'Bonkers' heat wave shattered records from Eugene, Oregon, to Canada. Monday is forecast to be even hotter.
With an intense heat dome pitched over the Pacific Northwest, cities from Eugene, Oregon, to Lytton in Canada's British Columbia, saw their hottest temperatures in recorded history on Sunday. Eugene hit 111 degrees, topping its 1981 record of 108; Portland reached 112 degrees, beating its all-time high of 108 degrees from Saturday; and Seattle hit a record 104 degrees Sunday evening. For context, "in recorded history, Seattle has had 5 days of 100+ temperatures," The New York Times' Mike Baker noted. "Two were this weekend. Another may come Monday."
Lytton, about 95 miles northeast of Vancouver, reached 116 degrees on Sunday, which is the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada. Incredibly, meteorologist Eric Holthaus tweeted, "today's 116°F in British Columbia, Canada, is only 1 degree 'cooler' than the all-time high temp record in Las Vegas, Nevada."
"The strength of the heat dome, or sprawling zone of high pressure centered near the U.S.-Canada border, promoting these temperatures is simply off the charts," The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang reports. "Its intensity is so statistically rare that it might be expected only once every several thousand years on average. But man-made climate change has made exceptional events like this many times more probable. Meteorologists are describing the situation as 'insane,' 'bonkers,' and 'incredible.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Portland is forecast to hit 114 degrees on Monday, while Seattle is expected to reach 110 degrees. Spokane, Washington, is forecast to tie its all-time record of 108 on Sunday and blaze up to 111 degrees on Tuesday. Few people in the typically temperate Pacific Northwest have air conditioning.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The de-extinction process to bring woolly mammoths back to life
Under the Radar Biotechnology start-up's stem cell research brings possibility of genetically engineered species a step closer
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - March 17, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - history repeating, the Pope's white flag, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Derelict homes, Welsh mines, and vinyl
Podcast What can we do about abandoned property? Are old mines still doing us harm? And what do LP sales tell us about the economy?
By The Week Staff Published
-
What is the Anthropocene — and more importantly, when?
Under The Radar Just because a panel of scientists has rejected calls to classify a new global epoch does not mean it hasn't already begun
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Extreme weather events in the last year
In Depth Extreme weather events are becoming more common thanks to climate change, and are 'affecting every corner of the world'
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
An amphibian that produces milk?
speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hoped
speed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why February 29 is a leap day
Speed Read It all started with Julius Caesar
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Magnolias in space': why scientists have created the world's first wooden satellite
Under The Radar New Japanese probe could help tackle 'graveyard of space junk' encircling Earth
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
US spacecraft nearing first private lunar landing
Speed Read If touchdown is successful, it will be the first U.S. mission to the moon since 1972
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Winds of change: how to fix long-term weather forecasts
The Explainer A new research project aims to accurately predict the weather up to a month in advance
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published