Good morning, SoCal. Here's what you need to know today.
Your Weather Planner
The inland heat will continue Tuesday, however some inland locations will cool by five to 10 degrees. Unfortunately, you may not feel much of a difference because humidity will increase making it feel a bit muggy or sticky outside.
Skies will be partly cloudy as we will have marine layer clouds near the coast and high and mid level clouds filtering in from the east and northeast.
Thunderstorms were already forming along the eastern Sierra before sunrise and moving to the southwest this morning. Those thunderstorms will continue their trek through the Mojave Desert toward the Antelope Valley and LA Basin during the day.
More thunderstorms may form over our local mountains this afternoon, with just a slight chance for them making their way past the mountains and into the IE and inland valleys. There is a minimal chance a storm could make it all the way to the coast.
Temperatures near the coast will continue their streak of upper 60s and low 70s.
Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
Around SoCal
1. LA County health officials recommend indoor masks as COVID 'delta' variant spreads
Breaking from current guidance allowing residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to shed their face masks in most situations, Los Angeles County health officials Monday "strongly" recommended that everyone wear masks in indoor public places due to rapid spread of a highly contagious virus mutation.
The county Department of Public Health urged everyone — regardless of vaccination status — to wear masks in settings such as grocery or retail stores, theaters, family entertainment centers and workplaces when the vaccination status of other workers isn't known.
"Until we better understand how and to who the 'Delta' variant is spreading, everyone should focus on maximum protection with minimum interruption to routine as all businesses operate without other restrictions like physical distancing and capacity limits," according to a statement from the agency.
The "Delta" variant of COVID-19 originated in India, and is blamed for rampant infections in that country and outbreaks in the United Kingdom and beyond. Federal health authorities are estimating that 20% of all new COVID infections in the country are now due to the "Delta" variant, up from 10% a week ago.
The variant is considered to be far more contagious than previous mutations of the COVID-19 virus, and potentially capable of making patients more severely ill. Health officials have said people who are fully vaccinated are protected against the variant.
"While COVID-19 vaccine provides very effective protection preventing hospitalizations and deaths against the Delta variant, the strain is proving to be more transmissible and is expected to become more prevalent," Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement Monday. "Mask wearing remains an effective tool for reducing transmission, especially indoors where the virus may be easily spread through inhalation of aerosols emitted by an infected person."
2. Orange County records 170 new infections through the weekend
Orange County Monday reported 170 new COVID-19 infections, which reflects new cases since Friday, as hospitalizations remained stable.
The new infections pushed the cumulative case count to 256,222.
The county no longer posts COVID-19 data on the weekends. Starting Thursday, the county will begin posting data weekly.
Hospitalizations inched up from 49 on Friday to 51 on Monday, while the number of intensive care unit patients increased from 9 to 11.
The Orange County Health Care Agency also logged four more fatalities, but three occurred in January, including a skilled nursing facility resident, hiking up the cumulative in that category to 1,137. One of the fatalities occurred this month.
Andrew Noymer, a UC Irvine professor of population health and disease prevention, said Friday that, "The numbers are still looking good for Orange County."
There has been some concern about the more contagious Delta variant spurring an increase in COVID-19 cases globally, but Noymer emphasized that "the Delta variant is covered by the current vaccines."
He added, "What worries me about the Delta variant is not the Delta variant per se ... it's some future variant ... Anyone concerned about Delta should get vaccinated right away."
3. LA County employee charged in Capitol breach
A Los Angeles County employee was arrested Monday in the city of Industry on federal charges alleging she was among the crowd that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Lois Lynn McNicoll, 69, of San Clemente, a Department of Public Social Services employee, made her initial appearance in Los Angeles federal court following her arrest and was released on a $10,000 bond, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
McNicoll is charged in federal court in the District of Columbia with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to a federal criminal complaint made public Monday.
McNicoll was identified in a screenshot posted on social media showing a female wearing a white hat emblazoned with the name "Trump," according to federal prosecutors, who stated that the screenshot taken from TV news footage was provided to law enforcement by a fellow DPSS employee.
McNicoll is also pictured with a red-and-white flag bearing the words "Trump Country" draped over her shoulders in shots from Capitol closed-circuit TV after she entered the Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6, according to federal prosecutors. At one point, the defendant took out what appeared to be a cell phone and appeared to be recording videos and taking pictures from inside the building, according to an affidavit attached to the complaint.
Around the Nation
1. Live Updates: At least 11 dead, 150 missing in Miami condo collapse
2. Biden begins infrastructure push in op-ed: 'A blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America'
3. Pelosi introduces legislation to create select Jan. 6 commission
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SoCal Snapshot
Los Angeles Dodgers' Cody Bellinger walks to his position after the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Monday at Dodger Stadium. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)