2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome Killed 650-Plus as Forecasters Say Another Event Could Recur
Updated
Updated · MyNorthwest · Jun 25
2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome Killed 650-Plus as Forecasters Say Another Event Could Recur
2 articles · Updated · MyNorthwest · Jun 25
Summary
Five years after the June 25-28, 2021 heat dome, forecasters say a similar Pacific Northwest event still cannot be ruled out, even if the odds this summer remain low.
108 degrees at Sea-Tac, 116 in Portland and 120 at Hanford showed how the stalled high-pressure system crushed records as sinking air and offshore flow intensified heat day by day.
More than 250 people died in the Pacific Northwest and more than 400 in Western Canada, underscoring heat as the deadliest weather hazard.
Warmer-than-average temperatures through September and below-normal precipitation are favored for Western Washington, while a warming climate is linked to more cutoff high-pressure systems and wider global heat waves.