PNW Heatwave - stay hydrated folks!

[CuriousByNature]

I had a call with my uncle this morning who lives in Vancouver, Canada.  He was telling me that the region is in for record-breaking heat this weekend.  I looked it up, and sure enough, it is expected that the city could hit 38C (100F) on Sunday or Monday, and with humidity it could feel like 42C (110F).   Night temperatures may only dip to the low 20sC (mid-70sF), which would be warmer than the average normal day temperature in late June.

I lived in Vancouver for a few years, and it felt horrible the few times the temperature would hit 33C (90-91F), so this may be unprecedented discomfort for the area.  And I saw that parts of the region could hit 40C (105F) and interior parts of the province might reach 44C-45C (112F-114F) which would rival Canada's all-time record high temperature set decades ago.

Not sure if anyone on the Forum lives in BC/Washington State, but this is just a shout out to keep safe, and to please check in on elderly relatives, neighbours and friends.  Many people in the Pacific Northwest do not have airconditioning, so it might be a dangerous few days.

[+ pdxleo]

I managed to convince my 78-year-old stroke victim Mom to head back home to Portland early from her auto trip to visit relatives in Montana- the idea of her driving across the desert-like Columbia Basin in Saturday's expected 115 degrees was the final straw- she didn't tell me she'd left until she was in Milton-Freewater, and she knows she crossed a line going off alone on a 900-mile car trip. Discussion will be had tomorrow.

[CuriousByNature]

27 minutes ago, pdxleo said:

I managed to convince my 78-year-old stroke victim Mom to head back home to Portland early from her auto trip to visit relatives in Montana- the idea of her driving across the desert-like Columbia Basin in Saturday's expected 115 degrees was the final straw- she didn't tell me she'd left until she was in Milton-Freewater, and she knows she crossed a line going off alone on a 900-mile car trip. Discussion will be had tomorrow.

She sounds feisty. Praying she will remain safe and well. 🙏

[Antonio1981]

I’ve been in Seattle when there are record breaking heatwaves in the past as well as record breaking cold spells. Being from California, I can handle the heat but the challenge is most homes don’t have air conditioning. 

[+ Lucky]

5 hours ago, Antonio1981 said:

I’ve been in Seattle when there are record breaking heatwaves in the past as well as record breaking cold spells. Being from California, I can handle the heat but the challenge is most homes don’t have air conditioning. 

At least they don't have to worry about their A/C breaking down when it is 120 or so! In the desert, that's always a concern. Or general power failure...

[CuriousByNature]

Was watching CBC news tonight.  It looks like a little place called Lytton in the Fraser Canyon of BC (about 3hrs drive from Vancouver) broke Canada's all time high temperature on Sunday, when the mercury hit 46.6C (116F).  And today they broke their own record by hitting 48C (118F).  

[+ tassojunior]

To put it in perspective:

 

Edited June 29, 2021 by tassojunior

[+ Orin]

I'm in a small town near Olympia, WA, and it got to 109 here today, a few degrees hotter than yesterday. We don't have A/C, so it's been open doors and windows, plus fans of various kinds.  Even so, I've still managed to get a ~3 mi shirtless walk in early in the morning, while the temperatures were going from 70-something to 80-something. sure, I get the occasional wave, but so far nobody has tried to pick me up.

[+ Lucky]

When I lived in San Francisco, we would get about 5 days a year of temps in the 105 range. Without A/C, we endured it, knowing it would not last and that the next day might actually be cold and foggy!

[CuriousByNature]

7 hours ago, Lucky said:

When I lived in San Francisco, we would get about 5 days a year of temps in the 105 range. Without A/C, we endured it, knowing it would not last and that the next day might actually be cold and foggy!

That's how it was for me when I was in Vancouver for a few years - it would hit the low 90's a few days each summer, but not for a long enough stretch to make an air conditioner worth the investment or the trouble.  

[Luv2play]

8 hours ago, Lucky said:

When I lived in San Francisco, we would get about 5 days a year of temps in the 105 range. Without A/C, we endured it, knowing it would not last and that the next day might actually be cold and foggy!

I saw on a map of the west coast today that SF was in the 60s. And LA in the 80s. All the rest was triple digits including in British Columbia.

[+ pdxleo]

Went over to Mom's on Sunday noontime. As I parked and walked up to the door I saw the front room windows wide open and two fans working- the thermostat said it was 87 degrees inside!. She had got out the portable  AC cabinet, but had the hoses hooked up wrong- the exhaust was heating up the room, not cooling. So, project #1 was to get the AC vented properly, and in an hour the living room was down to 78 degs. During the wait we had "the talk" about driving and solo travel- I doubt that it took the first time, but my brother and I have agreed to reinforce this idea each visit. Eventually she'll cave ,or she'll tell us to "Fuck off about my car", but at least she knows that we are keeping track. She now knows that I'm serious about leaving for Florida, and the idea is now planted about living in North Idaho, where my middle brother can help keep track of things.

On the other hand, there haven"t been any reports of heat-related deaths in Portland metro, a blessing indeed!

