Heat Records Don’t Stand a Chance

While the Northeast might start breathing more easily this week, the heat will intensify again in the West. Keep reading to discover what sweltering lies in store.

The Pacific Northwest takes its turn in the hot seat

The weekend brough intense heat to the Northwest, with many cities inching close to their all-time temperature records. While the potential for record-breaking heat is set to decrease throughout the week, temperatures in the region will remain above average, Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service, told me. Cities like Spokane, Washington and Boise, Idaho will continue to see triple-digit temperatures until at least Wednesday. In fact, on Thursday, Boise might see its 10th day in a row above 100 degrees, breaking the city’s record.

The region also struggled this weekend — and will continue to struggle this summer — with increased wildfire activity. On Saturday, residents of Baker County had to evacuate as a fire spread to residential areas. As of yesterday, Oregon’s firefighters were dealing with 81 active fires, burning through over 500,000 acres of the state. This week, a high pressure area combined with moisture coming from the Pacific Ocean may contribute to thunderstorms — but not enough precipitation to break the dry conditions in the region. The pattern will increase the likelihood of wildfires, as lighting might spark blazes.

• Looking Ahead: While the Northwest will experience lower temperatures near the end of the week, conditions will remain scorching. The brief respite comes with bad news for cities a little to the right on the map as the heat shifts eastward. Populations in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and others in the region will be the next ones to live through 100-plus degrees.

Relief is on the way for the mid-Atlantic

All across the East Coast temperatures shattered records last week. On July 16, thermometers in Washington, D.C. reached 104 degrees for just the 13th time in history. The next day the District capped off a run of four days with temperatures above 101 degrees, setting — you guessed it — a new record. And that was just the heat — factoring in humidity, the weather felt more like 108 degrees at its hottest.

In Maryland, summer camps had to move activities indoors for the campers’ safety. Last Monday, only 75 children attended the Horizon Day Camp in Baltimore County. Usually there are around 200 campers.

The heat wave also brought back transit issues across the region. Commuters in the D.C. area and in New York struggled through train cancellations and delays.

• Looking Ahead: Thankfully, more agreeable temperatures are in store for this week. “On any given day, the temperatures might be one or two degrees above average or below average,” Oravec told me. He added that other regions of the country will also get a break this week. Parts of the Central and Southern Plains will see below average temperatures, he told me.

Arizona is investigating hundreds of heat-related deaths, with no end in sight

In Arizona County alone, more than 300 deaths are being linked to record-breaking heat, NBC News reported on Thursday. Also, 23 deaths in the county have been confirmed to have been caused by heat or heat-related complications — and those numbers are up to date only through July 13, meaning they don’t include last week’s heat. But unlike other parts of the country, the Southwest will continue to broil this week.

“Highs will be closer to historical averages in Phoenix next week, but still above 110 in Las Vegas most days, which could challenge some daily records again later next week,” Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, told me.

The West will get the worst

Sorry, California. According to Oravec, for at least the month of August, most of the extreme heat in the U.S. will remain concentrated in the West. That’s not the worst of it, even — conditions will also be very dry. “There’s really not a very good chance of rain across the West, especially across parts of the Northwest and the Great Basin where there’s going to be a lot of record high temperatures,” Oravec told me. When hot and dry conditions occur together, that means wildfires.

On the bright side, CNET reported that California’s investment in solar-powered batteries might have kept the state’s lights on during a heat wave that lasted through July 12. The batteries provided an additional 10,000 megawatts of power.

• Looking Ahead: Another scorching heat wave started to make its way to California on Thursday, and the extreme temperatures are set to continue. Up through the middle of the week, Northern California can expect consecutive days with temperatures in the triple digits. “The interior of California and the Intermountain West could once again challenge some daily record highs. For example, Fresno, California will have highs near 110 degrees F from Monday through Wednesday, which can challenge records those days,” Pydynowski told me. Still, the worst may be behind them — this new wave likely won’t be as intense as the one Californians just went through, he said..

Tourists’ favorite European countries bake in the heat

Sweltering heat continues to spread across Europe. Early last week, Italy placed several cities under its most severe heat alert. The country also reported an increased number of wildfires — two firefighters died while putting out a fire in Southern Italy.

That said, most of the extreme heat hitting the region seems to be in the past now. “If we are looking for extreme heat, chances of that being widespread across Italy to Ukraine looks to be on the low side for the rest of the summer,” Pydynowski told me. In the second half of August, temperatures might return to the high 90s for a while, at least.

In Greece, authorities shut down the Acropolis on Wednesday to protect tourists and workers from extreme temperatures. Earlier in the day, before the closure, Red Cross volunteers were distributing bottled water to those waiting in line for the attraction. Several Greek islands have also been dealing with severe water shortages, and some have resorted to desalinating seawater for drinking and banning the refilling of swimming pools. Next week, the interior and coastal regions of the country will continue to see temperatures around 95 degrees, with the possibility of reaching 104 degrees.

• Looking Ahead: Spain got its first heat wave of the summer this past week, and while things cooled off some this weekend, heat will pick up again this week, “with daytime high temperatures near [104 degrees] in some places such as Madrid by the middle of the week,” Pydynowski told me.