Record heat wave continues in Seattle, Portland

[BlueJessamine]

Source: Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — "Brutal" temperatures are predicted for the Seattle area on Wednesday as a record heat wave afflicting the Pacific Northwest continues to bake everything west of the Cascades, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

The high temperature could easily tie or break the all-time record temperature of 100 degrees set July 20, 1994, at Sea-Tac, the weather service's Jay Albrecht said.

"There's not going to be a whole lot of places to get away from the heat tomorrow," he said Tuesday.

Another day of high heat for the normally temperate region follows a Tuesday that saw the thermometer hit 106 at Portland International Airport, just short of the 107 all-time mark for the area set in 1981.


Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvp25jA_02jSEcqpsAXUp2_a-NRgD99NVJR00

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snip

A Home Depot in Portland had to order up air conditioners from one of its stores on the cooler Oregon coast to restock for the week. The units arrived Tuesday morning only to sell out three hours later, Home Depot employee Cliff Baker said.


snip

Even some normally cool spots on the coast were hotter than normal, with Astoria, Ore., at the mouth of the Columbia River reaching 92, busting the city's old record of 82 set in 2003.

[murielm99]

1. Are they opening some cooling centers for people

with no air conditioning?

Are there any groups checking on senior citizens and homebound people?

I hope it cools down soon for you guys.

[swag]

2. Yeah, some cooling centers in Portland

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_072709_news_portland_heat_seniors_homeless.80087e9d.html

[paulsby]

3. yup, several cooling centers in my area. one about 1/4 mile from my house

they are doing a pretty good job at getting the word out. the elderly are particularly vulnerable. remmeber how many people died in france in that heat wave they had? scary

[keopeli]

4. freaking hot, is what it is. this is why i left the desert! most people don't have A/C here

It's a large investment to use for a week or two in August. All stores are sold out of A/C units: Costco, Fry's, Lowes, etc. (I'm in East Seattle.)

[Warpy]

14. You left the desert? Sucker!

Here in the desert we use evaporative coolers and keep our houses comfortable for peanuts. My additional bill in the summer is $15.00/month for cooling.

I suffered that type of heat and humidity on the east coast. I can't imagine moving into soggy air again unless electricity is cheap enough I can afford refrigerated AC.

I hope this pattern will break down soon, too, because it's cut off the monsoon here in the desert southwest.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

24. Swamp coolers do no good if the groundwater is too hot...

at least, that was my experience in the city. The other 90% of the time it worked ok. :)

[Warpy]

25. The temperature of the groundwater has no effect

because the water sits in the bottom of the cooler before it's pumped into the distribution pipes. It's going to be the ambient temperature.

However, the cooler generally manages to keep the house 10-15 degrees cooler than the outdoors. That means on that 105 degree day, you will have a 90 degree house--an improvement but not cool in any meaning of the word.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

29. I just remember 120 degree days, 100% humidity

and the water from the tap coming out warm no matter how long you ran it. We ended up not bothering with the noisy ineffective SC, and just hung up wet sheets and fans. It actually worked better :shrug:


edit: spelling

[kestrel91316]

52. SWamp coolers don't work well in humid climates because they rely on evaporative cooling.

My grandparents had one in CO that worked fine because it was dry there. Pacific NW? Not so much, I think.

[tavalon]

38. Surprisingly, the Seattle area is usually very low humidity

that's the kicker this time, it's extra hot and it's humid. Bad combo.

[barb162]

28. How warm is the water in Seattle? Beaches an answer?

[freeplessinseattle]

37. beaches? Seattle?

I wish. the closest thing we have is this beachy type place called Alki beach, but to get to it the traffic is impossible, and the water is never comfortable enough for swimming. To wade would be nice, and we do have a couple of lakes people flock to, and some wading pools in parks. If you are able to get there.

Lucky for me my apt. already had a/c installed in the living room by the previous tenant, so my kitties are congregating in the area. they know something bizarre is going on tho!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

50. Puget Sound is typically in the low 50's during the summer.

Some nice lakes in the 70's, though.

[pdxmom]

5. The temp at my house, which is in a western suburb of Portland, reached

106 yesterday. They are saying it will be that or hotter today. I have A/C, but both of my kids live in apartments that have no A/C, so we're spending some real quality time together.

