Oregon鈥檚 first extreme heat wave of the summer may break records, according to a state climate official. Some areas of the state will reach more than 100 degrees starting Thursday, and the heat is expected to increase through at least Saturday.
The abnormally high temperatures, part of a multiyear warming trend in Oregon, are prompting concerns about health in a state where many homes lack air conditioning. The extreme heat could also set the stage for a more active wildfire season in the months ahead.
Large parts of Oregon, including the Portland metro area, Medford and Central Oregon, will be under an excessive heat watch ahead of the long Fourth of July weekend, according to the.
Medford is forecast to reach above 110 degrees on Friday and Saturday, potentially creating a historic event for this time of year, according to Oregon state climatologist Larry O鈥橬eill. The Portland metro area is forecast to reach the low 100s .
鈥淚t may seem like 100-degree weather is normal during the summer, but it鈥檚 actually fairly abnormal,鈥� he said.
For the past four years, and extreme heat waves, like the one starting Thursday, are happening more frequently and increasing in intensity.
Since the late 1930s, places like Eugene and Portland have reached triple-digit temperatures about 100 days total, O鈥橬eill said, which equates to an average of about once per year.
That milestone is happening more frequently in the last four years due to climate change, he said.
鈥淪ince 2020, for instance, Eugene has had 14 days above 100 degrees and Portland has had 16 days above 100 degrees,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, a fair amount of the historical days above 100 degrees have happened just in the last few years.鈥�
Oregon summers have warmed by around 3 degrees Fahrenheit, O鈥橬eill said. And most people in the Pacific Northwest are not yet prepared for high temperatures. Heat waves that reach more than 100 degrees for several days in a row can make heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke more impactful, he said.
An Oregon Department of Energy study found that many of the in their homes. They include people living in manufactured dwellings, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, publicly-supported housing and employer-provided agricultural workforce housing.
In 2021, an extreme heat dome left nearly 100 people dead from heat related illnesses in Oregon, most in Multnomah County, with many found alone without air conditioning.
Since then, the state and cities like Portland have launched that help residents pay to install heat pumps in their homes.
The state also created a program that aims to install 500,000 heat pumps across Oregon by 2030. The Oregon Heath Authority said Monday that it鈥檚 delivered 412 air conditioners to eligible Oregon Health Plan members so far this year. The agency has also distributed other devices, like air filtration systems and portable power supplies, to help people adapt to climate change.
Potential for an active wildfire season
The intense heat and warmer-than-normal weather could also bring some worry for an active wildfire season, O鈥橬eill said.
鈥淲hat happens in these earlier season heat waves is that it really drives very high rates of evaporation. and so it basically dries out the soils really quickly,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ny benefit we got from the spring precipitation will be gone, and what this will do is it鈥檒l kind of set the stage for a much drier than normal conditions for the rest of the summer, because we鈥檙e not going to expect any more rain at this point or very little.鈥�
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