A welcome wave of cool marine air from the Oregon coast washed over the Willamette Valley Monday evening, shattering the “heat dome” and bringing a surprisingly rapid end to the staggeringly high temperatures that had ravaged the area for three straight days.
As of 8:30 p.m., the temperature in north Canby was 83.7 — exactly 30 degrees cooler than the record-setting 113.7 that a WiFi-enabled ambient temperature sensor registered there only three and a half hours earlier.
At almost exactly that same time, the National Weather Service in Portland was officially recording Monday’s high of 116 — the hottest temperature ever registered at the Portland International Airport, which began reporting in 1940.
NWS Portland on Twitter: “The Portland Airport officially hit 116°F shortly after 5pm this evening making this the warmest temperature on record. This breaks yesterday’s warmest temperature on record of 112°F. 3 days ago the warmest temperature on record was 107°F set twice in Aug ’81 & once in Jul ’65. / Twitter”
The Portland Airport officially hit 116°F shortly after 5pm this evening making this the warmest temperature on record. This breaks yesterday’s warmest temperature on record of 112°F. 3 days ago the warmest temperature on record was 107°F set twice in Aug ’81 & once in Jul ’65.
Of course, many gauges recorded much higher temperatures in Canby, from the Aurora fire chief’s dashboard thermometer registering a toasty 118, to DirectLink’s time-and-temperature line 503-266-TIME, which cheerfully reported a reading of 124 around 4:30 p.m.
Canby High School canceled all summer athletic activities due to astronomically high thermal readings on the school’s turf field and tracks, registering from 178 degrees up to a demented 187.
Citing Accuweather, one commenter on the local Facebook group Canby Now declared Canby to be the hottest place on Earth — which wasn’t true. Dessert locales like Kuwait or the notorious Death Valley had us beat.
Yet, for most of the day, it was almost absurd how close it was.
The Canby Current on Twitter: “Left is Death Valley – the hottest place on Earth. Right is Canby, Oregon. pic.twitter.com/5XK5tTy5If / Twitter”
Left is Death Valley – the hottest place on Earth. Right is Canby, Oregon. pic.twitter.com/5XK5tTy5If
Many businesses and offices — particularly restaurants — shut down early or stayed closed altogether out of concern for staff and customers.
The Canby Fire District, meanwhile, stayed busy throughout the crisis, responding to over 50 emergency medical calls in a 48-hour period — many of them related to the sweltering heat.
Although temperatures for the remainder of the week are expected to stay in the double digits — albeit the 90s — officials have asked citizens to forego fireworks displays this Fourth of July due to the extreme risk of wildfire.
