It hasn't been the coolest summer on record, but it's been close, forecasters say. The average temperature in July was 79 degrees, five degrees below normal, and the first eight days of this month also have been five to six degrees below normal, weather experts said.
That could put Southern California on track for a near-record-low summer, but it's still too early to say, according to weather experts. The Los Angeles area, in fact, has had below-normal temperatures every month since April. ... "The fruits and vegetables, the tomatoes and a lot of the citrus and things like raspberries are not ripening up because it's not getting hot long enough," [Jill Morganelli, the horticulture curator in charge of plant life at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia] said, adding that some fruit could taste less sweet because less sun means less sugar content.
Morganalli said she has picked just one fully ripened tomato so far from her own summer garden.
