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It hasn’t been this cold in LA since 1962

by in News
The National Weather Service has plotted the recorded temperatures for downtown Los Angeles so far for February 2019, which is shaping up to be one of the coldest months on record. (Graphic courtesy of the NWS)

From a National Weather Service statement

February 2019 has been a very cold month across all of southwestern California. With just 4 days remaining in the month, February 2019 ranks as the coldest February in downtown Los Angeles since 1962, nearly 60 years ago.

In downtown Los Angeles, the average daily mean temperature for the month through the 24th is 53.3 degrees, or 5.6 degrees below the normal average daily mean temperature for February, which is 58.9 degrees.

Even more noteworthy, the average high temperature for the month in downtown Los Angeles has been just 60.6 degrees, That is a full 8 degrees below the normal average high temperature for February, which is 68.6 degrees.

In downtown Los Angeles, both the average daily high temperature for the month of February and the average daily mean temperature for the month of February are the lowest since those recorded in February 1962. During that month, the average high temperature was just 59.8 degrees, the lowest for any February ever.

The months of February with the lowest average high temperatures in downtown Los Angeles are listed below.

Rank    Year    Ave. High
1       1962      59.8
2       1911      60.2
3       1887      60.4
4       2019*     60.6
5       1922      61.1
        1919
        1880
8       1909      61.4
9       1891      61.5
10      1949      61.6

* If the current forecast is correct, the average high temperature will likely rise about 1 degree by the end of the month.

The highest temperature on any day this month so far in downtown Los Angeles has been 69 degrees, on the 12th. There has never been a February since records began in downtown Los Angeles in July 1877, during which the temperature has failed to reach the 70 degree mark. Based on the current forecast, this may be the first February in 141 Februaries without a high temperature of at least 70 degrees.

It would also be the first such month in over 80 years, since January 1937, and the sixth such month in history without a 70 degree day. The other months with high temperatures failing to reach 70 degrees were December 1889, January 1890, March 1912, January 1916 and January 1937.

Elsewhere across the region, average high temperatures for the month of February 2019 are among the lowest ever recorded at many stations.

Temperatures during the next 4 days will not be as low as they have been for much of this month, so average temperatures are likely to edge upward in most areas.