Publication Date February 9, 2016 | Los Angeles Times

Has El Niño abandoned L.A.?

United States
On a hot winter day in Malibu, three young girls dangle their feet from a lifeguard tower on Pacific Coast Highway. Photo: Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times
On a hot winter day in Malibu, three young girls dangle their feet from a lifeguard tower on Pacific Coast Highway. Photo: Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times

By this point in winter, Southern California was supposed to be dealing with rains and flooding, not brush fires and beach weather.

Yet temperatures have soared this week, breaking records in downtown Los Angeles and other locations across California, with even hotter conditions expected Tuesday. Forecasters warn of more hot winds as well as temperatures that could exceed 90 degrees downtown.

For all the talk of monster rains from El Niño, all but three days in the last month have been dry in the Los Angeles area.

Has El Niño abandoned L.A.?