Why is it still so damn hot?

As of 1 p.m., the Civic Center was at 89 degrees while here on the "cool" Westside it was 91. That's eight to 10 degrees above normal, depending on your location, and today we have the added treat of high humidity (along with possible thunderstorms later on). Of course in the Valleys it's beastly. The cruel and unusual weather is made worse by several forecasts late last week that indicated the heat was about to break. They're been badly fooled by a strong high pressure system over the southwest (you can see it just sitting there on the map) that was supposed to move east but never did. From Gary London:

The reasons behind unusual weather are never that simple. Weather experts usually turn to upper-air patterns of wind and pressure, and herein lies an explanation. June and July were relatively mild months here locally while the country's midsection boiled under stubborn high pressure. Weather patterns during summer months can be very slow to move, and a weaker than normal high-altitude westerly flow has added to the misery. High and low pressure systems usually alternate along the west coast through the summer months, with alternating spells of warm, monsoonal conditions trading off with periods of increased onshore flow and subsequent cooling. Upper level winds trade off between a moist tropical flow from the southeast, and a drier more stable flow the southwest or west.

There's high pressure over the Northwest as well, which means hotter-than-normal temperatures in Oregon and Washington (that's why they're having so much trouble with the fires). I hate to use those four dreaded words "No relief in sight" but it's looking that way. No real relief anyway. London says that upper air models have hinted at some changes, but not until the middle of next week and even that's far from a sure bet. That means downtown temperatures in the 85-90 range. Normal this time of year is 84.