I worry about power outages today. The local TV stations are doing a pretty good job of keeping folks informed about where the cooling centers are open. I've been checking on my elderly neighbors, to make sure they're okay.

One of the problems is that it isn't cooling down that much at night either, so there is no relief.

[depakid]

7. All time record nightime temperatures, too with some humidity

So things aren't cooling off as they usually do.

[KakistocracyHater]

43. we jsut had 115F heat, I keep ALL east, south, & west windows covered

I added shade fabric to the western windows (75% shade doubled over). When it gets cooler at night I put a box fan in several windows on high-that quickly lowers the inside temp-unless it's 90 at midnight.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. I finally understand what Palin meant by her 150 degrees crap!

85 here is like a 100 in LA. So 100 is like 150.

The humidity is in the low 90's.

It's brutal.

:cry:

[Bluenorthwest]

8. It is so very hot and miserable

I have been out of my mind. And we have AC! Open house on day three now. We are in Eugene.

[nolabear]

9. 7:30 am and 83 degrees in my living room. Aieeee!!!!!11!

My office has ac but evenings are the pits. I use the "bowl of ice water and wash cloth, sponging my quasi-naked body regularly" method. The dogs, however, hate everything.

Every freakin' year I decline buying the air conditioner once the hot days are over, but this many of them is totally abnormal.

[WriteDown]

10. We're actually having storms and cool weather in Dallas

for about the last two weeks. Thanks for sending that down! :) Sure beats 100-110. I know your pain.

[Canuckistanian]

11. Big heat wave in British Columbia, too

In fact, over much of western Canada.

[JBoy]

13. Yup, Vancouver is sweltering.

Not many people here have A/C, myself included. Got to 30C inside my house yesterday, and today should be worse. Luckily I have a basement that's pretty cool, so I'm living down here. Only go upstairs to get a cold drink, grab something to eat or have a shower. I plan out my forays above ground to minimize my exposure.

[AtheistCrusader]

12. This would be fantastic weather if only the humidity would @#$@$%@ off

And maybe a little breeze to move this smog shit out of the foothills. Finally got a little bit of wind in North Bend this morning.

[lumberjack_jeff]

15. 101 here yesterday. n/t

[strategery blunder]

16. I literally had to cross the Cascades to get a/c.

I live with my 84-yo grandmother. Obviously I had no idea how she would take the heat. I called many, many stores here yesterday, and it quickly became evident that everything in the Seattle/Tacoma area was sold out. So it quickly became evident that I'd need to cross the mountains over to Yakima.

Since it's regularly 100 there, there was one left for me to get for her. It's a portable one, the kind with the exhaust hose, and I actually didn't pay that bad a price for it. I took her with me for obvious reasons (namely not leaving her alone in 95+ weather for 6+ hours) so she, the day before believing her "travelling days" were completely over, got in one last trip. :)

Cooling centers wouldn't necessarily work for me because I can't ALWAYS be home to take her to one, let alone loiter there for two hours.

And it'll be available should this kind of shit happen in the future, too :)

[brendan120678]

17. Here in New England, summer is finally starting....

We've just had our first day this year where the thermometer went over 90 here in Connecticut.

[janx]

18. I just got off of the phone with my brother, who is in

a Portland suburb. The pump on his AC went out last night; luckily he has an HVAC friend who helped him with a temporary repair until he can get a new one. The economy isn't helping the situation where he lives; his next door neighbors have a central AC unit but can't afford to use it. All their windows are open, he said. They have rented out rooms in their house--ALL of the windows are open. The other next door neighbor doesn't have AC at all. Those people with AC (like my brother) are having problems because the AC isn't used to this kind of overdrive. Finding an HVAC person to come to your house is all but impossible. Vehicles aren't used to it either.

[Bigmack]

19. Of Course NONE of our "esteemed" TV weather forecasters

are EVEN mentioning the realities of climate change, and the GREAT likelihood that the frequency and intensities of these sorts of weather episodes will only INCREASE in future years..... Oh well, ignorance is bliss, I guess. Ms Bigmack

[wickerwoman]

45. Yep. front page of the Seattle Times says:

"Hottest Day Ever?"

Some are blaming it on global warming but it's just as likely a high pressure system lingering over the area."

Uh yeah... a high pressure system caused by global warming.

Standards of journalism in the toilet...

Soooooo hot here.

