Dangerous heat takes hold of the Pacific Northwest, where temperatures will soar above 100 degrees inland, and even the coast will feel the upper 90s.
Forecasters from the National Weather Service call this a “major to extreme heat risk” for communities east of the Cascades.
“High risk for heat-related illnesses for much of the population, pets, and livestock, especially with extended outdoor exposure. High temperatures of 96 to 108 expected,” warned the NWS Spokane office. “Limited relief at night with low temperatures in the mid 60s to low 70s.”
Strong high pressure is anchoring the heat dome over the northwest corner of the country. Temperatures will build and peak on Tuesday before leveling off, but temperatures will remain warm. The high starts to break down Thursday, moderating temps. Finally, on Friday and Saturday, highs and lows will return to average and give everyone a break from sweating.
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“The next couple of days, the high-pressure system really takes hold, and suddenly you’re looking at temperatures departing from average 15 to 20 degrees in some of these cases,” said Meteorologist Adam Klotz. “So not just a little bit above average, but way above average here.”
Portland could tie its record stretch of number of days over 100 this week, said the FOX Forecast Center. In July 1941, the city saw triple-digit heat for five days in a row. Portland’s average high is normally 83 on Monday. The mercury will soar to 107.
The NWS issued Excessive Heat Watches, Warnings and Heat Advisories for the area through Thursday.
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Many more cities will see record-breaking and tying highs in the first half of the week.
“In the coming days, you’re going to be seeing temperatures in a lot of these places, easily getting up into triple digits. The spots where you’re seeing nineties, typically they’d probably be more like the upper 70,” Klotz said. “And even as you cool off, you don’t really get back to where you should be until you get into next weekend. So once this heat builds, it lingers there for a while.”
Many homes don’t have air conditioning, as the average high in Spokane is usually in the low 80s. Seattle’s average high is in the low 70s for August. Even Seattle’s water temperature of around 52 degrees can only temper the heat so much.
“For those without air conditioning, living spaces can become deadly during the afternoon and evening,” the NWS continued.
HISTORIC HEAT WAVE KILLED HUNDREDS 2 YEARS AGO AS IT BAKED NORTHWEST IN RARE 110-PLUS DEGREE HEAT
In June 2021, an extreme heat wave killed more than 1,000 across the Northwest, estimated by government agencies. During that event, Washington recorded its highest all-time record temperature of 120 degrees.
“Heat is the number one killer in terms of weather-related fatalities,” Noboru Nakamura, a professor of atmospheric and environmental fluid dynamics at the University of Chicago and author of a study about the event, said. “When massive heat waves hit an area that’s normally cool, that’s when the death toll tends to rise.”
The study suggests that clouds were responsible for 2021’s deadly heat wave. The NWS states that there is “no moisture in the pattern” to produce clouds.
Another stubborn heat wave has been setting record heat across the South.