Desert weather conditions are Southern California’s temporary climate, as the Santa Ana winds whip through. Their ferocity fanned fires that destroyed large swaths of Los Angeles County neighborhoods Altadena and Pacific Palisades, during the past week. The two largest fires, Eaton and Palisades, are marginally contained—35 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Fire warnings remain in effect until at least tomorrow afternoon.
By contrast, here in San Diego, risk remains but nowhere as high as Los Angeles. Skies are clear, and wildfires are negligent. Nights are blisteringly cold and days delightfully warm, all unseasonably. When I got out of bed this morning, around 4:30 a.m. PST, the outside temperature was, according to the Android weather app, 4 degrees Celsius (40 Fahrenheit) with 38 percent humidity. By mid-afternoon: 21 C (70 F) and 11 percent humidity. That’s very desert-like.
The crisp, cool air presented a fine full moon, visible from my home office window. I grabbed Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to shoot the Featured Image, which is composed as captured. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/320 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 7:09 a.m. PST. View is to the West.