:puke:

[GregW]

20. 107 on the street in Eugene yesterday

Made the BAD mistake of biking to work in Springfield on Monday - nearly melted trying to climb the hills in South Eugene to get home.

[Caoimhe]

21. My heat pump was the best investment ever

I am so glad we splurged and got a decent heat pump installed a few years back. It's more than paid for itself, in winter and in summer. Our heating bill went down and our comfort level went up. Here in Central Oregon, 100+ degree weather is not so uncommon, but nevertheless it is still brutal. I grew up west of the Cascades, and the humidity over there is strangulating. There definitely is a difference between moist heat and dry heat. I'll take my 105 degree days with 25% humidity and not 80% humidity, thank you very much.

Now I just hope that the wildfire season isn't bad. Add heat plus smoke and it becomes downright unhealthy for people and pets.

Notice how many drownings there have been in the Northwest in the last week? Oh so many folks hitting the water to try to beat the heat.

[Xithras]

22. I was talking to my dad last night.

He lives on the coast near Newport, where the temps have only been getting up to the mid-70's. He had to drive over to Corvallis for work yesterday, and said he could only take it for an hour before he was back on 20 heading home. He said that most of the people he went there to visit were essentially shut down because of the heat anyway. It was the first time he's used the A/C in his pickup since buying it four years ago.

My dad grew up in the desert-like Central Valley where 105+ summers are the norm, and he said that the heat reminded him why he moved to Oregon in the first place. I humorously had to point out to him that it only hit 96 here yesterday, so our "desert" was actually cooler than his forested paradise.

[doodadem]

23. Welcome to our world.......

We've been getting some record temps here in Calif. too. I'm about 40 miles east of Fresno, up in the mountains. We have been hitting triple digits for the past month. 112 degrees down in Fresno. Already in the 80's when you get up.

We tried the evaporative route--"swamp cooler" for the first few years we were here. It never did the trick. Ended up putting a room A.C. in our dining room, that kind of goes thru the little farmhouse. But its really hard to do any of the work we need to do outside. Really hard on all of our animals too.

One trick that really does help: those neck thingies that you soak in ice water, and then tie around your neck. I keep one cooling all the time.

[Phoonzang]

26. You could just you know....start putting A/Cs in your buildings.

Just in case. I have a feeling you'll be needing it in the coming years.

[wickerwoman]

46. We broke and bought one for the first time last year

after 29 years in the area.

Still hard to justify when there are only three or four unbearably hot days a year but when it gets hot it gets frickin' hot.

[BlueIdaho]

27. Miserable!

Ya'll stay cool and keep an eye on the older folks, kids, and pets - ok? This stuff is potentially life threatening.

[UpInArms]

30. here's the email I received from AccuWeather Forecast this morning: (alarming)

AccuWeather.com News Forecast
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rare Heat in the Arctic


State College, Pa. -- 29 July 2009 -- AccuWeather.com reports heat more befitting the middle latitudes will thrust far to the north over western Canada this week. A sweeping bend in the jet stream will allow heat from the western United States to flow northward over British Columbia to the Yukon and Northwest Territories, even crossing the Arctic Circle.

The most extreme warmth yielding highs of 85, 90 and even 95 degrees, will happen daily through at least Sunday along the lower Mackenzie River of Northwest Territories. Temperatures this high would be up to 30 degrees above normal.

The exceptional heat could continue through the first half of next week as a significant northward veering of the jet stream is likely to persist.

The greatest potential impact of the dry heat for sparsely settled western and northwestern Canada will be the heightened threat of wildfires. This would be further aggravated in the event of any dry thunderstorms, which will be possible during the week.

Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews

[bitchkitty]

31. This heat is nothing on Georgia.

I'm heat-resistant! When I lived there, I used to walk a mile to work in the summer.

It's pretty freaking hot for here though. I'm actually breaking a sweat when I walk the dog.

I'm in Gresham, next to Portland. Our building is very energy efficient, thankfully, and I'm in a studio so it's cheap to cool.

Everyone I know is either holed up with the A/C or at the river. Wish I was!

[depakid]

33. 110.7 at the Oregon Graduate Institute on 185th & Walker Rd. Hillsboro

Humidity 20%

Dewpoint 62º

That's stinking hot anywhere....

[depakid]

34. Correction, make that 111.2 °F

44 °C

[bitchkitty]

47. That's pretty freaking hot.

I don't think it got over 104 here in Gresham, but I was inside most of the day.

