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| A Seattle resident sticks his head in a bucket of water to cool off during that city's hottest day on record on Sunday. Photo by Sylvia Jarrus, Seattle Times |
The heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and southwestern Canada continued to be mind-blowing on Sunday.
The temperature reached 116 degrees in Lytton, British Columbia Canada, making it the hottest temperature on record for any date, anywhere in Canada.
The old record high for the nation was 113 degrees in the Dust Bowl days, July 5, 1937 at two locations in Saskatchewan.
It's unbelievable to have a national heat record, particularly in a nation as large as Canada, broken by three degrees. Even more amazingly, it's possible that new Canadian national heat record could be broken again today as the heat drags on.
In the United States, Seattle, Washington set its all time record high Sunday, reaching 104 degrees. The "low" temperature in the morning of 73 degrees was also the warmest minimum reading for any date. The city could break that high today, with a forecast high of 105 degrees.
To nobody's surprise, the heat is proving to be dangerous. On Saturday alone, 41 people went to Seattle area emergency rooms with heat illnesses, according to the Seattle Times. The previous single-day record for heat-related emergency room visits was nine. Data from Sunday isn't in yet, but I imagine it's even worse.
Hoquiam, Washington, normally a chilly, damp city right on the Pacific Ocean, reached their all time high before 11 a.m., which is pretty incredible since high temperatures during a heat wave usually peak in the late afternoon.
By late afternoon, Hoquiam peaked at 103 degrees. The old record for the date was 88 degrees and normal high temperatures there this time of year are usually only in the mid-60s. Further inland, Pasco, Washington hit 115 degrees.
Portland, Oregon also had an all-time record high of 112 degrees, beating the old record by four degrees. That old record, by the way, was just set Saturday, a day earlier.
More all time records will probably be set today, but the focus of the heat will be just a little further inland. The heat should abate pretty quickly this week right along the coast. For instance, after an expected record high of 97 in Hoquiam today, daily highs will be in the low 70s the rest of the week.
The heat, however, will continue blazing on all week in interior Washington and Oregon. In the eastern Washington city of Spokane, it will be in the 100s daily through Saturday, but it will "cool" from an expected high Tuesday of 113 all the way down to 101 by Sunday. Normal high temperatures this time of year in Spokane are in the upper 70s, so this is really extreme and long lasting for them.
Interior Oregon will also have daily highs in the 100s all week. Note that the longer a heat wave lasts, the more dangerous it is.
VERMONT/NEW ENGLAND HEAT
We here in Vermont and the rest of New England are feeling the heat, too. At least it's not as extreme as out west but it's plenty warm.
Burlington, Vermont reached 94 degrees Sunday, not a record but up there. That's the sixth time it's been 90 or better this year, which is normal for an entire summer. Five of those days were at least degrees.
The nights have been the more impressive aspect of this hot spell in Vermont. Yesterday, Burlington broke its record for the warmest low temperature for the date, as it only got down to 75 degrees. Montpelier only got down to 72 degrees Sunday morning, breaking its record for highest minimum for the date.
Even the notorious cold spot Saranac Lake, New York, which hit the freezing mark of 32 degrees twice last week, only got down to 69 degrees Sunday morning.
It was just as bad this morning.
In Burlington, it was still 80 degrees at 5 a.m. today. Montpelier was 81 at that hour and it was 80 degrees at my place. Those without air conditioning had an awfully stuffy night.
The highest "low" temperature for any date in Burlington is 80 degrees. It did slip below that reading by 7 a.m., driven down ever so slightly to 76 degrees by light rain showers. But still. Ick.
It'll be another hot one today, with Burlington and many other New England cities very likely to top 90 degrees again. Heat advisories that were up in southern New England have been extended northward today into the Champlain and Connecticut River valleys of Vermont.
Heat indexes should be in the upper 90s in these areas today.
Some early showers did break out this morning, but didn't amount to much. There's a risk of some widely scattered thunderstorms this afternoon, but the vast majority of us won't see any rain.
Rain is also unlikely Tuesday and it will be almost as hot. The next decent chance of rain is on Wednesday, and the end of the week is looking cooler.
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