SOUTHLAND BASKING IN BALMY WEATHER.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer You could be shoveling snow in Michigan or scraping ice in Maine. Instead, you hit the beach in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , where high surf and summer temperatures - forecast through the weekend - are making it the nation's hot spot. ``Unbelievable,'' said Tom Trainer, 46, of Encino, after packing his knee board for Zuma Beach. ``I'm driving down the coast - 83 degrees in the middle of January. And there's awesome surf. ``What more could you want?'' Not much, said Angelenos basking in 85-degree heat while much of the nation froze. The good news: Forecasters predict balmy weather in the high 70s and low 80s through the weekend. While snow and freezing rain Freezing Rain is a type of precipitation that begins as snow at higher altitude, falling from a cloud towards earth, melts completely on its way down while passing through a layer of air above freezing temperature, and then fell on the upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region of the United States with no universally agreed-upon boundary, but it almost always lies within the US Census Bureau's definition of the Midwest and includes the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as at least the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. and the mercury dropped to 21 degrees below zero in Maine, Santa Ana Santa Ana, city, El Salvador Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. tied with New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). for the highest temperature in the country at 91 degrees. And while the Southland average in January is 68 degrees, the mercury hit 84 in Burbank, 87 in Chatsworth and Woodland Hills, 83 in Van Nuys, 86 in Oxnard and 85 degrees in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . ``Very hot,'' said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. ``Usually, when we have good weather out here, it's bad everywhere else.'' Seven- to 12-foot breakers also pounded the coast from Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach, city (1990 pop. 32,063), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1912. It is a residential and beach community with an oil refinery and nearby factories that produce transportation and electrical equipment, computers, and pottery. to Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , drawing only the bravest into the water during a high surf advisory. When Carl Coulam broke two fins off his board at Zuma, he opted for his big-wave ``gun.'' ``You've probably got some of the strangest weather I've seen in years,'' said Coulam, 44, a chef from Santa Monica. ``One week we've got torrential rains, the next week we've got 90-degree weather. ``It feels like we're living on different continents.'' A record 22.5 inches of rain for the season segued this week into a hot, dry 15 mph offshore breeze caused by high pressure above inland deserts and low pressure off the coast. Weather officials say they expect temperatures to drop from the mid 80s today to the high 70s to lower 80s through Sunday, with a slight chance of rain Wednesday. College students from the Midwest - where the cold registered a record 54 degrees below zero in Embarrass, Minn., this week - had mixed feelings about the shirts-and-shorts bonanza. ``I'm from New Orleans; back there, they'd say it was scorching scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. here,'' said Los Angeles Valley College LAVC redirects here. For the software library, see libavcodec. The university is adjacent to Grant High School. Often called "Valley College" or simply "Valley" by those who frequent the campus, it opened its doors to the public on September 12, 1949, at which time the campus was student Edan Harris, 19, of North Hollywood, who was planning to hit the beach. ``But I like 80 degrees in January.'' But Kirkland Morris of Chicago said he's never gotten used to five warm California winters. ``I love the snow,'' said Morris, 31, an aspiring screenwriter living in Encino. ``Snow football? Oh, my goodness! Throwing people down in it! ... That's more my speed.'' But at Pierce College, Maryam Khatonabadi, 22, of Tarzana basked in the sun wearing a tank top as she studied chemistry outside the library. ``It's unbelievable - it's like summer!'' she said. ``I'm from Germany, where the weather is pretty cold all of the time, so I just love it (here).'' Daily News Staff Writer Lisa Sodders contributed to this report. Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Lisa Moeschler, left, and Dianne Martin take Moeschler's dog, Dude, for a walk on the beach Wednesday, when Southland temperatures were more reminiscent of summer. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer (2) Amy Williams and Debbie Camara admire the view from the top of Point Dume before heading down to the beach. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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