Los Angeles will end the year shattering records after enduring one of its driest periods in history, a result of La Niña’s lingering effects, weather officials said.

Despite beginning the year with historic rainfall levels, an extended dry spell has covered Southern California since spring, bringing severe drought conditions that have fueled several large wildfires in recent months.

In the downtown L.A. metro area, from May 6 to Dec. 31, the area only received 0.16″ of rain, making this seven-month stretch the second driest in L.A. history, according to data from the National Weather Service.

The only period that topped this dry stretch was in 1962 when the downtown area received only 0.14 inches during the same seven-month span.

The driest periods recorded for the downtown L.A. metro area from May 6 to Dec. 31:

During a La Niña year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the south and cooler than normal in the north. The phenomenon can have global impacts on weather, wildfires, ecosystems and more, according to NWS.

“During La Niña events, trade winds are even stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia,” NWS explained. “Off the west coast of the Americas, upwelling increases, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface. These cold waters in the Pacific push the jet stream northward and tend to lead to drought in the southern U.S. and heavy rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.”

In recent years, the weather pattern has brought severe drought conditions to Southern California, fostering dangerous conditions for wildfires.

In the coming new year, a chance to break the dry spell may arrive soon with a potential storm system headed for California around New Year’s Day or in the first week of January, according to Todd Hall, a senior meteorologist at the NWS offices in L.A. and Oxnard.

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – The FAA is investigating an incident at Los Angeles International Airport where a private jet carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team nearly crossed a runway as another plane was taking off.

The close call occurred last Friday afternoon and was livestreamed by Airline Videos.

The Key Lime Air jet was told to stop by air traffic controllers as a Delta flight took off.

“When the Embraer E135 jet proceeded to cross the hold bars, air traffic controllers told the pilots to stop,” the FAA said in a statement. “The jet never crossed the runway edge line.”

No injuries were reported.

The livestream included audio of the controller urgently saying, “Stop, stop, stop.”

Gonzaga was in Los Angeles for a game against UCLA.

“We understand that the incident at LAX is under investigation and we will review this information as it becomes available. Our team members aboard the aircraft were unaware of the situation as it occurred and we are grateful that the incident ended safely for all,” the university said.

Key Lime Air did not respond to the Associated Press’s requests for comment, and Delta reported no issues with its flight.

“Delta flight 471 operated as normal, and we are not aware of any communication from the FAA regarding this flight. We are cooperating with aviation officials on their investigation,” the airline said.

The Key Lime Air flight had taken off from Spokane International Airport earlier that day. The FAA continues to investigate the situation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A teenager in Texas is facing a felony charge after allegedly killing a rival competitor’s show goat a couple of months ago.

An arrest affidavit showed 17-year-old Aubrey Vanlandingham, who competes in livestock shows with her own goat, allegedly admitted to poisoning Willy, a younger competitor’s goat, CBS Austin reported.

Vanlandingham is accused of using a drench gun to force-feed Willy a toxic pesticide inside the Vista Ridge High School’s barn facility on Oct. 23, ultimately killing the 6-month-old goat, according to the outlet. Security footage allegedly showed the goat trying to escape the encounter.

The teenager was allegedly seen leaving Willy and returning to check on him two separate times during a two-hour period before calling the rival competitor’s mother to tell her the goat wasn’t doing well.

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Aubrey Vanlandingham, 17, is accused of killing a rival competitor’s show goat by force-feeding it pesticide. (Williamson County Sheriff’s Office)

Willy died in his owner’s arms within 24 hours after experiencing convulsions and respiratory distress, CBS Austin said.

Vanlandingham allegedly admitted to killing her rival’s goat because she thought the 15-year-old was “a cheater,” the outlet reported from the arrest affidavit. She had tried to kill Willy before, but was unsuccessful.

Vanlandingham was also a show competitor with her goat, Lacey. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

Willy’s cause of death was determined to be organophosphate intoxication from phosmet, a pesticide used for external parasite control in livestock.

The mother of the 15-year-old girl told the DailyMail that Vanlandingham doesn’t appear to be remorseful. 

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“It’s all bizarre. We want justice served, we don’t want a slap on the wrist. We want to make sure that she is punished. At this point, we don’t feel like she thinks she’s going to be punished and she needs to be. She needs to take ownership for what she’s done,” she told the outlet, adding that they want her to go to jail and get mental help.

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A police investigation into Vanlandingham’s phone revealed that she allegedly searched for information on lethal doses of bleach for animals and poisoning methods, according to CBS Austin. She also allegedly searched “how to clear search history.”

The 15-year-old’s mother determined Vanlandingham’s alleged crime was fueled by jealousy, not cheating.

“You can’t even cheat when it comes to showing goats,” she told the DailyMail. “It makes no sense, so that’s where the jealousy really kind of falls into place.”

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Goats arriving at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston, Texas. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Vanlandingham was charged with cruelty to livestock animals, which is a felony in Texas punishable by up to two years in prison. She was arrested on Nov. 22 and released on a $5,000 bond the same day, jail records show.

Her court date is set for Jan. 15.

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