Pacific Northwest threatened by hottest weather ever recorded; Seattle could hit 100

An overpowering dome of hot air has entrenched itself over the Pacific Northwest and is primed to cook population centers like Seattle and Portland in record-crushing heat through Friday.

European model simulation of heat
dome over Pacific Northwest Thursday.

Excessive heat warnings blanket the western third of Northern California, Oregon and Washington state. High temperatures just inland from coastal locations are forecast to soar to between 100 and 110 degrees.

“We are talking about one of the major sustained heat waves in a long time around here,” writes Cliff Mass, professor of meteorology at the University of Washington. He said that “there is a lot of confidence” temperatures will at least reach the mid-90s in Seattle and notes the GFS model projects a high of 100 on Thursday — a reading he can’t “remember ever seeing”.

Read the story by Jason Samenow in The Washington Post - “Pacific Northwest threatened by hottest weather ever recorded; Seattle could hit 100.”