SEATTLE — On Sunday afternoon, Seattle broke its record for the longest number of days in a row with temperatures above 90 degrees. But after hitting that milestone, the weather will be relatively cooler on Monday.
Around 2 p.m. Sunday, the heat inched above 90, making it the sixth day in a row temperatures have risen that high. Previously, Seattle saw five days of above 90 temperatures in July 2015 and August 1981, when the average temperature were 91.6 and 95, respectively, said National Weather Service meteorologist Amanda Borth.
The high on Sunday hit 95 degrees, also breaking the record for hottest July 31. The old record was set in 2015 with 94 degrees.
Monday will see a high in the mid-80s, said NWS meteorologist Jeff Michalski. Seattle will feel near-normal temperatures in the 70s to low 80s for the rest of the week.
As the temperatures go down, the health risks will be lower as well.
The entire Pacific Northwest is feeling these persistent high temperatures, Michalski said. Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and parts of Western Montana are under heat advisories.
At least seven people in Oregon are suspected to have died from hyperthermia since the heat spell began over a week ago, the AP reports. Officials have not reported any heat-related deaths in the Seattle area as of Sunday morning.
The University of Washington Medical Center reported it saw at least a half-dozen patients across its hospital system for heat-related issues on Saturday.
Stay vigilant for signs of heat exhaustion, such as dizziness, excessive thirst, nausea, fatigue and heavy sweating, and heat stroke — which also includes confusion and falling unconscious. Move to a cooler area and slowly sip cool water.
For one more day, close those blinds, avoid cooking indoors, drink lots of water and take breaks in the shade if you have to be outside.
“Stay cool, stay hydrated,” Michalski said. “We’ve got one more day to go, and then cooler weather’s on the way.”
Seattleites have flocked to local lakes and beaches to escape the heat, as well as found sanctuary in air-conditioned spaces.
Raphael Hsieh and Mira Chang, both of Capitol Hill, planned to join the crowd of beachgoers and paddlers at Seward Park after securing a table for brunch at Geraldine’s Counter in Columbia City. Hsieh and Chang bought an inflatable paddle board from Amazon a few years ago, and this week it’s served as one of their main ways to cool off.
At Seward Park’s parking lot Sunday morning, friends Molly Artz of West Seattle and Rebecca Kim of North Beacon Hill were trying to inflate their own paddleboards. Artz said she just started paddleboarding a month ago after she found a deal on a board. After going once, she told all her friends to go and buy boards, too.
“I’m obsessed with it now,” Kim said.
Beacon Hill resident Siu Tam, who was waiting for a brunch table at Geraldine’s, said she thankfully has air conditioning in her home. Still, she’s been struggling to keep her garden alive. Her tomato plants in particular don’t seem happy with the prolonged high temperatures and lack of rain. She said the leaves lately have been drooping and turning yellow.
After nearly a week of high temperatures, wildfire danger looks highest in Central and Northeastern Oregon, where dry fuels and a chance for thunderstorms could increase the chance for lightning-started fires.
In Central and Northeast Oregon, “while increased cloud cover and wetter thunderstorms should start to drop fire danger tomorrow, holdover fires are possible,” the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center reported.
Washington wildfire risk is lower and expected to decrease as the week goes on. Central and Eastern Washington face higher risk for lightning-started fires than regions west of the Cascades, although Michalski said those conditions are common for this point in the season.
