a board meeting Thursday.
Why it matters: The need for local infant and toddler childcare is high. In 2022, LA County assessed that the county only had enough licensed spaces to care for 4% of kids under 2. At the same time, the district has been facing declining enrollment among lower birth rates. The resolution to expand early childhood care aims to, in part, strengthen the enrollment pipeline into the district.
Further reading:
The Los Angeles Unified School District may lease spaces in its elementary, middle and high schools to use as childcare spaces for babies.
The district is putting together a list of qualified providers and looking to identify spaces it could lease.
Ranae Amezquita, executive director of the district’s early childhood education division, said once the district has a list of spaces, it will start a request for proposal process that childcare providers can apply to during the 2027-2028 school year.
In April, LAUSD board members passed a resolution in an aim to expand childcare and early education slots in the district.
The district currently runs about 90 preschools, called early education centers, for children 2 to 4 years old, but it has only four centers that serve children under 2. “The problem with infant care — the reason we can't open them ourself at this time, is because of the cost,” said Amezquita at a board meeting Thursday.
The need for local infant and toddler childcare is high. In 2022, L.A. County assessed that the county only had enough licensed spaces to care for 4% of kids under 2. At the same time, the district has been facing declining enrollment amid lower birth rates. The resolution to expand early childhood care aims to, in part, strengthen the enrollment pipeline into the district.
Topline:
An L.A. County Superior Court judge has been removed from the bench in a rare move by California’s judicial watchdog.
Why it matters: Judge Robert Draper engaged in 17 instances of misconduct, according to the California Commission on Judicial Performance. Removing a judge is reserved for only very serious matters.
The background: Draper’s misconduct includes offensive comments on race and gender, sending unnecessary photos of his naked backside to colleagues and defying orders to not work on cases while on involuntary leave.
What’s next: Draper lost reelection in June. Gov. Gavin Newsom may appoint his successor sooner. The court could also fill his department.
Read on… to see what Draper said about the outcome.
In an extraordinary turn of events, the state’s judicial watchdog has removed Judge Robert Draper, 84, from the Los Angeles County Superior Court after 14 years of service. He faced several counts of misconduct prior to losing reelection earlier this year.
The California Commission on Judicial Performance concluded Tuesday in an 87-page decision that Draper engaged in 17 instances of behavior that made him no longer fit for office. He hasn’t heard a case since 2023 because of the issues.
“Judge Draper persistently violated the standards governing judicial behavior and engaged in extensive and severe misconduct,” the commission said in a statement, adding that it was “aggravated by his refusal to accept responsibility for his misconduct, and his lack of insight or remorse for his misconduct and its effect on others.”
Draper previously admitted to some of the claims and denied others in interviews with LAist earlier this year. In a statement this week, he called the decision “deeply disappointing.”
“Any individual put under such intense and meticulous scrutiny likely would find themselves in a similar situation, albeit with slightly different facts,” he said.
Draper said the investigation came at a time when he raised concerns within the judiciary, and that it was used “presumably for purposes of dismissing his dissent by discrediting him.”
He plans to pursue “other avenues” to change the system, according to the statement. Draper's attorney declined to share what those would be.
“It’s very rare for a judge to be removed from the bench,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School. “It’s the ultimate sanction against a judge.”
The commission has only removed 15 judges since it gained the authority to do so in 1995, according to its records, with the last for an L.A. County Superior Court judge happening in 2006.
The decision comes after a yearslong investigation and legal proceedings with independent evaluators. Prior to that, Draper had never been disciplined. According to the commission, his long list of misconduct includes:
Some allegations the commission reviewed were dismissed for lack of evidence, including one that he inappropriately touched an attorney’s hair.
While Draper lost reelection, his seat is now empty sooner than usual. Judge-elect Tal Khan Valbuena is on deck to replace him in January.
It’s possible Gov. Gavin Newsom may decide to appoint Khan Valbuena sooner. The court could also move another judge into his department.
Topline:
El Niño is making the California coast much warmer than usual, and scientists are concerned about coastal flooding.
Unseasonably warm waters: The ocean temperatures along a stretch of coast from Sonoma County down to Ensenada, Mexico, are 10 degrees warmer than average. In a webinar Thursday, University of California climate scientist Daniel Swain stressed how unusual the current heat wave is, describing it as “mind-boggling” and “record-shattering.” “I'm using all the superlatives in the book because I think they're appropriate,” Swain said.
Exceeding records: The water temperatures in nearly every location are higher than any measured during the cold season in recorded history. “Not only is the water warmer than it's ever been at this time of year, but in fact it is warmer than it has ever been at any point after Nov. 1 and before May in any previous year,” Swain said.
The stakes for coastal flooding: Warmer oceans mean that the water expands, leading to high tides like the ones Long Beach and Orange County have experienced in recent months. Scientists are especially watching for king tides during Thanksgiving week. (King tides are also expected around Christmas and in late January.) And any significant rainstorms — which El Niño could bring — would also make flooding worse.
Why the heat wave is expected to stick around: “ Marine heat waves take a lot longer to develop, and they're a lot more persistent,” Swain said. That’s because water takes longer to heat up or cool down than air, and because wind can generally move air faster than ocean currents.
