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Science

Record-Crushing Heat Wave Nears Peak in Pacific Northwest (washingtonpost.com) 184

The most severe heat wave in the history of the Pacific Northwest is nearing its climax. The National Weather Service had predicted it would be "historic, dangerous, prolonged and unprecedented," and it is living up to its billing as it rewrites the record books. From a report: On Sunday, Portland, Ore., soared to its highest temperature in more than 80 years of record-keeping: 112 degrees. This new mark occurred just one day after hitting 108, which had broken the previous all-time record of 107. Seattle surged to 104 degrees Sunday, surpassing the old record of 103. The extraordinary heat swelled north of the international border as Canada saw its highest temperature recorded Sunday afternoon, when Lytton in British Columbia surged to 116 degrees. For perspective, that is just 1 degree from the all-time record in Las Vegas. While temperatures may have peaked Sunday afternoon in a few places, many were expected to turn even hotter on Monday or Tuesday, breaking all-time records (a number of which were initially broken Saturday and/or Sunday).
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Record-Crushing Heat Wave Nears Peak in Pacific Northwest

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  • by Ostracus ( 1354233 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @11:17AM (#61529860) Journal

    Time to break out all the Stirling engines. [wikipedia.org]

  • by joshuark ( 6549270 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @11:18AM (#61529864)

    I live in the Portland, Oregon area and the heat is well I'd say the usual crazy Oregon weather, but it is already in the 90's at 9am.

    I often joke in my private conspiracy theory that scientists are playing with the weather machine up on the ISS. Now they've kept the usual cool wind, breeze from the Pacific Ocean from coming inland.

    I just worry that the idiots at city hall will not think to set up a cooling station or shelter and people will die from this baking heat.

    JoshK.

    • by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @11:33AM (#61529928) Journal

      I'm on the south coast of BC, a bit inland, and the temperature yesterday was nearly 106 degrees. I've lived here most of my life and I don't think I've experienced anything like this. If the forecast for today turns out to be correct, we'll be up to 109F. That's just crazy hot, and we're not even in July yet. When the wind blows, it actually makes it worse. I've pretty much put my morning runs on hold, because even at 5:30am, it's warm enough that my body can't properly dissipate heat if I do anything more intense than a fast stride.

      I can only hope that this is a blip, and we are set to drop by end of the week to between 78-80F. What this means for our water supply and for the wildfires this year I can only imagine. It would pretty much be a perfect storm if we had sustained high temperatures and the damned forest caught on fire.

    • by TurboStar ( 712836 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @12:02PM (#61530072)

      I just worry that the idiots at city hall will not think to set up a cooling station or shelter and people will die from this baking heat.

      Portland cooling shelters are at Oregon Convention Center (777 N.E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd); the Arbor Lodge Shelter (1952 N. Lombard St.); and Sunrise Center (18901 E. Burnside St.). People who need help arranging transportation to a cooling center can call 2-1-1.

      • I just worry that the idiots at city hall will not think to set up a cooling station or shelter and people will die from this baking heat.

        Portland cooling shelters are at Oregon Convention Center (777 N.E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd); the Arbor Lodge Shelter (1952 N. Lombard St.); and Sunrise Center (18901 E. Burnside St.). People who need help arranging transportation to a cooling center can call 2-1-1.

        Thank-you for the information, I stand corrected about my ignorance of cooling shelters in Portland.

        JoshK.

    • by jythie ( 914043 )
      I have, sadly, seen people claiming this is all a HAARP based false flag weather modification so the democrats can go after ranchers or something.
      • by cusco ( 717999 )

        I had to give up on watching the wingnut web sites, it was just ruining my day. I'm grateful that there are some people willing to go through that torture and pass it on, but don't let it depress you too much.

  • No AC (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lazarus ( 2879 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @11:57AM (#61530050) Journal

    There are two dangerous aspects of this for people in the PNW/Western Canada. Many people here do not have air conditioning because it "never" gets anywhere close to this temperature. There isn't a fan or AC unit for sale anywhere and people are looking for anywhere they can go to cool off. Even some commercial spaces have no AC (mine doesn't).

