A deadly heat wave hovering over the Pacific Northwest will continue to impact the region until the weekend, according to US weather authorities. The imminent natural hazard has been accompanied by excessive heat warnings and heat advisories, which addresses the risks of extreme heat to both human health and infrastructure.
The heat alerts mainly caution people of being aware of the health repercussions of the intense heat, which could result in related illnesses, including heat stroke, and even death. Various assessments also recently emphasized possible blackouts and increased consumer demand for electricity.
The looming threat is due to potential temperatures that can reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, as it has in other parts of the United States in previous weeks. Reaching its peak from June to September, temperatures across North America, including Canada, have relatively skyrocketed since the start of the sub-continent's summer season.
This year alone, multiple warnings prior to summer have been issued against a recurrence of above-average temperatures in the US, particularly in the Western US.
The heat advisories were in reference from the devastating heat wave which struck the Northwest in the summer of 2021, which killed hundreds of people in Washington and Oregon, as well as in Canada's British Columbia province.
Pacific Northwest Heat Wave Forecast
The NWS' Weather Prediction Center (WPC) on Thursday, July 28, issued its latest weather forecast for the Pacific Northwest heat wave, which extends even in the centra-southern and southeastern US. The forecast is valid until Saturday, July 30. Yet, the extreme weather is possible to continue until Sunday, July 31.
The WPC states a pair of upper level ridges, one of the Northwest US and the other on the Southeast US coast, to be responsible for the scorching temperatures and dry conditions.
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Heat Wave Alerts
Excessive heat warnings remain in effect in several locations across the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday, July 27, according to ABC News.
A sizzling 102 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in Portland, Oregon, and 106 degrees Fahrenheit in Redding, California, on Tuesday, July 26. Meanwhile, temperatures spiked to 107 degrees Fahrenheit in Yakima, Washington, the US media outlet reports.
2021 US Summer Heat Wave
CNBC reports that last year's historic heat wave was linked to hundreds of deaths in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. The natural disaster came after temperatures began to rise in late June of 2021. Health authorities at that time said the primary cause of death was hyperthermia, or the body's inability to adjust to heat.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports suggest the death toll reached nearly 1,500 due to heat-related illnesses and deaths. Amongst the casualties, include a number of homeless people who reportedly suffered the most under the scorching Sun.
In the past several weeks, concerns have increased after an unprecedented heat wave with wildfires ravaged most parts of Europe and the Northern Hemisphere, mostly causing over 1,000 deaths in Portugal and Spain.
The UK also received its first ever excessive heat warning issued by its meteorological agency.
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