WeatherLA
Weather mapping from the Pacific coast to the mountains and desert.
Compare live forecasts and historical climate across Southern California’s coastal, basin, valley, mountain, and desert microclimates.
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Featured air-quality tools
Los Angeles smog forecast and climatology
Follow NOAA's modeled 8-hour ozone forecast across Greater Los Angeles, then compare typical smog patterns from the coast through the basin, valleys, and Inland Empire.
Built around regional contrast
WeatherLA tools for exploring Southern California microclimates.
Live Southern California layers
Compare comfort, temperature, cloud cover, wind, radar, and satellite conditions from the beaches to the mountains and desert.
Open WeatherLA map →Coast-to-valley contrast
Start at Santa Monica, then compare the marine layer with Downtown Los Angeles and the warmer San Fernando Valley.
View Santa Monica →Mountain and desert weather
Use Big Bear Lake and Palm Springs to see how elevation creates radically different weather over a short distance.
View Big Bear Lake →Editorial layer
WeatherLA weather guides
LA Microclimates: Why Weather Changes So Fast
Los Angeles has so many microclimates because ocean distance, elevation, mountain terrain, urban surfaces, and wind exposure all change sharply and independently within a single county.
12 min read →
Santa Ana Winds: LA's Hot, Dry Fire-Weather Winds
Santa Ana winds are dry offshore winds that descend from the Great Basin through Southern California mountain passes, warming and drying as they go and turning any spark into a fast-moving wildfire risk.
8 min read →
What Is Smog? How LA's Photochemical Haze Forms
Los Angeles smog is photochemical: sunlight converts nitrogen oxides and VOCs from vehicles and industry into ground-level ozone over several hours, which is why it often peaks inland in the afternoon.
9 min read →Popular articles
Most-seen weather guides
May Gray and June Gloom: LA's Marine Layer Season
Snow in LA? Rare Downtown, Routine Uphill
How Atmospheric Rivers Drench Southern California
A Wet LA Winter Is a Handful of Big Storms
Coast, Basin, Valley: LA Has Three Hottest Months
How LA's Mountains Create Its Heat, Fog, and Rain
Mediterranean Climate: Why LA Has Dry Summers
Red Flag Warning vs. Fire Weather Watch: SoCal
Why Ground-Level Ozone Builds Up in SoCal