    The second risk is of course the danger of forest fires. This time of year is the beginning of the dry season in this part of the world and it is starting out super hot and dry. Unlike other parts of the world that typically have a thunderstorm roll in in the afternoon evening after a hot day, here it is just hot. Thunderstorms are very rare. There is no rain in the forecast for the next two weeks. Unless something changes the next problem will be everything on fire.

    • Re:No AC (Score:5, Interesting)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @12:29PM (#61530196)

      Shade, fluids, keep your activity to a minimum. 41C (hell 45C) was just normal for us growing up in Australia, never had AC in our house either. Be smart, it's not a good time to go out in the sun and play sport and if you do feel nauseous go have a cool shower (not a cold shower, nausea is a sign of heatstroke you don't want to shock your body).

      • by dryeo ( 100693 )

        What was the humidity like? Humidex here is supposed to be 49C and we're just not climatized. Shit they were talking about the dog deaths from heatstroke, in homes, probably glass highrises.

        • What was the humidity like?

          Considering I lived in the tropics and on days with 40C+ we typically were greeted with a thunderstorm at lunchtime, close to 100%.

          Shit they were talking about the dog deaths from heatstroke

          Yep that happens. My point was not that this is dangerous, my point is that use your head and you'll be fine. You don't need an AC to survive this, and neither does your dog. Shade, fluids, reduce activity, for the love of fucking god do not lock your dog in any room and especially not a car (not even for a second*)

          We actually put a rock through some guy's car window when I was

          • by dryeo ( 100693 )

            Luckily I no longer have a dog as this might have killed her with the fur coat my last one had. Anyways, a lot of it is not being used to this. 30C is usually as hot as it gets and I've had minor heat stroke from that. At least later in the week when it drops down to 30 odd, it is going to seem cool

            • Yes absolutely. Unlike the people in the Pacific North West I think the world ends when temperatures dip below 0C. White stuff falls from the sky. :-D Seriously though, I moved to West Europe. The wife is a teacher. Here when temperatures get above 30C for more than 2 days the country switches to "tropical roster" and closes the schools. To us that is utter madness, we'd have had no school at all half the year growing up. For the locals here, it's like the end of days.

              There's a lot to be said for not being

        • Humidity is super low when it gets this hot in the Pacific Northwest. I think it's somewhere in the 25% range.

          • by dryeo ( 100693 )

            Still seems high compared to when I lived in the interior. The local weather does say 25%.

    • by Rhipf ( 525263 )

      If there are no thunder then there probably isn't going to be much lightning (if you aren't getting thunder you also aren't getting lightning since they go hand-in-hand) and if it is also too hot out for people to be out and about the risks of fires starting should hopefully go down.
      If a fire does start though the likelihood of it growing out of control is a lot higher with the hot dry conditions.

    • It's funny how we keep having to re-learn how to exist as humans in a harsh environment. Evaporative cooling and fans, reflective insulation, manipulating pressure systems (window placement/opening), and of course, sitting outside under a shady tree (or in a forest) with a good breeze on a dry day. You can also eat spicy foods, which will make you sweat, which will cool you down. Just remember to hydrate!

    • by dryeo ( 100693 )

      Usually these hot spells end with lots of lightning releasing the built up energy. Lets hope they have rain along with the lightning.

    • by cusco ( 717999 )

      The only possible saving grace is that the rain didn't stop until a couple of weeks ago, unlike most years when it tapers off in mid-May.

    • by fermion ( 181285 )
      What we are going to see as climate change leads to sustained changes in weather. For Portland this has meant disruption to TriMet, which right now is shut down due to heat. In Texas, the conventional power plants freeze a few months ago. In Phoenix planes were grounded for a day a few years back. My car, built in for a country that does not often see temperatures over 90, does not do so well in my relentless 100 degree summers. Forest fires are a major risk for homeowners who believe they will have time to
    • Many people here do not have air conditioning because it "never" gets anywhere close to this temperature. There isn't a fan or AC unit for sale anywhere and people are looking for anywhere they can go to cool off.

      Yeap... And the night time temps are in the 70's so you can't use the good ole PNW method of opening all the windows at night and closing things up for the day.

    • I'm so glad I bought a portable AC unit in 2015 when my neighborhood in Seattle last hit 100F. Dug it out of storage and hooked it up in my bedroom to make it possible to sleep in there (and keep my dog safe!).

