NewsNational

Actions

Northwest sizzles as heat wave hits many parts of US

heat wave portland pacific northwest
Posted at 5:00 AM, Aug 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-12 07:14:55-04

People have headed to cooling centers as the Pacific Northwest began sweltering under another major, multiday heat wave.

The National Weather Service says the temperature could reach as high as 111 in parts of western Oregon on Thursday and Friday before a weekend cooldown.

Seattle will be cooler than Portland, with temperatures in the mid-90s.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a state of emergency and activated an emergency operations center. She says she's concerned about potential disruptions to the state's power grid.

The scorching temperatures will be felt in other parts of the country later this week. The National Weather Service says that heat advisories and warnings will be in effect in parts of the Midwest, the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic until at least Friday.

The hot weather comes just over a month after record-shattering hot weather killed hundreds of the region’s most vulnerable people. A study published in July by World Weather Attribution determined that heat wave would not have occurred had it not been for man-made climate change.