Spring Heat Wave Slams US Pacific Northwest
© AP Photo / Claire Rush
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A brutal heat wave has slammed the northwest coast of the United States, even as the historic record indicates the current climate has no business reaching such temperatures.
American media is warning of a spring heat wave that’s currently gaining steam across the Pacific Northwest.
“The warmth, courtesy of a building area of high pressure over the western United States, will allow afternoon high temperatures to reach 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) above historical averages from California to areas north into western Canada into the new week,” meteorologists at AccuWeather indicated.
According to forecasters, cities like Seattle “could end up having their first 90-degree days of the year.”
1/2: Extreme May, #heatwave starts for the Pacific Northwest, this weekend.
— Vlad Raducu (@vlad_rad) May 10, 2023
2/2: Potential for severe Thunderstorms developing next week. #BCStorm #BCHeat #BCNews #Heatdome #PNW #Wawx #Vancouver #Nanaimo #Climate #News pic.twitter.com/MOoMbm95ZW
The warning comes as the National Weather Service put out heat advisories across the western United States. Their Canadian counterparts at Environment Canada “issued special heat statements in portions of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan,” according to the written statement.
As the scientists explained, “the rising temperatures are a sudden pattern change across the region,” in a location “where temperatures had been largely below historical averages at the start of May.”
As AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert explained, it “will feel like Mother Nature flipped a switch as the jet stream bulges northward across the Western states.”
The temperatures recorded extend well beyond the averages expected in the region.
“From May 1-10 in Portland, all but three days featured temperatures at or below historical averages, which are in the upper 60s at this point,” AccuWeather pointed out. “However,” they continued, “a period of exceptional warmth began Friday, as the mercury touched the 90-degree mark for the first time this year and broke the 1973 daily record of 87.”
“Record-challenging highs in the lower 90s are expected to persist right into Monday,” the article concluded.
