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US northwest swelters in record heatwave

An historic heatwave has scorched northwest region of the US and Canada, toppling records.

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Six-year-old twins Axel (R) and Lionel Berg (L) play in a splash park at the Georgetown Playfield during a heatwave in Seattle, Washington state. [Karen Ducey/Reuters]
By News Agencies
Published On 27 Jun 2021

An historic heatwave has scorched northwest region of the US and Canada, toppling records and sending residents searching for relief.

Stores sold out of portable air conditioners and fans, hospitals cancelled outdoor vaccination clinics, cities opened cooling centres, baseball teams abandoned or moved up weekend games, and utilities braced for possible power outages.

Portland, Oregon, reached 42.2 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit ) on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The previous heat record for Oregon’s largest city was 41.7 C (107 F ), a mark hit in 1965 and 1981.

Seattle reached 38.3 C (101 F) Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record and only the fourth time in recorded history the usually temperate city had topped 37.7 C (100 F).

The forecast was for even hotter temperatures on Sunday and Monday. Many all-time heat records could be broken. In Seattle, the highest temperature ever measured was 39.4 C (103 F), in 2009.

Paramedics respond to a heat exposure call in Salem, Oregon. [Nathan Howard/AP Photo]
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A paramedic with Falck Northwest ambulance service treats a man experiencing heat exposure in Salem, Oregon. [Nathan Howard/AP Photo]
People party on boats off Seward Park on Lake Washington during a heatwave in Seattle. [Karen Ducey/Reuters]
A woman and her dog on a paddleboard in Seward Park in Seattle, Washington. Seattle reached 38.3 C (101 F) Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record. [Karen Ducey/Reuters]
Terrill Holmes drinks a beverage during the Seattle heatwave. All of Washington and Oregon and parts of Idaho, Wyoming and California are under an excessive heat warning. [Karen Ducey/Reuters]
Across the region, dozens of daily record high temperatures are expected to be set, with monthly and even all-time records in jeopardy of falling. [Karen Ducey/Reuters]
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Officials in Multnomah County, Oregon, which encompasses the state's largest city of Portland, warned that the heatwave could cause public transportation delays, strain emergency medical services and cause power outages. [Karen Ducey/Reuters]
Bill Forte from North Sky Communications works on a fibre-optic line in Lake Forest Park, Washington. [Karen Ducey/Reuters]