Southern California braced Monday for a heat wave that could bring temperatures above 50 degrees to much of the region this week.

Fueled by weak offshore winds and a heat dome over the southwestern United States, temperatures are forecast to rise through the week before peaking Thursday and Friday. Parts of the Los Angeles Basin could reach 113 degrees by the weekend, while the Coachella Valley could see temperatures as high as 119.

“We are already in the warmest part of the year in terms of climate, and temperatures will be 10 to 15 degrees above normal in almost every area, from the beaches to the deserts,” said meteorologist Ryan Kittell of the Oxnard office of the National Weather Service.

Labor Day was already scorching hot in many communities. The San Gabriel Valley was forecast to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the western San Fernando Valley was forecast to reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit. In Los Angeles neighborhoods closer to the water, temperatures were relatively more moderate, ranging from 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Woodland Hills, traditionally the hottest spot in LA, is expected to reach 108 degrees on Tuesday, 110 degrees on Wednesday and 113 degrees on Thursday. Friday is expected to drop slightly to 110 degrees.

In Santa Clarita, temperatures were expected to jump from an uncomfortable 95 degrees on Monday to a muggy 106 degrees on Thursday. In Palm Springs, Labor Day highs of 106 to 110 degrees were expected to give way to highs of 115 to 118 degrees on Thursday.

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said summer 2024 is likely to be the warmest or second-warmest summer on record, despite the fact that most California residents did not experience it that way.

“The most populous parts of Ventura, LA, Orange County and San Diego — basically all the counties west of the mountains — saw a summer that fell right in the middle of the historical distributions,” Swain said.

Inland temperatures made up for that, Swain said. He noted that the difference between a record-breaking summer and an unremarkable one can be as little as 30 miles. Places like Palmdale and Palm Springs “are very warm places that still managed to see record-breaking temperatures.”

“If you lived in Ocean Beach in San Francisco or Santa Monica, that wasn’t your experience,” he said.

While summer is the warmest season inland, coastal California typically sees its highest temperatures in September or October, as this week’s heat wave proves.

“This week in LA City will likely be warmer than it has been all summer,” Swain said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Monday afternoon that the city would open cooling centers around the city and also have “climate stations” on Skid Row where people could get cold drinks and rest in the shade. City officials also said the Department of Water and Power was working to reduce the risk of power outages and had crews ready to respond in the event of a power outage.

Dangerously hot conditions hit much of the country, including Nevada and Arizona. Kittell, of the weather service in Oxnard, said that because the days are shorter than in June and July, desert areas get less sun, causing less of a difference in temperature between those areas and coastal communities.

He said people who live close to the beach and don’t have air conditioning may not be prepared for the heat.

“Make plans now for how you’re going to stay cool,” Kittell said.

Temperatures will drop slightly over the weekend, but it is not clear when the heat wave will abate.

As uncomfortable as it may be, the heat this week isn’t expected to break any records. The record for the first week of September was set in 2020, when temperatures in Woodland Hills reached 121.

Contributor Jessica Garrison contributed to this report.