      This is supposedly a "once in a millennium" heat dome but there's some evidence that climate change is making the jet stream slower and less stable, which directly leads into these blocking patterns that trap hot (or cold) weather where it doesn't belong. So this stuff might become more common in the

  • Calm down everyone (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AlanObject ( 3603453 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @12:07PM (#61530098)

    I am sure Senator Inhofe is quite prepared to bring another snowball to the Senate chambers.

    I am equally sure that there will be plenty of idiots in his state to re-elect him.

    So no need to panic.

  • by Dastardly ( 4204 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @12:09PM (#61530124)

    111F ~44C on Sunday on my outdoor thermometer. The most uncomfortable thing is that the low last night was not supposed to be much under 80F ~26.5C. So, you don't start today as low as you would like inside to get through one more day. Luckily at my house, I am at the bottom of a valley and it seems to have cooled off more last night (67F ~19.5C) than the nearest towns that are not in the valley.

    • by jwdb ( 526327 )

      For comparison, I measured a peak of 40 C on Sunday outdoors in the shade in Los Angeles (inland valleys). Lucky for us we're a desert climate so the night-time low was 17 C.

      Seattle being hotter than LA... something screwy's going on there.

      • by dryeo ( 100693 )

        You're a lot likelier to have air conditioning as well. It was 24C in my house this morning. According to my weather station, which I think is about 15 years old, the highest it was outside before this weekend was 27C and 24C inside.

  • by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Monday June 28, 2021 @12:22PM (#61530172)

    Open the doors and windows and turn the AC on max. We'll get this temperature down in no time. Now you may ask isn't that a strain on the electricity grid? Don't worry, I'm running the AC's on gasoline generators so the grid isn't affected. If we all do this we can beat global warming. I'm not stupid. I did finish grade 7, twice at that!

    • I realize this is meant as a joke, but some people may try it when the sun goes down and it is hotter inside than outside. The cold air from the air conditioners meeting the humid outside air will create moisture inside the house and the mold spores coming in with the outside air will start growing indoors in a few days. Run the AC's with windows closed or turn off the air conditioners and move air through the house, but doing both at the same time is asking for trouble.
      • I knew a guy who on a hot day opened his refrigerator door to cool his living room. There are some very special people out there.

  • Pop some popcorn and watch the climate change deniers in their sweaters who claim it's a bit chilly today dropping like flies in the heat.

    • Unfortunately, many of those people live east of the mountains where they've already needed AC every summer because it's a desert. Going from the usual 90F to 110F will just triple their electricity usage, but hey, power is cheap!

  • The average precipitation for Edmonton in June is 77mm [currentresults.com].

    The total precipitation this June, 24mm [weather.gc.ca].

  • At least we have air conditioning. The folks in 1911 didn't:

    https://www.newenglandhistoric... [newengland...ociety.com]

  • FFS please provide a unit of measure that people outside of Liberia, Myanmar and the US use (less than 10% of the worlds population). It's just dumb, dumb, dumb. Feet, pounds, gallons (dry, wet, US, Imperial, english, irish) chains, links, yards, cups, gills, bushels, cubits, horsepower, candlepower inches or mercury, foot pounds, Fahrenheit, ounces, knots, miles. Guys it an absolute joke. Aviation has been trying to standardize on sensible units since 1947 which has been blocked by the US.
    Compare the abov

  • by Qbertino ( 265505 ) <moiraNO@SPAMmodparlor.com> on Monday June 28, 2021 @10:30PM (#61532228)

    The real problem happens further up north, where scientists suspect natural methane is being released way to early, way to fast and in way to large a scale due to human global warming. A run-away effect that will up warming even harder and further once global ice and arctic permafrost melting gets up to speed. Methane is 23x more potent as a greenhouse gas than co2. Look up "methane clathrate hypothesis", it's nightmare material.

    I'll emphasize once again:
    We're 5 decades to late in hitting the brakes and reversing. What we see right now was caused in the 70ies and and 80ies. What's happening right now will come into effect in 30 years or so. The ecosystem will change, it's too late to stop that. The question is, if we're smart and fast enough to have modern civilization survive. I'm seriously concerned. It's 20 past 12 and we're still wasting our time talking to dimwitts instead of solving the problem.

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. -- Thomas Edison

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