Record - breaking temperatures are scorching America ’s West Coast and parts of Canada amid what theNational Weather Serviceis calling a “ historic and unprecedented heat wave”—and the summer sizzle has n’t even reached its peak yet , AccuWeatherreports .
More than 20 million people across six states are under warmth alerts fromthe NWS . Dozens of daily book - high temperatures were broken on Saturday in states array from Washington to California . Further north , the heat waving set a interior record in Canada on Sunday : Lytton , a hamlet in British Columbia , hit roughly 115 degrees Fahrenheit ( 46.1 degree Celsius ) , outfox the state ’s previous all - fourth dimension high of 113 degrees Fahrenheit ( 45 academic degree Celsius ) set in 1937 , according toEnvironment and Climate Change Canada .
temperature are expected to rise even higher on Sunday and into Monday in sealed places , with “ no easing in great deal ” this week for area to the east of the Cascades , eastern Oregon , easterly Washington State , much of Idaho , and into western Montana , according to the NWS .
Photo: Frederic J. Brown (Getty Images)
“ After record - let out heat was felt over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Great Basin on Saturday , even hotter temperatures are betoken today and Monday throughout the region , ” it said in aSunday bulletin . “ High temperatures are forecast to soar 20 - 30 + degree above average in Washington and Oregon , including highly populated sphere west of the Cascade Mountains . Highs well into the triple digits will significantly increase the threat of heat related illness . ”
In short , the Pacific Northwest is frying undera heat dome , which forms when high - force per unit area circulation in the atm creates a sort of palpebra that stops live air from escaping . A heat dome this acute is so rare , it ’s the kind of event you would expect to experience once in 1,000 year , according toCBS meteorologist Jeff Berardelli . Another meteorologist , Scott Duncan , predictsthat some of the hottest place on the planet will be in the Pacific Northwest this year .
Portland , Oregon , had its hot day on record Saturday , with temperature reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit ( 42.2 degrees Celsius ) , accord tothe NWS . That record did n’t last long , though : On Sunday , temperatures soared to a Modern senior high school of 112 degrees Fahrenheit ( 44.4 degrees Celsius ) . The city set itsprevious all - time highof 107 degrees Fahrenheit ( 41.7 degrees Celsius ) in 1965 and 1981 .
OnSaturday , the NWS said temperatures hit 105 degrees Fahrenheit ( 40.6 academic degree Celsius ) , in Salem , Oregon , and Vancouver , Washington , each city ’s monthly maximum temperature track record for the calendar month of June . Seattle , Washington , hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit ( 38.9 degrees Celsius ) that same day , a recordfor June . On Sunday , the Salem airport climbed to 112 degrees Fahrenheit ( 44.4 degrees Celsius ) , shatter an all - time book high for the site of 109 degrees Fahrenheit ( 42.8 degrees Celsius ) , fit in tothe NWS .
Temperatures in Canada are ask to top out on Monday , reaching as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit ( 45 degrees Celsius ) in British Columbia , theCBC report . On Saturday , Fraser Valley break 104 degrees Fahrenheit ( 40 degrees Celsius ) for the first meter to date . occupant in the Pemberton Valley north of Vancouver have been orderedto evacuateas rising river degree have by snowmelt amid all this unprecedented heat flood the area .
In much of the Pacific Northwest , even the morning low will surpass the area ’s fair high temperatures , which just goes to show the “ anomalous nature of this historical heatwave , ” the NWS reportedSaturday . The last time the region even amount nigh to feeling this kind of heat was in July 2009 , when temperature lallygag between 101 level Fahrenheit ( 38.3 degrees Celsius ) and 106 degrees Fahrenheit ( 41.1 degree Celsius ) for two to four days , according tothe authority . Its hottest part of the twelvemonth typically fall in late July , so the fact that we ’re seeing all - metre record fall when the summer ’s just start out is not a salutary polarity , to say the least .
The NWS advise those in orbit experiencing unprecedented high temperature to stay hydrated , appease in spite of appearance as much as potential , and invalidate prolonged exposure to the sunshine . soar temperatures have battered the West Coast in late weeks , drying up reservoir , curtaining hydropower , and exacerbating the impacts ofwidespread droughtsacross the realm .
As calamitous as this heat wave has been , it ’s only the beginning . chiliad of temperature records havealready been shatteredthis year , and expertspredictthe climate crisis will proceed to increase the betting odds of heat and megadroughts this century , so this weekend ’s record likely wo n’t abide for foresighted .
Update : 2025-02-21 , 8:37 p.m. : Updated with the latest record - transgress stats for the Pacific Northwest and Canada .
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