Jon Erdman
Published: June 30,2015
A torrid heat wave is easing a bit, but will kick into
high gear yet again later this week into the July 4th holiday weekend,
and possibly beyond.
June record highs have been broken in at
least 31 cities in the Northwest, five of which appear to have tied or
broken their all-time record highs. The extreme heat is likely to last
into next week and may end up breaking records for longevity as well.
June Record Highs Set
An
unofficial weather station located in Hell's Canyon along the
Oregon/Idaho border (Pittsburg Landing) recorded an incredible 116
degrees for a high Sunday.
The culprit in this hot setup is a
dome of high pressure aloft, surging northwestward to encompass a large
area of the western states. The center of this high will shift around
through the week ahead, but overall it will remain a dominant feature.
This
will allow the sizzling late-June and early-July sun to send
temperatures soaring not simply in the typically hot Desert Southwest,
but also locations well to the north including the Pacific Northwest,
interior Northwest and northern Rockies.
Hot Week Ahead
Highs
well into the 90s and triple digits are expected in many
lower-elevation locations west of the Continental Divide and inland from
the Pacific Coast.
Heat Alerts
This
includes much of Nevada, California's Central Valley, the Salt Lake
Valley, Idaho's Snake River Plain, much of Oregon's lower elevations
east of the immediate coast, and areas to the east of the Cascades in
Washington State.
In
particular, parts of the Columbia Basin and lower Snake River Valley
will see particularly extreme and persistent heat. This includes cities
such as Yakima, Kennewick and Walla Walla in
Washington
as well as Lewiston, Idaho, as noted in the records below. Temperatures
will get knocked down a bit into the 90s or low 100s to start the new
workweek, but will then surge towards the middle or possibly upper 100s
again late in the week.
(
FORECASTS: Seattle | Portland | Boise | Salt Lake City)
The
extreme heat has even surged north into Canada. Cranbrook, in far
southeast British Columbia at an elevation of about 3,000 feet, set a
new all-time record high of 98 degrees (36.8 degrees Celsius) Sunday,
according to The Weather Network.
Even Revelstoke, British
Columbia – 130 miles north of the U.S. border, about 1,500 feet above
sea level and better known for skiing – reached an amazing 103 degrees
(39.5 degrees Celsius) Sunday.
Current Temperatures
Compared
to what the more arid Great Basin is used to, evening and overnight
temperatures will be slow to drop, bottoming out in the 70s in the
hottest locations.
In that regard, the air mass moving north into
the region already has a strong pedigree; Las Vegas recorded a low of 91
on Friday, marking the first time Vegas has ever recorded a daily low
in the 90s during the month of June. This happened again Sunday, when
the calendar-day low was only 90 degrees. (The previous record-warm
daily low in June was 89 on June 29-30, 2003.)
This heat appears
to be locked in place well into the week ahead, as the upper-level dome
of high pressure remains camped out near the Great Basin. In fact, some
interior Northwest locations may see highs in the 100s every day from
now into at least early next week.
(
MAPS: 10-Day Temperature Forecasts)
Forecast Highs
The
hot, dry weather is also causing a high fire danger, as drought
conditions have worsened over the Northwest and northern Rockies in the
spring. Disturbances riding around the west side of the upper-level
ridge and just enough mid-level moisture may trigger isolated, mainly
dry afternoon thunderstorms, which may ignite new wildfires.
(
MORE: Wenatchee,
Washington Wildfire)
In mid-May,
Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee issued a statewide drought emergency, and spring runoff
from winter's paltry snowpack was expected to be the least in 64
years.
Seattle has seen only 8 days with measurable rain since
May 1, one-third the average number of such days, according to
NWS-Seattle. Portland, Oregon, set a new record June dry streak of 24
straight days through Saturday, according to NWS-Portland.
One of the biggest factors in heat wave deaths is not only the magnitude, but also the longevity of the heat.
- Seattle will
see highs in the middle 80s to low 90s through the holiday weekend and
likely into next week. They reached the low 90s on Saturday and may see
several more days in the low 90s later this week. On average, they
typically see the 90-degree mark only three days a year.
