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Joseph Bunny

Professor Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

24 November 2017

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Weather is a very important when it comes to living somewhere. People look at things

like weather when moving. You don't want to live in a place where the weather is terrible. Los

Angeles is known for its beautiful weather but is it as perfect as people say it is? Los Angeles has

natural disasters like every other state. The city has just overcome a drought and with the lack of

rain currently, we may have another drought on our hands soon. Los Angeles is littered with

annoyances like air pollution and Santa Ana winds. Earthquakes drive fear into the hearts of

citizens in southern California. Los Angeles perfect weather is ruined by earthquakes and

fires and it's extremely bipolar and dry weather.

Imagine laying down on Malibu Beach with the cool breeze flowing in your hair while

breathing in the ocean scented air. The sun is shining on the ocean giving it a beautiful crisp

ocean blue color. The sun is not too hot but just enough to give you a sun kissed tan. However,

the weather in Los Angeles may not be as predictable as one might think. Los Angeles consists

of heat waves, dry weather, pollution, earthquakes and wild fire. There are many aspects of Los

Angeles weather that people outside of California do not understand.

Summers in Los Angeles are extremely dry with usually little to no rainfall. The summer

usually begins as early as May and lasts as long as October or even November. The sky is

usually sunny unless June gloom occurs; June gloom is unpredictable year to year. It is a term for
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cloudy weather in Southern California and it usually occurs because of certain circumstances in

the ocean tides. This weather phenomena takes away the stereotypical sunny Los Angeles that

many may have.

On the other hand Winters in Los Angeles do not provide enough rainfall to keep us out

of a drought. Winters are not winters at all compared to many other states. People who leave

Southern California are dealt with a harsh experience because they have never experienced a true

winter. In other states winter temperatures go as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit, unlike Los

Angeles it only goes as low as 68 degrees Fahrenheit. At times it even reaches degrees that might

be considered summer weather, the sunny skies always seem to come with Los Angeles.

Spring and Fall bluntly does not exists in Los Angeles weather. They do not exists

because summer bleeds into the winter around the end of November and goes right back to

summer in May. This phenomenon is due to Santa Ana winds causing the weather to become

bipolar and creating only two different seasons.

One of the many downsides to Los Angeles weather is dry heat which could be the cause

wildfires. For example, one of the biggest wildfire this year was The Placerita fire that occurred

in the Los Angeles county. A witness named amara was quoted saying I was worried about my

house, but I've been through this many times, she said. "You live in Southern California, you

live in dry conditions, just like earthquakes, you get fire too. But when it burns, I want everyone

out the house and to be safe, so that's my concern. Especially with a very pregnant daughter, it

was just like 'go go go' and our blood pressures were skyrocketing. (Los Angeles Times). This

quote illustrates the emotion and affect of Los Angeles weather. She states that Ive been
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through this many times proving that Los Angeles inhabitants must be prepared and cautious for

extreme weather conditions, such as, wildfires.

Also another consequence of the dry heat is no rainfall causing a statewide drought.

California was in a drought due to dry heat in the years 2012 through 2017. California was in a

state of emergency when it came to water, there was barely any rainfall due to the extreme

weather we were having. According to the Washington Post, in 2015 Los Angeles only received

8-12 inches of rainfall causing the drought to become extreme. Los Angeles went into a frenzy

due to saving water, the city was becoming short on fresh water and the resulted into raising

costs of running water. The residences of Los Angeles were becoming fined for using too much

water due to conservation.

One of the the biggest controversy surrounding Los Angeles is pollution. Across the state

the government is incentivising transportation methods that are cleaner for the environment. For

example, if you are using a hybrid or electric driving car you are allowed access to the carpool

lane. Due to the Los Angeles traffic this is a good method of the government pushing the citizen

of the Los Angeles county to decrease the amount of pollution. Stereotypically, Los Angeles is

come to be known for flashy, energy consuming vehicles but this incentive is causing citizens to

think twice about purchasing those vehicles. According to the video you can see below, Gary

Franchi is reporting death toll of 1300 people in Los Angeles a year die of air pollution, making

it one of the most toxic air in the country. Some people may have the perception of clean air in

Los Angeles but that is not the reality.

A big part of Los Angeles weather is the Santa Ana winds. These winds are dry and high

speed that affect Southern California. Growing up in southern California, I have experienced the
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effects of Santa Ana winds. As someone who is prone to allergies, Santa Ana winds causes me to

have a runny nose and teary eyes. These winds are very unpredictable and affect my daily life

because when I was in high school I was not allowed to bring allergy medicine unless given a

prescription seen by the school nurse. By having these winds be unpredictable I did not know

when to bring my medicine to help me with my allergies. Growing up I found my elf very

annoyed of santa ana winds and this is another example of how the weather breaks its stereotype.

Los Angeles is synonymous with earthquakes, residents are prepared and conscious of an

earthquake occurring at any moment. According to many scientists Los Angeles is expecting an

extremely large earthquake to happen in the next several years. Due to the history of earthquakes

in Los Angeles because of the San Andreas fault, earthquakes have became a part of Los

Angeles culture. This is illustrated by commercials airing around the city discusses earthquake

safety. Also in school systems around Los Angeles are preparing our children to be constantly be

prepared and educating on earthquake safety. In David Hernandezs poem When Mother Nature

Visits Southern California, he creates a scene in where mother nature is instilling fear in people

who live in southern California. This stanza in the poem states, We surrounded our homes with

sandbags./ We slept under doorframes and dinner tables./ We waited for Her to remind us/ whose

turf we were on. This stanza illustrates that mother nature controls the turf that the author

portrays and the fear that is engraved in Los Angeles residence.

These are all aspects to break apart and destroy the stereotypes of Los Angeles.

Beginning with the lack of diversity in the seasons and the extreme unpredictable temperatures,

this shows how Los Angeles might not have the perfect weather as many people believe to be.

Being born and raised in Los Angeles I have experienced first hand the extreme annoyness of the
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radical weather that residence experience every day. From dry heat, wildfires, pollution, Santa

Ana winds, and earthquakes; these are all components of the extreme weather I have experienced

growing up. This town might have ideal weather but it is definitely not so called perfect.
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Works Cited

Earthquake Facts. U.S. Geological Survey, earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/facts.php.

Fritz, Angela. All That Record-Breaking Rain in California Still Isnt Enough to Dent the

Drought. The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 July 2015,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/07/20/all-that-record-breaking-ra

in-in-california-still-isnt-enough-to-dent-the-drought/?utm_term=.d08c48c9e883.

Serna, Joseph. Here's the Latest on Southern California's Four Largest Wildfires. Los Angeles

Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2017,

www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-southern-california-wildfires-20170628-htmlstory.html.

The Next News Network, director. DEADLY LOS ANGELES AIR POLLUTION KILLING 1300

PEOPLE PER YEAR. Youtube, 17 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC9Qu7PuvPA.

Ulin, David L. When Mother Nature Visits Southern California. Another City: Writing from

Los Angeles, City Lights Books, 2001, p. 163.