[laundry_queen]

51. That reminds me...

Here in BC (Canada) we're getting the same heat wave and on the news they were interviewing some Canadian CFL football players who were complaining about the heat. Then they asked one of the American players (who is from Atlanta) what he thought and he even said it was so hot he couldn't even sleep at night. I thought that was indicative of how hot it has really been. Although, lucky me, I live further up north so we're not as hot as further south, but we're still breaking all kinds of records.

[rollingrock]

32. Strange

it's only 77 F here in southern Californa, and that's not even by the beach.

[freeplessinseattle]

39. yep, the weather people said our heat came up from you!

please, take it back!

My dad's in more pleasant Sacremento, and I thought it'd be too hot for me to visit him this time of year. joke's on me I guess.

[CatholicEdHead]

35. That's where our summer went

It is in the mid-60s with light rain in parts of Minnesota right now.

[jmondine]

36. It's not just the heat. It's also humid, and there's no breeze

Couple that with the fact that virtually no one up here has central air (we usually don't need it), and you've got a nasty situation.

My wife and I tried to buy a portable AC yesterday. We went to three different locations. All were sold out. You can't get an AC to save your life, which is the case with some more vulnerable folks.

I thought I was getting away from this when I moved away from Austin.

[tavalon]

41. Today, dear hubby, I have been soaking my clothes and laying in front of the fan

I'm actually doing okay and Joe shaved the dog down to a nubbin and I've been wetting him down too. The portable fan I ordered should be here next week.

[strategery blunder]

49. Try googling cities across the mountains and calling stores there.

The eastern half of Washington is a bit more acclimated to these temperatures, so whatever a/c is in stock there might last more than a few minutes before getting snapped up (and, according to local news, scalped in a few cases). That's what I did. I called around and everything local was sold out so I googled Yakima hardware stores and started calling. I couldn't even get an industrial fan this side of the Cascades--everything was sold down to the little fans that don't do much if the temp is above 90.

The first two stores in Yakima were sold out, but one suggested I try K-mart because "no one would think to look there."

If you follow this strategy, and find a store with an a/c unit, MAKE SURE YOU ASK THE STORE TO RESERVE THE UNIT FOR YOU! It's not worth the drive unless you KNOW you have an a/c unit waiting for you. Definitely call ahead before committing to drive a long distance.

Note that I live with my 84-yo grandmother so for me I had extra reason to make the trip (and I took her with me so as not to leave her alone in the heat for 6+ hours; even though she wasn't sure how she would handle that distance I knew it was better for me to be able to keep an eye on her hydration). If you live with a vulnerable person/have a vulnerable neighbor that you would entertain inviting into your house for purposes of cooling off (as in a neighborhood cooling center), you should probably give more weight to this idea than if you are just seeking your own personal comfort.

Also the phone is much more efficient than going in person to find everything sold out when shortage is this severe--it is very easy (and necessary) to make more than three phone calls :)

(edited to replace an erroneous question mark with the proper exclamation point :P )

[BreweryYardRat]

40. Never thought I'd be glad that my plans to move out there got delayed.

Still, a freak heat wave like that should stop within a week -- two, tops. Down here in Florida, it'll be in the 90s almost every day for another 3 months.

[CakeGrrl]

42. 101.9° here in Bothell, WA at 3:35PM

My sis lives about 20 minutes away, and she and I are going to a hotel tonight. Took her 10 calls before she found a place with a vacancy.

I've sent my dog to an indoor, very well air-conditioned daycamp all week.

:crazy:

[dixiegrrrrl]

44. When I lived in Seattle, 90 degrees was considered brutal, was very rare.

and that only lasted couple of days, but we all drooped and melted. g'ma hosed down the outside of the house around 8 pm, but no one had fans much less window A/c units.
Now I am in Ala and it is 87 with very high humidity, we always have at least a window A/c going.

My heart goes out to all you, and my family in the Pac. NW. I cannot even conceive of the jet stream swinging that far north, or the heat lasting so long. Not to mention the humidity.
believe me, I am not finding anything humorous in the weather up there.

If I were there, I would invest in a window A/C unit, "just in case".
Obviously the weather patterns are changing.

[Raster]

48. We officially hit 103° at SeaTac.

[and-justice-for-all]

53. We have had a very cool summer here in Indiana this year...nt