- Spokane, Washington may
see a couple of days with century-mark highs through the holiday
weekend. Only one such day a year is the average, there. Even when not
in the 100s it will be at least in the middle or upper 90s.
- Portland,
Oregon last saw triple-digit heat in August 2012. They may see one, if
not more such days in this heat wave this week. The city may also make a
run at its longest streak of 90-degree days; that was a 10-day streak
in 2009.
- Medford, Oregon will tie its June record for 90-degree-plus days (21 in 1918).
- Salt
Lake City may see triple-digit highs several days into next week. Six
days a year reach 100-degrees or hotter in the Salt Lake Valley, on
average and as of Tuesday there have been four days.
Epicenter of the Heat
This is a dangerous heat wave. Take safety precautions against the heat.
Those
playing or working outdoors, as well as those without access to air
conditioning, will face an elevated risk of heat-related illness.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 25 percent of
homes, apartments, condos in the states of Idaho, Montana, Utah and
Wyoming do not have air conditioning.
Remember to never leave
kids or pets unattended in cars and drink more water than usual. Wear
light-colored clothing and keep your head and body cooler with a hat.
Take frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments.
New Record Highs
Here is a list of the all-time record highs tied or broken (all Sunday, June 28, unless otherwise noted):
- Chief Joseph Dam, Washington,
hit 113 degrees, topping the previous all-time record of 110 degrees
most recently set on July 23, 2006. This is located near the town of
Bridgeport, in north-central Washington. Records date to 1949.
- LaCrosse, Washington, tied their all-time record high of 113 degrees, set previously on Aug. 4, 1961. LaCrosse is in eastern Washington, about 40 miles west-northwest of Pullman. Records, there, date to 1931.
- Chelan, Washington,
reached 110 degrees, topping their previous all-time record set just
one day earlier (109 degrees). Prior to this heat wave, their all-time
record was 106 degrees set most recently on July 22, 1985. Records date
to 1890.
- Omak, Washington, also reached 110 degrees, topping their previous all-time record of 109 degrees set on July 8, 2001. Records date to 1931.
- Bonners
Ferry, Idaho, soared to 105 degrees, eclipsing their previous all-time
record of 104 degrees on July 16, 1941. Records date to 1907.
Here is a rundown of the June record highs tied or broken Sunday:
- Walla Walla, Washington,
hit 113 degrees. According to Weather Underground weather historian
Christopher Burt, if validated this reading will establish a new June
record high not just for Walla Walla, but the entire state of Washington.
That record is 112 degrees at John Day Dam on June 18, 1961. Of course,
Sunday's high also crushed the June record of 109 set just a day
earlier, which in turn beat the record of 107 set June 23, 1992.
- Lewiston,
Idaho, reached 111 degrees. This broke the previous June high of 109
set on June 22, 1936. Burt says this too may be a new June record for
the state of Idaho, surpassing the 110 degrees recorded at six different
locations.
- Boise, Idaho, topped out at 110 degrees. This
replaced the previous June high of 109 set June 19, 1940. It also missed
Boise's all-time record high by 1 degree, and was the hottest day in
Boise since a high of 110 on Aug. 4, 1961.
- Ephrata, Washington,
hit 110 degrees to break the record of 107 set Saturday. Previously 106
was the June record from June 30, 1998. Sunday goes down as the
second-hottest day on record in Ephrata behind the 115 recorded Aug. 4,
1961.
- Pendleton, Oregon, topped out at 109 degrees both Saturday
and Sunday. Those readings broke the city's all-time June record high
of 108 set June 30, 1924, and June 17, 1961. June records in Pendleton
go back to 1893.
- Yakima, Washington,
reached 108 degrees both Saturday and Sunday. Those broke the previous
June high of 105 set June 23, 1992, and just tied earlier in June.
Official National Weather Service records for Yakima go as far back as
1946.
- Spokane, Washington,
hit 105 degrees Sunday. That broke a record that had only stood for one
day – 102 degrees on Saturday. Before this heat wave the June record
had been 101 on June 23, 1992; records in Spokane go all the way back to
1881, making this an especially impressive record. Sunday was also the
hottest day in Spokane since Aug. 4, 1961.
