Posted on 06/25/2021 8:37:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
While 100-degree-plus heat is common in parts of the West and even interior Northwest in summer, this triple-digit heat is forecast to spread to even typically cooler locations such as western Washington.
What's more, this excessive heat is expected to last for several days, well into next week, a factor that makes heat waves particularly dangerous and life-threatening for those most vulnerable.
West of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon, record-breaking heat will arrive Saturday and could linger into Monday, with only a slight cooldown possible starting Tuesday.
Seattle will soar well into the mid or upper 90s Saturday, then could top 100 degrees Sunday and Monday.
Reaching the 100-degree mark is extremely rare in this city bordered by Puget Sound on the west and Lake Washington on the east.
Sea-Tac Airport on the city's south side has only reached triple digits twice since 1945. They could not only threaten their all-time record - 103 degrees set on July 29, 2009 - but they could reach 100 degrees twice in the same heat wave for the first time on record.
Portland, Oregon, will also threaten the city's all-time record of 107 degrees on Sunday, set over a month later in the calendar in early August 1981 and also in late July 1965.
But that's not the whole story, there.
Computer forecast models have consistently suggested Portland could reach an unfathomable 110 degrees on Sunday.
Salem and Eugene, Oregon, could also reach the 110s for the first time in their recorded history. Their all-time records are both 108 degrees.
This is heat more on par with Phoenix or Las Vegas, rather than the typically wetter, cooler Pacific Northwest, where average highs this time of year are in the 70s.
Nighttime won't offer much relief, with morning lows only dropping into the 70s in these cities. The average low this time of year is in the middle 50s.
"This event will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heat waves in the recorded history of the Inland Northwest."
That's what was written by the National Weather Service office in Spokane, Washington, in their Thursday morning forecast discussion.
Triple-digit highs will settle into eastern Washington and northeast Oregon Saturday. By Sunday, the lowest elevations near the Columbia River will likely top 110 degrees.
Spokane (108 degrees) and Yakima, Washington (110 degrees) are just a couple of many cities that could flirt with their all-time record highs (current record to beat is shown in parentheses).
Heading to the mountains may not offer as much relief as you might think.
According to the NWS, Paradise Ranger Station - 5,400 feet elevation in Mount Rainier National Park - may also flirt with its all-time record high (92 degrees) in this heat wave.
And this heat may last well into next week. Spokane may see triple-digit highs through much of next week, potentially matching their record streak of six straight days of 100-degree-plus highs set in July 1928.
While not necessarily all-time record-smashing, this heat will bulge eastward into Idaho and Montana next week, as well.
The heat will be exceptionally dangerous if proper precautions aren't taken, especially since air conditioning is not as common in portions of the Pacific Northwest.
Only 44% of homes in the Seattle metro area have air conditioning, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey.
In Portland, about 79% of housing units have some kind of air conditioning.
The City of Seattle has already released information about the opening of cooling centers ahead of this heat wave.
“This upcoming week, we’re reopening many City facilities for individuals to stay cool, but many of our City’s indoor spaces remain closed or at reduced capacity due to state and local Public Health mandates,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan in a press release.
The hot conditions will be particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups, such as the sick and the elderly. The National Weather Service (NWS) has useful heat safety tips that can be incorporated into a daily routine when extreme heat sets in:
-Job sites: Stay hydrated and take breaks inside as often as possible.
-Indoors: Check up on the elderly, sick and those without air conditioning.
-In vehicles: Never leave children or pets unattended – look before you lock.
-Outdoors: Limit strenuous activities and find shade. Drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol.
Western Canada Environment Canada (EC) has issued heat warnings through Tuesday in much of British Columbia, including parts of Vancouver Island, and as far north as the southern Northwest Territories.
Highs in the Vancouver metro area could top soar as high as 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), according to EC.
In the southern Northwest Territories, EC forecasted temperatures as high as 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit) through the middle of next week.
As in the U.S., this excessive heat is forecast to spread east into Alberta and Saskatchewan next week, while persisting in British Columbia to a bit less of a degree.
Record Strong Heat Dome For the Northwest, Canada? The reason behind this record-smashing heat wave is a hot dome of high pressure that will build into the region as the jet stream takes a far-north arcing path into western Canada.
This heat dome may be record strong for this area for this time of year, or any time of year.
Sinking air underneath this high-pressure system will send high temperatures soaring more than 20 or even 30 degrees above average by this weekend and lasting into next week.
The ongoing drought will only worsen the heat wave, allowing the parched ground to heat up more efficiently. This will also push fire danger to exceptional levels.
Hottest temperature ever recorded: 118°F at Ice Harbor Dam on 5 August 1961 and at Wahluke on 24 July 1928.
With any luck panty fa will die of heat stroke
Yeah well. It’s June 25th and 75 degrees in coastal North Carolina.
Most Apt/homes in WA and OR don’t have air conditioning since they typically have pretty cool summers.
(I lived in WA and traveled through OR, I pretty much only saw air-con in hotels)
Gonna be a sweaty weekend!
As I was heading to Mattawa my frost thermometer in my pickup was bouncing between 112 to 115 degrees.
So intense heat this time of the year is not unusual. It is just that since that time the weather has been more moderate.
Ouch!! Poor folks running and competing in the Olympic Trials on Sunday in Eugene are gonna be needing to hydrate.
The weather liar on my phone has issued a heat advisory and raised the forecast to 107F on Monday here in the Seattle area. I only bought air conditioners (the in the window type) three years ago. This June was the earliest I have set them up. It’s gonna be toasty!
I remember a few days in Seattle my wife and I would go to the Mall just to cool down. We never did buy an AC, it would have been used less than a week a year.
I should have said coastal WA and OR rarely have air. Inland can get pretty hot.
First local car show in two years this Sunday and it’s supposed to be 108 here in the southern reaches of Puget Sound. I’ll be home with my central A/C set at 69 degrees.
It’ll just give the Glowbull Warming freaks more ammo...............
Two or three days of global warming and watch as the liberal maniacs start screaming about it.
Who knew it gets hot in summer?
Us Northwesterners will be right over!
Indeedy!
In the early 90’s, I remember it getting ober 100° in May, and having over 100° days often in July/August.
Only good thing was NO humidity.
I live near Seattle... I hope it all burst into flames.
I was in Portland during that 1965 heatwave. I had never been there before and only stayed from mid-June through August, so I figured that this sort of weather was normal. However, many Portlanders that I met later on told me that it is usually much cooler in the summer.
Portland in 1965 was a pleasant and fun place to live.
I was out in Phoenix back in 1979 and I remember it hitting 107 degrees one summer day.
Oh, it was a rare cool day, then....................
I live in south Puget Sound. I used to think that anyone who had air conditioning in this area was a weenie. Once I hit 53 and the hot flashes started, my husband insisted on buying a window ac for our bedroom. I am extremely grateful for that decision! Drained our hot tub last night, got up this morning and cleaned it up, put new fresh water in. Keeping the temp at about 90. Went from a hot tub to a cool tub! That and a couple beers and we’ll be fine!
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