'Heat Dome' stretches to Southern California, causing temperatures to soar over 100

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With temperatures scorching to 106 degrees, Kimberly Fuentes, 6, and her brother Anthony Villanueva, 11, of Riverside cool off in Lytle Creek, Calif.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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With temperatures reaching 106 degrees in the Inland Empire, residents cool off in Lytle Creek, Calif.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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The temperature gauge at a US Bank branch in Sherman Oaks shows a scorching 102 degrees. A “heat dome” over the Midwest is bringing high humidity and intense heat to 21 states.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A pedestrian tries to stay cool under the shade of an umbrella while passing a fashion display at the corner of Westlake Avenue and 8th Street in Los Angeles.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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George Rodriguez, Jr., 3, struggles to get a gulp of water at Hope and Peace Park as hot weather continues to prevail in the Westlake District in Los Angeles.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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USC offensive tackle Zach Banner works up a sweat during a player run practice at Cromwell Field on the USC campus in Los Angeles on Friday.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A beachgoer walks across the hot sand as temperatures reach into the 80s along the shore in Santa Monica on Thursday.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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From left, Anthony Ianozzi and his son, Aksel Ianozzi, relax at Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Wednesday. A heat wave that’s expected to push temperatures into the triple digits will bake Southern California through the weekend.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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A street vendor prepares food as temperatures soar into the 90s along Broadway in South Los Angeles on Thursday.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A workman sets up inflatable concert props as temperatures reach into the 80s along the shore in Santa Monica.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Umbrellas in hand, beachgoers walk across the hot sand as temperatures reach into the 80s along the shore in Santa Monica on Thursday.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A pair of lifeguards perch in their tower above a sea of beach umbrellas as temperatures reach into the 80s along the shore in Santa Monica on Thursday.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A bicycle rider ducks to avoid hitting an umbrella while traveling on Hill Street near 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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People lounge next to the rooftop pool in downtown Los Angeles.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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People take in the view inside a gazebo in Heisler Park in Laguna Beach on Wednesday.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times )

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Beachgoers enjoy the cool breeze and blue water at the beach directly below Heisler Park in Laguna Beach on Wednesday.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

By Veronica Rocha

July 21, 2016 3:05 PM PT

If you’re planning to stay in Southern California for the next week, there’s no escaping the “heat dome.”

Centered over the Midwest, the large dome has been bringing high humidity and intense heat to 21 states and the District of Columbia. Now, that dome of high pressure is blanketing the Southland.

“That dome has been stretching and broadening and has reached over our area,” said meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

According to the weather service, the dome is created when air sinks below a slow-moving high pressure system and caps the atmosphere.

The only saving grace is a summer monsoon over Arizona, which brings moisture and some cooler temperatures, Hoxsie said.

Of course, that brings it’s own problems — notably sticky humidity, she said.

In the past day, temperatures jumped three degrees, Hoxsie said.

Temperatures are expected to climb to 108 in Lancaster on Friday and 104 in Palmdale on Saturday. Those two days will be the hottest of a heat wave that is expected to last through July 27, Hoxsie said.

The scorching heat prompted county public health officials to issue a heat alert for Los Angeles, the valleys and desert.

Long Beach residents, however, looking for relief from the heat won’t find it along their local coastline. A 2.4 million-gallon sewage spill has closed miles of coastline in Long Beach until Saturday at the earliest.

Until then, Los Angeles County residents can visit one of dozens of cooling centers. Residents can also call the county’s information line at 2-1-1 for more details on cooling centers.

“While it is very important that everyone take special care of themselves, it is equally important that we reach out to those who are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of extreme heat, including children, the elderly and their pets,” the county’s Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser said in a statement.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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