While Country Froze, Southern California Spent Christmas at the Beach

Southern California temperatures soared into the high 70s and low 80s on Christmas Day, allowing residents and tourists to enjoy the beach as friends and relatives further east and north were suffering frigid conditions.

Families strolled along the boardwalk, surfers braved the Pacific winter swell, and social media influencers posed for selfies in swimsuits as the region enjoyed its unique summertime weather as a Christmas gift.

Even Miami had reason to be jealous of Los Angeles for a change, as Southern Florida dipped into the low 40s, with reports of snow flurries at the Dolphins-Packers game.

Local Fox affiliate KWSB-5 reported:

While many in the US are battered with winter weather, a warming trend is taking over Southern California and gifting San Diegans with a clear sky, sunshine with temps in the 70s to 80s.

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“Oh, it’s been amazing, the holiday season is so good. We’re having a great time. We are a big group, we’re a group of like 15 people. We’re here from Seattle and like from all over, and everyone is here basically for the temperatures, we all wanted to be at a warmer place,” said Muskan Ahluwalia who is hosting friends from out of town this holiday weekend.

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Meanwhile, a winter storm is battering the majority of the country, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, along with heaps of snow and temps in the single digits.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Californians enjoying the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays on the beach:

“This is the most perfect weather,” said Jayanthi Krishna, 47, of Boston, who spent Sunday morning strolling the Santa Monica Pier with her husband and their two teenagers. “At home it’s 17 degrees, there’s a blizzard. We took pictures [intending to share them] and we thought, ‘Is it kind of rubbing it in?’”