The sun shines near the Space Needle on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Seattle, Seattle and other cities. Breaking all-time heat records this past weekend. with temperatures rising above 100 degrees.
Ted S. Warren/AP
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The sun shines near the Space Needle on Monday, June 28, 2021 in Seattle, Seattle and other cities. Breaking all-time heat records this past weekend. with temperatures rising above 100 degrees.
Ted S. Warren/AP
Record-breaking temperatures have soared more than 100 degrees across the Pacific Northwest. which the area is trapped under “thermal dome”
In regions with average temperatures near the 70s at this time of year The houses can be seen using the blackout windows covered with blankets to help cool down. The area’s mild summer leaves many households without air conditioning.
The historic heat wave is raising fears of what will happen for the rest of this summer.
The Pacific Northwest doesn’t have enough air conditioning due to unusually hot weather. Here, residents of Portland, Oregon, stay at a cooling center.
Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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The Pacific Northwest doesn’t have enough air conditioning due to unusually hot weather. Here, residents of Portland, Oregon, stay at a cooling center.
Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Records set one day are destroyed the next.
Records are broken daily in parts of the Northwest. including Portland and Seattle. Portland broke the record three days in a row, hitting 108 on Saturday, 112 on Sunday and 116 on Monday.
Seattle reached 108 degrees Monday during a heatwave in the Pacific Northwest. Here mother and daughter hold umbrellas in the sun.
John Froschauer/AP
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Seattle reached 108 degrees Monday during a heatwave in the Pacific Northwest. Here mother and daughter hold umbrellas in the sun.
John Froschauer/AP
In Seattle, temperatures rose to 108 on Monday, and in Pasco, Washington, mercury reached 118 degrees, the hottest temperature the state recorded since 1961.
Portland recorded three of the hottest days in history last Saturday and this Sunday and Monday. Here, a couple and their dog lie in the shade during the heatwave.
Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Portland recorded three of the hottest days in history last Saturday and this Sunday and Monday. Here, a couple and their dog lie in the shade during the heatwave.
Maranie Staab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In some places, the heat was so intense that the wires melted. in downtown Portland Portland tram services were shut down on Sunday. He posted a picture on Twitter of the leaky power cable.
In case you are wondering why we canceled the service on that day. This is what heat does to our wires. pic.twitter.com/EqbKUgCJ3K
– Portland tram (@PDXStreetcar) June 27, 2021
Road collapses from heat in Portland
The Pacific Northwest’s infrastructure is cracking — literally — under pressure. In Everson, Washington, temperatures weaken and expand road surfaces. This can create ditches, buckling, and potholes, especially in high-traffic areas.
State Route 544, Mile 7 near Everson, Wa. is currently closed. The paved roads are bent and unsafe to travel. We recommend using WSDOT and setting up a detour.
BL pic.twitter.com/5Yb9UYzbDc
— Trooper Rocky Oliphant (@wspd7pio) June 28, 2021
The drought has created a vicious drought cycle.
The broad drought that stretched from the west to the Great Plains only worsened under the dome of heat. in the northwest The area is normally wet, unusually dry and drought has expanded in a matter of weeks. As of June 22, the US Drought Monitor reported that 79.8% of the region was in drought before the fire season.
Scientists say the warmer climate is making both heat waves and droughts more frequent and intense.
A sign is displayed on the door of Molly Moon’s ice cream shop in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, closed Monday due to excessive heat.
Ted S. Warren/AP
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A sign is displayed on the door of Molly Moon’s ice cream shop in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, closed Monday due to excessive heat.
Ted S. Warren/AP
Josie Fischels is an apprentice at NPR’s news desk.
