Posted on 08/05/2021 10:59:17 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
PORTLAND, Ore. - Karen Colby thought she could make it through an unprecedented Pacific Northwest heat wave with a little help from her neighbor, who dribbled cold water on her head and visited every hour to wrap frozen towels around her neck.
But when temperatures in her tiny fifth-floor studio soared to 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 Celsius), Colby suddenly stopped responding to questions and couldn’t move from her recliner to her walker. The friend called an ambulance, and Colby, 74, wound up hospitalized for 10 days with heatstroke.
The crisis was a wake-up call for the normally temperate Pacific Northwest about what lies ahead with climate change and was a harsh lesson in how unprepared the region is, particularly when it comes to those living on society’s margins.
The median summer temperature in Oregon could increase as much as 10 degrees by the end of the century, according to the Climate Impact Lab, and extreme weather events like heat waves will become more frequent.
Authorities in Portland spent days leading up to the heat wave warning the public, calling and texting hundreds of the most vulnerable, dispatching volunteers with thousands of bottles of water and opening round-the-clock cooling centers.
Still, it was not enough to prevent what officials labeled a mass casualty event.
In Oregon, officials say 83 people died of heat-related illness, and the hot weather is being investigated as a possible cause in 33 more deaths. Washington state reported at least 91 heat deaths, and officials in British Columbia say hundreds of “sudden and unexpected deaths” were likely due to the soaring temperatures.
Most of the Oregon deaths occurred in Multnomah County, home to Portland, where the average victim was white, lived alone and 70 years old.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
>>unprecedented Pacific Northwest heat wave
it wasn’t unprecedented
Yeah, they are gonna need air conditioners now but who is going to supply the power?
The heat wave didn’t “target” anyone.
HUH? Oh, the old ‘jews are controlling the weather idea’? Targeted the “vulnerable”? Anyone remember jalousie windows? Yeah, back in the early 50’s in Tampa, I guess we were targeted with heat and humidity.
Weather does not “target” people. It just is.
This time of year is hot and some years are hotter and some less hot.
Scholars call this event “Summer.” It affects us generally 25% of the year.
“The hottest temperature ever recorded anywhere in Oregon is 119 degrees, a record set in Pendleton on Aug. 10, 1898.”
The Associated Depressed on it’s usual Leftist agenda narratives.
Perhaps then, with this heat pandemic we should all quarantine ourselves at home.
It’s the AP, so you have to make allowances. I just got my electric bill, which contains average daily high and low temps - last year’s average high in July was 76, this year’s was 91. (Northern Idaho). The technical scientific term for this is a “hot summer”. Like last winter’s snow in Texas, it never happens except when it does.
Temperature in Portland, Oregon, 11:00 AM their time: 72 degrees. OH, they’re burning up! Call Greta!
Indeed, Portland had an identically high temperature in 1965 and the mid-1980s.
Must’ve been the Model T’s fault.
It was “Vegas hot” for 3 farking days, and if you listen to the media, you’d think it’s been 120+F every day for months.
(Looks at phone, 11:37 AM, 69 (giggity) degrees. Damned global warming!)
A brand new, room-size AC is about $99.
Amazon will deliver for free.
Buy one.
Dying from the heat is just stupid.
The planet cleansing itself.
I see they did have one day higher than history.
What is the “Heat Island Effect”?
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