Northwest Heat Wave Relief Is Finally Ahead (FORECAST)

Jon Erdman
Published: July 8,2015

The torrid heat wave that the Northwest has been dealing with since the last week of June will finally fade away Friday into the weekend.
Thursday will be the final day that parts of northwest Oregon and western Washington see temperatures 5-15 degrees above average.

Current Temperatures

Highs into the 90s and a few 100s are expected in many lower-elevation locations from northern Idaho to Oregon and Washington on Thursday. While western Washington and northwest Oregon see cooler conditions Friday, parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho will remain hot for another day.

Forecast Highs

Forecast Highs

Temperatures in both Seattle and Portland will get knocked down into the 80s or possibly the upper 70s Friday into the upcoming weekend. Temperatures in the searing interior Northwest should also cool off into the upper 80s or low 90s by this weekend.
(MAPS: 10-day Forecast)
In addition, the northern Rockies have benefited from a cold front over this past weekend. Unfortunately, they will become hot again late this week, and will remain generally warmer than average into the upcoming weekend, though not nearly as hot as has been seen in the past week.
(FORECASTS: Missoula, Montana | Spokane, Washington)
Last weekend, Seattle tied its record streak of 90-degree-plus highs -- five straight days in 1981 and 1941 -- Sunday. Boise, Idaho, tied its all-time record streak of 100-degree-plus highs on July 4, a string of nine straight days.
June and even a few all-time record highs were shattered in parts of the interior Northwest, northern Rockies and Great Basin early on in this heat wave.
(MORE: Northwest Heat Wave By the Numbers)
Although it hasn't been quite as hot as the last weekend of June in some areas, we've still seen numerous daily record highs in recent days.
Here are some examples:
- Seattle tied or set daily record highs Thursday (93 degrees), Friday (92 degrees), Saturday (92 degrees) and Sunday (91 degrees).
- Portland, Oregon, set a daily record high Sunday (96 degrees) and has seen 95-degree-plus heat the first five days of July.
- The Dalles, Oregon, tied a daily record high Sunday (103 degrees).
- Yakima, Washington set daily record highs on Friday (107 degrees), Saturday (105 degrees), Monday (102 degrees) and Tuesday (101 degrees).
- Lillooet, British Columbia set a daily record Tuesday, reaching 38.4 degrees Celsius (101.1 degrees Fahrenheit). Twelve locations in B.C. set daily records Tuesday.
(MORE: Earth's Record Year? | How Hot is Too Hot?)
Meteorologist Chris Dolce contributed to this report.

MORE: Heat Waves of the Past (PHOTOS)