Daily High Records Fall in Northwest as Mercury Soars

Posted: May 15, 2023 3:15 pm

Residents in the Pacific Northwest are starting to beg for mercy as record heat continues for the region. While there is a bit of relief on the way this week, the unseasonable warmth will stick around for some time.

Here is the latest on the Northwest heat wave.

Looking Back at the Record Heat

It has been a scorcher of a few days for the Northwest. Some communities have already recorded their first 90-degree readings of the season, an early start to this type of heat in this corner of the country.

These summer conditions are forecast to not let up any time this week, however, relief from the temperatures in the 90s is on the way.

The heat began to set in late last week for cities such as Seattle and Portland. For instance, Portland saw temperatures in the 90s on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The readings were enough to bring daily high records down on each of these three days.

It was a similar situation in Seattle with the mercury climbing into the mid 80s on Saturday. While this may not seem that warm for some people, these readings were about 20 degrees above normal for the middle of May. The Emerald City notched a high of 89 degrees on Sunday, good enough for a new daily record high.

The unseasonable warmth expanded into areas of Northern California throughout the weekend. Redding saw a high of 96 degrees on Saturday while Fresno soared to 99 degrees on Sunday. Bakersfield cracked the triple digits with a high of 102 degrees.

Canada also got in on some of the unusually warm temperatures. Although the weather shift was not quite as dramatic in Vancouver when compared to its counterparts in the Northwest, the city in British Columbia enjoyed temperatures in the 70s on Friday through Sunday.

This translates to about 10 degrees over the historical average for this time of the year.

Looking Ahead to the Rest of the Week

Monday is bringing more searing heat for the region. Seattle could break the 90-degree barrier to start the work week. Should this transpire, it would be the first time in over 10 years that the city has reached this mark during the month of May.

Monday could also mark the earliest 90-degree day on record for Seattle.

While this heat is certainly notable for this region, it is not going to come close to breaking any all-time records. The summer of 2021 currently carries that distinction. During this time period, Portland notched a new all-time temperature record of 116 degrees while Seattle came in at 108 degrees.

The rest of the week will bring atypically mild weather for the Pacific Northwest. Seattle will continue to see temperatures in the low 80s and upper 70s. Portland will spend the week hovering in the mid to upper 80s.

There is a chance of thunderstorms popping up for both metro areas late Monday and into Tuesday.

The mercury is forecast to inch up again by the weekend as the slight weather disturbances move out of the area. Although there is a slight chance of rain for the week, the moisture will not amount to anything significant. Instead, the passing clouds and rain showers may just provide some brief relief from the heat.

This heat will bring a number of risks to those in the impact zone. In addition to the personal risks of heat exhaustion and dehydration, the warmth will also raise the threat of wildfires and poor air quality. The soaring temperatures will spur on rapid snowmelt that could overwhelm streams and rivers.

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