Currently in Los Angeles — October 25, 2023: Marine layer clouds

The weather, currently.

Another cool day in LA with mid 70s inland from the coast with even the warmest valley locations remaining in the 70s. On Wednesday, expect the marine layer to really set in. In fact, there’s a good chance it doesn’t burn off in many locations, forcing us to come up with yet another pithy name on par with May Gray and June Gloom.

— Ade Adeniji

What you need to know, currently.

Hurricane Otis made landfall early Wednesday near Acapulco, Mexico at Category 5 strength — the strongest hurricane landfall in recorded history on Mexico’s west coast — and the strongest ever in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Initial reports show a partial collapse of a shopping mall, and palm trees stripped completely bare of leaves due to the strong winds. The city has almost completely lost power. The National Hurricane Center, in its final advisory before the storm struck, called it a “nightmare scenario.”

According to the Washington Post (gift link), Otis strengthened from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in just 12 hours — the fastest rate ever recorded for a hurricane in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, and one of the fastest rates in world history.

Before Otis, no hurricane stronger than a Category 1 had ever made landfall near Acapulco in recorded history, and the storm’s extremely rapid intensification mean residents and visitors there had less than 24 hours warning before Otis made landfall. On a personal note, it’s hard to imagine going to bed expecting some rain and strong winds, and waking up to a city in catastrophic chaos.

Around the world, warming ocean waters are making extremely rapid intensification of tropical cyclones like Otis more likely. There have been only eight instances of storms strengthening as fast as Otis in recorded history (with comprehensive records dating back more than 70 years) — five of them have occurred in just the past 8 years.

— Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

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One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks: