Records set and broken in a city. A centuries-old record that was broken in another.
The entire northwest is baking in triple-digit heat this weekend, and Sunday was no relief from the heat for most of the region. Records were broken in many cities on both Saturday and Sunday and should be broken again on Monday.
On Saturday, Portland had the hottest day ever recorded in the city, hitting 108 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday afternoon, just above the previous record for Oregon’s largest city of 107, a mark-hit in years, according to the National Weather Service 1965 and 1981.
On Sunday the city broke its record again with 110 degrees.
Just south of the city of Oregon, Salem broke its all-time heat record on Sunday, hitting a sweltering 112 degrees. The previous record of 108 degrees was set in 1981, 1941 and 1927, according to David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland.
And Seattle hit 102 degrees on Saturday, the hottest June day and the second warmest on record since 1945, according to the weather service. And on Sunday the city hit 101 degrees as well, the hottest two days in a row since records began in 1894.
Other cities in Washington state had broken records early this morning, with Bellingham beating a 2011 record and Hoquiam hitting 100.
Heat wave in the western United States:What is behind the “dangerous” three-digit temperatures?
The northwest is facing a “dangerous heat wave” in the regionwhere air conditioning is not normally required
But the worst is still to come: Monday “will likely be the hottest day for the cities of Seattle and Portland with all-time record highs in both cities,” said the weather service.
Salem is expected to reach 106 or 107 degrees and Portland 112 degrees, although Eugene could see temperatures drop to 98 degrees. Seattle is expected to reach 100 to 115 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the two states are under excessive heat warning until late Monday.
Between 2004 and 2018, an average of around 700 people died from heat-related causes in the United States each year
“Heat exhaustion occurs when your body is unable to regulate its own temperature and it starts to rise,” said Dr. Caroline King-Widdall in a statement from Kaiser Permanente Northwest. “This can happen if you are exercising rigorously or if you are gardening outside on a hot day.”
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check relatives and neighbors,” the weather service said in a statement. Small children and pets should under no circumstances be left unattended in vehicles. “
The sprawling “heat dome” over the Pacific Northwest is a foretaste of the future as climate change changes weather patterns around the world, said Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington who studies global warming and its effects on public health.
“We know from evidence around the world that climate change increases the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves. We’ll have to get used to that in the future, ”she says.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee lifted COVID-19 capacity restrictions on state or operated and nonprofit cooling centers in the face of the heat. Capacity is currently capped at 50% until the state fully reopens on Wednesday.
In Oregon, Governor Kate Brown set the capacity limits for movie theaters and shopping malls – places with air conditioning – as well as swimming pools before a nationwide reopening.
More about climate change:The California deserts have lost nearly 40% of their crops to hotter, drier weather, satellite data shows
The heat wave in the northwest follows another heat wave in June in the west. Excessive heat warnings currently also apply to the south in Northern California, Western Nevada and parts of Southern California.
Contributors: Zach Urness, Salem Statesman Journal; Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick registry guardian; Associated press
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