Southern California records its wettest Christmas Eve and Day ever
Source: The Independent
Saturday 27 December 2025 14:06 EST
Southern California has recorded its wettest Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ever, according to meteorologists.
Weather officials predicted earlier this year that Southern California's winter would be exceptionally dry, and that those conditions would help fuel some of the worst wildfires in the region's history.
But then the atmospheric rivers arrived and dumped enough water in Southern California to set precipitation records. According to the National Weather Service, some mountain areas received nearly 18 inches of rain since Tuesday.
Between Wednesday and Thursday, the Santa Barbara Airport received 5.91 inches of rain, which beat its 1955 Christmas Eve and Christmas Day record of 3.22 inches. The airport had to close twice on Christmas Day due to flooding, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/climate-change/southern-california-wettest-christmas-b2891008.html
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and would know about the "seasons" (fall/winter = rainy, which is now, and spring/summer = dry starting around May/June).
I expect that rain may eventually trigger a lot of plant undergrowth that may eventually build-up and become combustible by summer.
And agree about the smog! My very first trip to California was to L.A. back in 1987 in September, where I took a spectroscopy training course. It was also the week that Pope John Paul II visited the city so we ended up being off from training on one of the days that week since the feds closed down for that day. But during the week, pretty much every morning, I noticed what was a "yellow hazy sky" that I initially chalked up to being fog, at least for the first couple days... And then it hit me. 
PLUS the overall average for the continental U.S. itself, broke a record for warmest on record.
Weird "heat-dome-like" ridge in the middle of the country.