At 117 Degrees - The Dalles is hottest town in Oregon
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the area in bright magenta pink. Source.
UPDATE: June 28th at 5 PM
The Dalles is the warmest place in Oregon right now.
The Dalles Municipal Airport reported 117°F (47°C) temperatures today at 4:07 PM.
Humidity 12%
Wind Speed ENE 18 MPH
Barometer 29.62 in (1003.05 mb)
Dewpoint 53°F (12°C)
Visibility 10.00 mi
Heat Index 114°F (46°C)
Hermiston and Pendleton are at 111 degrees F.
UPDATE June 28th, 2021 12:00 PM
New records were set over the weekend for towns in the Columbia River Gorge, as a result of a swelteringly hot once-in-a-millennium “heat dome” event.
The sweltering heat dome that formed over the PNW leading to record high temperatures is an event scientists say should only happens every 1,000 years. However, they warn that due to climate change, these events could not only become a more regular occurrence but also become more intense, bringing increasingly higher temps to the PNW region for increasingly longer periods of time.
Hood River set an all time highest temp record of 110°F over the weekend.
White Salmon also broke its record on Sunday, when temps reached a sweltering 111°F.
Dufur shattered its record of 106°F on Sunday with a record high of 111°F.
Cascade Locks set a new record when when temps reached 111°F on Sunday.
The Dalles met its all time high record of 111°F on Sunday but is expected to set a new record of 115°F on Monday when fire danger reaches an all time high in the region, as some westerly winds make their way down the gorge.
Other cities in the PNW are also facing record high temps.
Seattle broke its record reaching 104°F over the weekend.
And Portland also broke its all time high record of 108°F with 111°F.
June 26th, 2021
An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for the entire Columbia River Gorge and Pacific Northwest region.
The Dalles is set to match or even exceed it’s all-time record high temperature of 111°F-115°F (some sources claimed slightly different records) on Sunday and Monday of next week when temperatures are expected to reach 114°F - 117°F.
To put this into perspective the staggering average daily high in Death Valley, CA, the hottest place on Earth, is nearly 2°F cooler than it is predicted to be in The Dalles on Monday.
Furnace Creek holds the Earth’s record of of the official highest ever recorded air temperature of 134.1°F. The record high was recorded on July 10th, 1913 at Furnace Creek Ranch, in Death Valley in the United States. Making Death Valley the hottest place on Earth. This week Death Valley temperatures may reach a high of 121°F.
During an average year, June temperatures for The Dalles usually do not exceed 81°F, with July usually being the peak of the heat with an average of 11.4 days over 90°F.
But this summer is shaping up to be anything but average.
If The Dalles reaches 117°F on Monday it will tie for the state’s current highest record temperature.
The current record high for the State of Oregon is 117°F and was recorded in Umatilla, OR on July 27, 1939 . The temperature in Umatilla is predicted to reach 117°F again on Wednesday.
The Dalles is not alone in experiencing unseasonably hot temperatures this coming week.
Meteorologists have said the heat dome that has formed over the PNW has an intensity that has never before been recorded by humans. The ‘heat dome’ is a once every 1,000 year type of event, but could become a more regular occurrence due to climate change.
“The heat is being caused by a combination of a significant atmospheric blocking pattern on top of a human-caused climate changed world where baseline temperatures are already a couple to a few degrees higher than nature intended,” said CBS News.
Indeed some climate scientists warn that the situation is worse than this being the ‘new normal’ and that events like this will likely become even more extreme in the future.
"Some people called this a 'new normal. But it is worse than that," Dr. Michael Mann professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University told CBS News. "We will continue to see more and more extreme heat waves, droughts, wildfires and floods as long as we continue to warm the planet through fossil fuel burning and carbon emissions."
Local meteorologist Temira Lital of Temira's Awesome Travel Advisory Service said that across the Northwest, “All-time high temps are likely to be broken, beaten, and shattered. Please take care of yourself. Find a cool place and a cold glass of iced tea and wait it out. Safe travels.”
So, we thought it would be pretty interesting to look at how predictions measure up to our regions all time highs.
Dufur may meet or exceed it’s record high of 110°F on Sunday or Monday.
Hood River may reach or exceed it’s all time record high of 106°F by seven degrees on Monday, reaching temperatures of 113°F.
White Salmon may also break it’s current record high temperature of 101°F on Monday when temperatures are predicted to sore to 110°F.
Cascade Locks may also break it’s record high of 108°F first on Sunday and then again on Monday when temperatures are expected to reach 109-110°F.
Portland, Oregon, could also match or exceed its all-time high temperature of 107°F on Sunday.
