25 Photos Showing How Blisteringly Hot It Was During The Historic PNW Heatwave

Photo via @PDXStreetcar/Twitter, @wspd7pio/Twitter

June 29, 2021, 12:55 pm

Over the weekend and into Monday, the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. experienced conditions created by what climate scientists are calling a once-in-a-millennium event known as a heat dome, rocketing temperatures in a region that is normally temperate to as high as over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. On Monday in particular, the heat shattered previous records and made Seattle and Portland hotter than almost everywhere on Earth except for the hottest deserts.

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Scientists widely agree that these conditions were fueled by human-created climate change, noting that these rare weather events are being made much more likely by the massive increase in emissions that contribute to warming. In a part of the country where temperatures in the 80s are considered hot by the residents, the infrastructure was not ready for such extreme heat, let alone the average people who live there.

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We searched through decades of weather data to look for a precedent to this heatwave: there isn’t any. https://t.co/gDOKueOkwt My first NYT byline!

— Aatish Bhatia (@aatishb) June 29, 2021

While 116 in Portland and 108 in Seattle might not seem so hot to those living in the South, many northwest residents do not own any form of air conditioning and either had to scramble to find some or suffer through heat that was literally melting houses and large streetcar power cables. It got so bad that concrete roads began to expand, crack, and buckle in the sun, damaging interstate highways.

Inside, people found various everyday items like candles and plastic toys were melting while others took the opportunity to do some cooking and baking — inside their cars.

Climate change is scary, and with widespread government inaction practically ensuring that it will get much worse, you may not want to see a bunch of photos showing how the problem is literally melting our cities. But someone needs to witness this, and you’re morbidly curious, so here you go:

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In case you’re wondering why we’re canceling service for the day, here’s what the heat is doing to our power cables. pic.twitter.com/EqbKUgCJ3K

— Portland Streetcar (@PDXStreetcar) June 27, 2021

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The heat wave hitting BC is reeking havoc on my toy room. Things are warping/bending and figure joints seem to be getting loose and making stuff fall over pic.twitter.com/GsDChb6F3D

— Eric (he/him) (@TheKrakenDude) June 27, 2021

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We’re at Kate’s Ice Cream in NE Portland. This walk-in freezer is supposed to sit at temperatures around -10. With the current heatwave, the owner tells me they’re working with a distributor to keep products cold and available to the public. pic.twitter.com/BKooIEgoTF

— Megan Allison (@mallisonKATU) June 28, 2021

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*First Published: June 29, 2021, 12:55 pm