JSLALALAND

BEFORE YOU LAND

The LA Weather Dress Code

The weather app says 68°F, but it's winter in the morning and summer by afternoon. Layering isn't a trend here; it's a survival skill.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

Full text

  1. LA weather style guide

    The LA Weather Dress Code · A Field Guide. The real LA temperature guide: 12–14°C (54–57°F) light jacket + long sleeves, 18–20°C (64–68°F) thin long sleeves, 25°C+ (77°F+) short sleeves + sunscreen. Puffer ✗, shorts ✓, flip-flops ✓. Welcome to LA.

  2. The weather app always says 68°F

    '72 and sunny,' they said. Lies. The whole world thinks LA is sunny every day, but people who live here know: that 68 degrees is winter in the morning and summer in the afternoon. Check the sky, not the app.

  3. In June, the California sun calls in sick

    May Gray, June Gloom, No-Sky July. You picture June as sun and sand; in reality the beach is as gray as London. The sun clocks in at 1 p.m., and only inland. All my years in LA, I still got fooled every June.

  4. 55°F in the morning, 82°F at noon

    Four seasons. One Tuesday. Hoodie on for Runyon at 8, hoodie tied around your waist by 9:30: that's the official routine. Your trunk = a mobile closet: jacket, hoodie, sunscreen, backup shoes. Layering isn't a style here; it's a survival skill.

  5. Same LA, two planets

    Santa Monica 22°C (72°F), the Valley 40°C (104°F). Same city. Jacket at the beach, drive 20 minutes to the Valley and get heatstroke. Saving three locations in your weather app is basic: the beach, the city, the Valley.

  6. It's raining: LA enters disaster mode

    BREAKING: Rain. City in shambles. News helicopters scramble (3 mm of rain), the 405 turns into a parking lot, 80% of plans get canceled. In LA, 'rain check' is literal. My umbrella was bought in 2019, tags still on.

  7. Real summer starts in September

    October: the real summer. Ask any Angeleno. June's gloomy, July's fine, August is the warm-up, and September and October are the final boss. The evolution of Halloween costumes: we used to pick the cutest, now we pick the coolest, temperature-wise.

  8. Sneakers, Birkenstocks, or Uggs?

    The season on LA feet has very little to do with the weather. Sneakers are the daily uniform (NB 530, Samba, HOKA); Birkenstocks are the creative crowd's favorite; Uggs Minis go from October straight through March: Erewhon, Pilates, morning dog walks.

  9. When the wind kicks up, the whole city blames it

    The Santa Anas: LA's official scapegoat. Headache? Santa Ana. Can't sleep? Santa Ana. Breakup? Santa Ana. The second the wind picks up, IG fills with Joan Didion quotes + photos of palm fronds all over the ground. Taiwan gets typhoon days off; LA's Santa Anas come with no day off, just excuses.

  10. When Angelenos talk temperature, you need a translator

    The Angeleno Temperature Dictionary: 10°C (50°F) 'kinda cold,' 15°C (59°F) 'crisp, on the cool side,' 20°C (68°F) 'so nice!', 22°C (72°F) 'perfect weather' (the only acceptable range), 35°C (95°F) 'hot, but dry.' Don't trust the thermometer; read Angelenos' faces.

  11. Congrats, you're an Angeleno now

    The Certified Angeleno checklist: three locations saved in your weather app, rain auto-cancels plans, telling family in Taiwan LA is so comfortable (22°C / 72°F). Weather's just the intro; how to do LA, where to stay and what to avoid are all in the book.

Places in this story

In this series

Read it with the slides →The illustrated version on the LA Guide →

An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).