- Kalispell, Montana,
hit 102 degrees to crush its June record of 97 degrees just set
Saturday. The previous June record was 96 set June 22, 1955, and the
previous record for earliest 100-degree day was July 6 back in 2007.
Temperature records there began in 1899.
- Missoula, Montana, saw a
high of 102 degrees. This breaks the previous June record high of 101
set Saturday, and marks the first consecutive triple-digit June days,
there. Prior to that the June high had been 100 on June 29, 1937 and
June 13, 1918. Records date back to 1893.
- Helena, Montana,
topped out at 103 degrees Saturday, which eclipsed the previous June
record high of 102 degrees set June 21, 1900.
- Meacham, Oregon,
hit 101 degrees Sunday to set its third consecutive June record high.
Saturday's high was 98; Friday's 93 had tied the old record of 93 from
June 16, 1961. Sunday's high also beat the daily record for June 28 by a
whopping 16 degrees.
Gerard Tangalan Of Seattle leans on International Fountain while cooling off at the Seattle Center July 29, 2009 in Seattle,
Washington.
(Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
The
following record highs for the month of June were broken on Friday and
Saturday, not including cities that matched or broke them again Sunday:
- Burns,
Oregon, reached 102 degrees Saturday to break its June record of 100
set June 29, 2008, and June 30, 2013. Records in Burns go back to 1939.
- Helena,
Montana topped out at 103 degrees Saturday, beating its previous June
record high of 102 degrees set in 1900. Records date back to 1880.
- Redmond, Oregon, had a high of 101 degrees Friday to tie the all-time June record originally set there on June 25, 1968.
- The Dalles, Oregon, tied its June record high Friday when Columbia Gorge Regional Airport, technically across the river in Washington, hit 108 degrees to match the mark set June 22, 1992.
In
addition to the extreme high temperatures, daily low temperatures were
unusually balmy for a region that normally drops into the 50s at night
in June. The following locations have experienced their warmest daily
low temperatures on record for the month of June:
- Medford,
Oregon, recorded a low of 76 on Sunday. This not only broke the June
record, but the all-time record for any day of the year; the previous
warmest low was 75 degrees on July 14, 1996. The previous June record
was 74 on Saturday, which in turn broke the old record of 71 set June
23, 1992.
- Lewiston, Idaho, only dipped to 78 on Sunday. That
beat the previous June record of 76 set June 25, 1928. Lewiston set yet
another June record Monday with a low of 79.
- Wenatchee, Washington had a low of 77 Sunday, beating its June warm-low record of 75 set June 30, 2008.
- Spokane, Washington,
dipped no lower than 73 Sunday; the previous June record for balmiest
daily low was 71 on June 30, 2008, and June 25, 1992. Spokane broke its
record again Monday with a low of 74.
- Portland, Oregon, recorded a low of 71 on Saturday (as noted above), the city's first 70-degree low ever recorded in June.
(
MORE: Earth's Record Year? | How Hot is Too Hot?)
June has already been a hot month in parts of the West.
Medford, Oregon, Spokane,
Washington, Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City are likely to set their record warmest June.
Portland,
Oregon, logged its eighth day of 90-degree-plus heat this month Monday,
breaking the June record of six days set in 2003 and reached 91 degrees
on Tuesday making it nine days of 90-degree-plus heat for June.
Meteorologist Chris Dolce contributed to this report.
MORE: Heat Waves of the Past (PHOTOS)
Storms seen over Chillicothe, Missouri, on June 25, 2015. (Photo Credit: Instagram/ttwags88) 
Widespread smoke across Alaska's interior on June 24, 2015. The red locators show where fires were active on that day.
Active fire locations on June 30, 2015. 
Storms fire up near the California-Nevada border on the night of Saturday, June 27, 2015.
A woman cools off with a fan displayed on a terrace of a bar during a heatwave in Madrid on June 28, 2015.
This
aerial photo, shows a Fourth of July fireworks celebration over the
Mississippi River in New Orleans, on Friday, July 4, 2014. (AP
Photo/Gerald Herbert)
