The Northwest Bakes as the Region Faces Hotter, Longer Heat Waves

As a heat wave lingers in the Pacific Northwest, people in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho who are farther from the coast may see dangerously high temperatures near 110 degrees before the weekend is over.

Parts of the three states, along with northern Nevada, are under an extreme heat warning from the National Weather Service, continuing a hot July for the whole region, where extreme heat was linked to hundreds of deaths in 2021.

In Boise, Idaho, Sunday’s forecast high of 107 degrees is about 10 degrees above normal and will add to a 13-day stretch of highs of 99 degrees or above in southern Idaho, said Les Colin, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Boise. On most of those days, the temperature was above 100. By early afternoon on Sunday, the temperature had already hit 99 once again.

Temperatures there will not drop significantly until the end of the week, according to forecasters. If forecasts hold, Thursday will be the 10th straight 100-degree day, breaking the city’s record for the number of consecutive days with triple-digit temperatures.

In Spokane, Wash., the high is forecast to reach 106 degrees — it was 102 on Sunday afternoon — with triple-digit temperatures extending through Monday.

In Pendleton, Ore., in the northeast part of the state, the high Sunday was expected to reach 106 before temperatures fall into the 90s by Monday.