The historic heatwave continues out West with more records being broken. Today temperatures in parts of Oregon have hit 114 degrees.
The temperature in Salem is now sitting at 114 degrees. This breaks their all-time record high yet again, surpassing yesterday's high temp of 113 degrees. Other observations across the central/northern Willamette Valley show temps ranging between 107-113 degrees. #PNWHeatwave
— NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) June 28, 2021
To put that in perspective, the National Weather Service in the area put a thermometer in a car, to show just how dangerous these temperatures can be.
11am and it’s up to 132F in the car. 🥵 Cera the triceratops is ok but I’m wondering what else in my car will regret being part of this experiment. pic.twitter.com/gPQ7QPdGZ9
— NWS Gray (@NWSGray) June 28, 2021
The heat wave began Friday, when a ridge of high pressure moved over the Pacific Northwest. With high pressure in the atmosphere, air is forced down, compressing it and warming it in a phenomenon known as subsidence. That warm air is then trapped in place by the high pressure in what is known, somewhat forbiddingly, as a heat dome.
Cooling shelter in Portland, OR, where temperatures reached 112°F yesterday, breaking the previous day’s all-time record of 108°F. pic.twitter.com/zgxdtEMEt2
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) June 28, 2021
Unbelievable heat in #Portland, #Oregon right now.
We have an AccuWeather RealFeel of 113° and it’s only going to get hotter.
Medic crews are swamped with 911 calls and businesses are closing early.
LIVE UPDATE on AccuWeather 📺 at 4pm ET / 1p PM PThttps://t.co/KAei7yx8pO pic.twitter.com/IEdcEPKVAq
— Bill Wadell (@BillWadell) June 28, 2021
The intense heat has been blanketing several Western states over the last couple of weeks. It even stretched into Canada where temperatures in one town in British Columbia reached 116 degrees on Sunday.
According to The Washington Post, “The strength of the heat dome, or sprawling zone of high pressure centered near the U.S.-Canada border, promoting these temperatures is setting records and off the charts. Its intensity is so statistically rare that it might be expected only once every several thousand years on average. But human-made climate change has made exceptional events such as this many times more probable.”
Yesterday, a village in BC broke the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada. To everyone battling this extreme heat in western Canada: please stay safe, check in on your neighbours, and be sure to check out our top safety tips: https://t.co/bunSV5N8Iq
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 28, 2021
Since many of the cities impacted are generally mild, a lot of people don’t have air conditioning. NPR writes:
People in Portland and Seattle say stores are selling out of fans and AC units, and hotels with central air are booked solid during the heatwave. https://t.co/UvAbNSKxWY pic.twitter.com/9221UXQBQH
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) June 28, 2021
Rescue crews in several cities are dealing with a lot of medical emergencies related to the heat. Watch more from the NBC affiliate in Portland above.
Meanwhile, the Northeast is also dealing with hot temperatures and excessive heat warnings.
More than 45 million people are under heat advisories in the Northeast as a heat wave grips the region this week. https://t.co/Fh04Gj0cOi pic.twitter.com/Mz5YQDG9WQ
— CNN Weather Center (@CNNweather) June 27, 2021