PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Temperatures in Portland, Ore., could reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, making it likely the hottest day of a weeklong heat wave for the rare Pacific Northwest. observed such burning weather.
Forecasters have issued an excessive heat warning for parts of Oregon and Washington state. Temperatures could reach the 90s (32 C) in Seattle and 110 F (43.3 C) in eastern Oregon and Washington.
While inland parts of the states often experience high temperatures, these kinds of hot blasts don’t happen as often in Portland and Seattle.
“To have five-day stretches or a one-week stretch above 90 degrees is very, very rare for the Pacific Northwest,” said Vivek Shandas, a professor of climate adaptation at Portland State University.
While the U.S. Northwest warmed, the East Coast’s hot spell appeared to be broken, with few areas east of the Mississippi River under heat warnings.
Philadelphia reached 99 degrees (37 Celsius) on Sunday before humidity is factored in. Newark, New Jersey, had its fifth straight day of 100 degrees or more, the longest such streak since records began in 1931. Boston also reached 100 degrees, surpassing the previous daily record of 98 degrees (36.6 Celsius). set in 1933
Tuesday’s predicted highs in Philadelphia, New York and Boston were in the mid-80s (about 29 degrees Celsius).
Residents and officials in the Northwest are trying to adjust to the likely reality of longer, hotter heat waves after last summer’s deadly “heat dome” weather phenomenon, which caused record temperatures and deaths.
In response, the Portland Housing Bureau, which oversees the city’s housing policy, will require that in the future, newly constructed subsidized housing units have air conditioning.
A new Oregon law will require all new homes built after April 2024 to have air conditioning installed in at least one room. The law already prohibits landlords in most cases from restricting tenants from installing cooling devices in their rented premises.
The measures were in response to a heat wave in late June and early July 2021, when about 800 people died in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The temperature soared to 116 degrees F (46.7 C) in Portland, breaking heat records for cities in the region. Many of the dead were elderly and lived alone.
While temperatures aren’t expected to get that high this week, the expected number of consecutive hot days has caused concern among officials.
Portland, Ore., could top 100 degrees F (37.8 C) on Tuesday, and temperatures across large parts of western Oregon and Washington are expected to be well above historical averages throughout the week.
“It’s nothing we haven’t seen before in terms of magnitude, but the length of the event is pretty unusual,” said John Bumgardner, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Portland office.
Portland’s Bureau of Emergency Management is opening cooling centers in public buildings and installing misting stations in parks. In Seattle, community centers and libraries will serve as cooling stations.
Multnomah County, which includes Portland, will open four overnight emergency cooling shelters starting Tuesday where people can spend the night.
Officials hope the outreach efforts will help people facing the greatest heat risks — including seniors living alone, people with disabilities, members of low-income households without air conditioning and people without housing.
Jenny Carver, Multnomah County’s emergency manager for the county’s Department of Human Services, said her work is focused on “ensuring that these sites are as low-barrier as we can make them.”
“We only ask people to give a name and we don’t check any identification,” Carver said. “We provide as many resources as we can.”
Overnight temperatures in the Pacific Northwest may not drop below 70 degrees, said Trina Jensen, Portland warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
“In urban areas, we have the urban heat island effect, which tends to keep temperatures higher a bit longer and can cause more heat impacts,” she said.
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Claire Rush is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. America Report is a national nonprofit program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues. Follow her on Twitter.
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