This is why Los Angeles' sunsets have been so dramatic - Los Angeles Times
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This is why Los Angeles’ sunsets have been so dramatic

The setting sun casts a golden glow as the clouds of a cold front blow into Southern California on Wednesday.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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As puffy clouds that looked like flames covered the cotton-candy sky Wednesday night, Angelenos checked their Instagrams from a few days earlier – the ones that looked like Monet painted them with pastels – and had a bit of a freakout: Is this our best streak of sunsets ever?

Well, probably not, says weather specialist Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

But there is a reason they’ve been so cool. The combination of clouds, smoke and dust whirling around from strong winds gives the sun lots of extra things to reflect off, he said.

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“It’s particles in the air,†Seto said. “It can create a filter, so at certain angles it can change the colors.â€

People across the Southland took to Twitter this week to post sweet nothings about their skies.

“Los Angeles has been doing a lot of the epic sunset thing lately,†one man posted. Curbed LA chimed in Wednesday declaring it an “ALL-TIME TOP TEN SUNSET.â€

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But others poked fun at the melodrama, tweeting things like, “Prepare for a shower of sunset photos on your timelines. #LosAngeles†and “The Los Angeles Internet is all congratulations and sunset shots.â€

While this string of sunsets has been pretty impressive, Seto said it’s probably not breaking any records.

“What’s between unusual and we do get them sometimes?†he said, laughing.

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