What is the weather like in L.A. during Christmas holidays?

Hi,
i'm going to L.A. next winter from december 28 to january 3.
i'm from Venice (Italy) and in this period weayther is very cold and very humid.
i'm hoping to find a better situattion in L.A.
thanks

Naturally, it is variable. The weather you experience will depend upon luck. If it is going to rain at any time during the year here, it will probably be during the months of December, January and February. But since we get so little rain, you have a pretty good chance of not seeing any. And, unless it is raining, it is likely to be very dry. (My wife, a native of southern California, complains about humidity here and all I can do is . ) Temperatures are likely to be between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius. Maybe a little higher; maybe a little lower. Even though the period you're planning on visiting us is when we get our "weather", weather here doesn't really vary all that much.

New Year's Day as you may know is the Tournament of Roses Parade which is broadcast worldwide. There will be many years in a row where the weather will be sunny and sometimes even hot on the day of the parade. The parade is lucky because it often rains the day before or after but rarely on the day of the parade. That's a good hint of the weather to expect...probably clear, maybe sunny, but be prepared for rain although it's never heavy rain that time of year.

By the way when it's beautiful and clear for the parade, we don't like it here in LA. We know it will convince 2,000 more people to move from their snowy climate to this area.

iapetus is right on. Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles#Climate for a table with the climatic data--an average high of 19 (Celsius), an average low of 9, average monthly rainfall of 42.2-61.0 mm (Dec and Jan, respectively), and an average number of days with precipitation per month of 3.8 to 4.5 (Dec and Jan, again). It will not be humid, either.

You'll enjoy it!

(The temperatures are a little less mild as you get inland, farther from the ocean, but with only one week, I imagine you'll stay primarily in Los Angeles itself. Do catch the Tournament of Roses parade [and, if you'd like to see a major American sporting event, the associated Rose Bowl] on New Year's Day! But get your tickets now!)

There is a forecast for El Nino this winter, so there could be a bit more rain than average. I've said for many years that the meaning of "average" weather in California is quite different from many other places. Average is really a numerical average and the standard deviation is much higher than other places. That is, there are years when there can be almost no rain at all, some where the rain is average and evenly spread out throughout the winter, average numerically but where it all comes within a month or so, or very wet when it rains twice or more the numerical average.

The weather is very dependent on the temperature of the ocean, and even small variations in that can cause big variations in the amount and timing of the rain.

I hope it comes as lots of light rain and not in downpours. We'd be looking at a whole lotta mudslides if we see torrential rain this year.

December is almost always spectacular, with warm clear days and cool nights (well, cold by LA standards, down into the mid-40s). For me, fall is the best season in LA.

As noted earlier, the rain starts the day after the Rose Parade.

Temperatures are mild and comfortable, however, you should not anticipate being able to throw on your swimsuit and getting a dark tan. If that's what you're seeking, you need to go further south!

Of course, you could drive two hours southeast into the Southern California desert (Palm Springs area), and find it in the middle 80's....maybe not a dark tan, but a medium tan.

As a kid growing up in LA, i remember some xmas days would be rainy and thus would fit my Socal definition of "winter," while other xmas days, the sun would be shining and it would be 80 degrees outside. Always tough when reading the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, and seeing calvin playing in the snow and making snow colonies.

Agreed with the variability. Granted, we only get so cold relative to other cold climes. But, it's not uncommon for us to 80+ weather in Dec/Jan.

Had a friend visiting earlier this year and it was nearly 90 and we were enjoying the clear skies and warm weather (kind of like Santa Anas in Jan/Feb).

if the secret gets out, it'll get even more crowded!

Nah, too many people hate southern California (for only the most silly reasons, if you ask me).

The quick reply to the OP is that you will almost certainly find the weather in Venice, CA better than in Venice, IT this time of year. A quick check of my phone says it is 15 degrees C outside at 3:37 p.m. That is actually a little on the cool side for this time of year. It is not at all uncommon to have temps of 20-25 on Christmas and New Years. The past couple weeks have actually be a touch on the cooler side this year.

Rain is extremely uncommon and we just had some last week, so chances are you will not see any. I find that rain is more common after the new year, and often toward the end of January through February. And more common is relative, as this is a very dry climate. As for humidity, it is where we really excel. The ocean keeps us just humid enough to not be Las Vegas, but you will never confuse Los Angeles for New Orleans.

Looks like mid 60's (F) this coming week. Enjoy LA

Reminds me of a cartoon....tearful kids are looking at their goldfish floating belly-up in the bowl. There is snow and icicles outside the living room window. The father says, "Goldie has gone to a better place". One of the kids says "San Diego?"