Honestly, if you’re looking at the sky in Southern California right now and feeling a little confused, you aren't alone. One minute it feels like a relentless Santa Ana summer, and the next, everyone is refreshing their apps to see if the "Big One" (rain-wise) is finally coming. We've spent the last few days basking in some seriously unseasonable heat, but the la 2 week weather forecast suggests the script is about to flip.
It's been a wild ride. While the rest of the country is digging out of snow, Los Angeles has been flirting with record-breaking highs. Just this past Wednesday, temperatures peaked near 82°F in the city, with some valley spots like Pasadena hitting the mid-80s. That’s about 15 degrees above what we usually expect for mid-January.
But don't pack away the hoodies just yet.
The Immediate Breakdown: Sun, Clouds, and That Slow Cooling Trend
The ridge of high pressure that’s been camping out over the West is finally starting to lose its grip. If you’re planning your weekend, here is the basic vibe for the next several days.
Thursday, January 15, stays pretty toasty with a high of 79°F. It’s basically a carbon copy of the early week—sunny, dry, and low humidity (around 29%). By Friday, we start to see the first hints of change. We’re looking at a high of 77°F, but the night is going to get a lot cloudier.
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The weekend of January 17-18 is where things get interesting for your brunch plans. Saturday will be partly sunny with a high of 76°F, but expect a "mostly cloudy" evening. Sunday follows a similar suit, staying around 76°F, though some forecast models are hinting at a tiny 10% chance of rain during the day. It’s not a washout, but it’s definitely not the blue-bird sky we’ve had all week.
Why the Warmth Is Sticking Around (For Now)
A lot of this weirdness comes down to the Santa Ana winds. They’ve been acting like a giant hair dryer over the L.A. Basin. According to the National Weather Service in Oxnard, these offshore winds kept us unseasonably warm through the first half of the month.
Even as we move into next week, the cooling isn't a cliff; it's more of a gentle slope.
- Monday, Jan 19 (MLK Day): Mostly sunny, high of 74°F.
- Tuesday, Jan 20: Similar vibes, holding at 74°F.
- Wednesday, Jan 21: Finally dropping into the low 70s (71°F).
Basically, the "winter" we're used to is taking its sweet time to show up.
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Looking Toward Late January: Is the Rain Coming?
If you’ve lived in L.A. long enough, you know that a "weak La Niña" is the ultimate wild card. Typical La Niña years are supposed to be dry for Southern California, but 2026 is proving that rules are meant to be broken. We already saw a series of storms in November and December that caught everyone off guard.
The current la 2 week weather forecast points toward a shift in the jet stream around January 22 or 23. This is when the "real" cooling starts. We’re looking at highs dropping into the high 60s—specifically 67°F on Thursday the 22nd and 68°F on Friday the 23rd.
There’s a small window for some actual moisture here. Models show a 55% chance of showers late on January 22, continuing into the 23rd. It doesn't look like a massive "Atmospheric River" event, but it’ll be enough to make the 405 a nightmare and remind us that it is, in fact, January.
The La Niña Factor: What Most People Get Wrong
People hear "La Niña" and think "drought." That's the common wisdom. But Brian Lewis, a meteorologist with the NWS, has pointed out that weak La Niña phases can deliver plenty of surprises.
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The Pacific Ocean is running unusually warm in certain areas, which can sometimes override those cold equatorial temperatures that define La Niña. This "tug-of-war" in the atmosphere is why our 14-day outlook looks like a rollercoaster. We’re transitioning toward "ENSO-neutral" conditions (the middle ground between El Niño and La Niña) as we head toward the spring, and that transition period is notoriously hard to predict with 100% certainty.
Actionable Tips for the Next 14 Days
Since the weather is currently in "indecisive" mode, here is how to handle it:
- Hydrate your plants now: With the humidity hovering in the 20% range this week, your garden is thirstier than it looks, despite the mild temps.
- Dress in layers for the weekend: We’re seeing a 20-degree swing between the daytime highs of 76°F and the nighttime lows of 54°F. Don't get caught at an outdoor dinner in just a T-shirt.
- Check your wipers: If those late-month showers on the 22nd do show up, you don't want to find out your wiper blades are dry-rotted during the first five minutes of a Los Angeles drizzle.
- Fire Safety: Even though it's cooling down, the Santa Ana winds mean fire danger remains elevated in the foothills. Stay alert to local advisories if you live near the canyons.
The big takeaway? Enjoy the last of the 80-degree "winter" days while they last, because the end of the month is looking a lot more like the grey, damp January we actually expect.