The ocean is cooking off the Southern California coast. Here's why.

The waters off the Southern California coast are now approaching tropical temperatures found in parts of the balmy Caribbean Sea. 

On Wednesday, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego recorded its highest ocean temperature ever, of 79.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists have taken measurements off the marine institute's pier for over a century, since 1916.

This easily broke the previous record of 78.8 Scripps' measured last week. The chilled Pacific Ocean waters do warm up this time of year, but these unusual temperatures are still about 7 or 8 degrees above average. 

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