June has been a notably hot month for many parts of the U.S. and Canada. The western half of the continent has been under a heat dome (as this phenomenon is called virally), a stationary region of high pressure held in place by a statically cool north Pacific and a persistent wet pattern pressing northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Exacerbated by moderate to extreme drought conditions, hot desert air has circulated from the desert Southwest to the Pacific Northwest, where many residents don’t have air conditioning due to average daily temperatures that rarely exceed 80 oF. This has led to a tragedy that is hard to quantify – sudden deaths in Vancouver tripled during the heat wave, meaning that several hundred likely perished between Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia as a direct result of extreme temperatures. Cooling centers are helping by harboring many who were suffering without climate control. But this is early into the summer season, and we don’t know whether these broader conditions that favor heat waves will produce another catastrophic one.
I don’t use the word catastrophic lightly, at least not this time. In the context of new normals and records that seem to break left and right, it’s important to understand that the magnitude and duration of this heat wave was very unusual, something that I haven’t seen during my lifetime. Like I compiled for the infamous “Snow-VID” winter weather pattern in February, here is a list of historic extremes experienced during this hot month:
- Canada’s all-time record high temperature was recorded in the mountain village of Lytton, BC, on Monday. The 49.6 oC (121.4 oF) mark beat the previous record of 45 oC in Saskatchewan (a region with hotter summers and greater temperature fluctuation). For perspective, the highest recorded temperatures in Texas and Oklahoma are *only* 120 oF.
- Washington and Oregon both had towns that recorded 118 oF on Monday, all-time marks by a couple of degrees.
- Portland, OR broke all-time heat records three days in a row, topping out at 116 oF on Monday. The streetcar system closed because the wires were melting and flexing under the heat.
- Seattle’s 108 oF high temperature on Monday broke their all-time record by 5 degrees. Ice cream parlors were closed, and the fish at Pike Place Market were extra stinky, presumably.
- Wildfires have broken out from northern California up to British Columbia, assisted by the extreme heat and preexisting drought conditions. After two days of oppressive heat exceeding 120 oF, poor Lytton burned in a fast-moving wildfire today that killed 2 and displaced hundreds.
- Areas of the Canadian Rockies were under flood warnings due to snow melting at “extraordinary” rates. In a region known for astounding views of alpine glaciers that are receding, this is sad news.
- Daily records were set in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and across California last week. It’s noteworthy since August is historically the hottest month and the all-time highs were approached or matched in June.
- Earlier this month, record highs were set across the Great Plains: Omaha, Denver, Grand Forks, and more breaking June highs by significant margins over consecutive days.
In a field that keeps records for everything, breaking any record is meaningful. It means that the conditions on that particular day were more extreme than any other data point taken over the last 120 or more years. A string of record-breaking days is newsworthy. Shattering all-time records by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit is on another level entirely. The latest extreme heat wave in the Pacific Northwest? It was unprecedented.
Worldly Observations 