[CuriousByNature]

2 hours ago, pdxleo said:

Went over to Mom's on Sunday noontime. As I parked and walked up to the door I saw the front room windows wide open and two fans working- the thermostat said it was 87 degrees inside!. She had got out the portable  AC cabinet, but had the hoses hooked up wrong- the exhaust was heating up the room, not cooling. So, project #1 was to get the AC vented properly, and in an hour the living room was down to 78 degs. During the wait we had "the talk" about driving and solo travel- I doubt that it took the first time, but my brother and I have agreed to reinforce this idea each visit. Eventually she'll cave ,or she'll tell us to "Fuck off about my car", but at least she knows that we are keeping track. She now knows that I'm serious about leaving for Florida, and the idea is now planted about living in North Idaho, where my middle brother can help keep track of things.

On the other hand, there haven"t been any reports of heat-related deaths in Portland metro, a blessing indeed!

I heard that parts of BC hit 120F today.  And other parts may come close to that tomorrow as the heat dome moves eastward.  Some news outlets have reported more than 200 dead so far.  I expect most are elderly people living on their own, unaware of cooling centres and too afraid to leave windows open.  I don't think it's the daily high temps doing the damage but probably the added humidity and lack of much cooling overnight.  And few people have air conditioning in their homes.

[+ Orin]

20 minutes ago, CuriousByNature said:

I heard that parts of BC hit 120F today.  And other parts may come close to that tomorrow as the heat dome moves eastward.

Looking at the weather map, it appears that the dome of hot air is pretty much trapped by a very large meander of the jet stream, which drives a lot of weather systems on the northern tier.  I haven't read anything about it, but if that river of air behaves like rivers of water, meanders are symptomatic of slowed current. I've read that the Gulf Stream, part of the global network of ocean currents, has been slowing as well. Both of these things may well be a result of warming temperatures, and further changes may be in store.

[+ pdxleo]

I guess the northern Willamette Valley got thru this relatively unscathed- only one death reported so far, but Seattle/Puget Sound is currently at 19 victims. Even one loss is too many, but it could have been much, much worse.

[CuriousByNature]

1 hour ago, pdxleo said:

I guess the northern Willamette Valley got thru this relatively unscathed- only one death reported so far, but Seattle/Puget Sound is currently at 19 victims. Even one loss is too many, but it could have been much, much worse.

I meant to reply to your earlier post that I was glad to hear your mom made it home safely

[lonely_john]

Keep denying Climate Change you bitches.

[CuriousByNature]

2 hours ago, lonely_john said:

Keep denying Climate Change you bitches.

I should preface this by first stating that I am in no way a climate change denier .  I was reading an article somewhere that mentioned the latest heatwave and how climate change might be a factor.  The scientist explained that he does not doubt that climate change is real, but that climate change may have only added one or two degrees celsius to what would already have been an intense heatwave.  So without climate change being a factor, he thinks that the region would have hit 45C or 46C anyway, which is likely a once in a hundred-year event.  Climate change likely brought those temps up to 48C and 49C, and may have contributed to the heatwave occurring so early in the summer.  Sadly, on the CBC news tonight I saw that the record-breaking town of Lytton BC is currently evacuated due to an out of control wildfire that appears to be sweeping across the town. 

[+ Pensant]

I fled to the Oregon Coast and came back to the Seattle area early Tuesday. We’re back to highs in the 70’s and cool marine layer mornings, thank God!

[+ Lucky]

2 hours ago, Pensant said:

I fled to the Oregon Coast and came back to the Seattle area early Tuesday. We’re back to highs in the 70’s and cool marine layer mornings, thank God!

That sure sounds good to those of us in the hot desert!

[Luv2play]

3 hours ago, Lucky said:

That sure sounds good to those of us in the hot desert!

I checked out the PS 7 day weather yesterday as I was doing a survey of western areas of Canada just to see the comparison. The temps looked pretty similar. Although Vancouver looked like it was going to decline soon as the heat moved on to Calgary and Edmonton. Still, very high temperatures.

Glad we have been  spared so far. I was going to have central air installed last year and put it off because of the pandemic. And did the same this year. One of these years I’ll get around to it.

[+ Lucky]

I need a new A/C, or at least I will soon. The one I have has lasted 17 years and has been a faithful friend. I have had mixed luck with salesman. They don't seem to want to work.

[+ pdxleo]

Unfortunately, the various county coroners have begun reporting their fatalities, now over 60 souls lost- appalling that many persons were unable to get to a cooling center, so very sad.

[Guest]

Take heed of the OP's advice to stay hydrated!

[BSR]

55 minutes ago, pdxleo said:

Unfortunately, the various county coroners have begun reporting their fatalities, now over 60 souls lost- appalling that many persons were unable to get to a cooling center, so very sad.

60+ deaths, how tragic.  I wonder why more weren't able to get to a cooling center.  Maybe some didn't know about them or know where they were (many seniors don't use the Internet). Perhaps some didn't have transportation to get back & forth (many seniors no longer drive).  Whatever the reason, it's so sad.  If transportation were the issue, I'm sure plenty of volunteers would gladly offer to drive people to cooling centers.