Ron Brackett
Who better to give us a full sense of how the possibly historic heat wave in the Pacific Northwest is affecting people than the residents who live there and the officials who govern. Here we've compiled some of what they're saying.
“Quite honestly, it is hard to believe my eyes. ... Folks, this is unparalleled, dangerous meteorological territory.” — Cliff Mass, University of Washington climatologist
"Triple-digit heat is expected to arrive this weekend and persist well into next week. This event will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heat waves in the recorded history of the Inland Northwest. Unprecedented heat will not only threaten the health of residents in the Inland Northwest but will make our region increasingly vulnerable to wildfires and intensify the impacts [of] our ongoing drought." — National Weather Service office in Spokane, Washington
“This is life-threatening heat. People need to find someplace cool to spend time during the coming days. And for people who already have somewhere cool, their job is to reach out to other people. Ask them to join you, or help them get to a place that is reasonably cool.” — Dr. Jennifer Vines, health officer for Multnomah County, Oregon
(MORE: Historic Northwest Heat Wave Could Shatter All-Time Records in Washington, Oregon)
"This is a true public health emergency." — Dan Douthit, public information officer for Portland's Bureau of Emergency Management
“The predictions of 105, 106, 107, 108-degree temperatures this weekend are terrifying, quite honestly, to me.” — Dr. Christian Molstrom, medical director for Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care in Portland
"With record-breaking heat in the forecast starting Saturday, the health and safety of Portlanders must come first. I’m asking all in the community to prepare accordingly and to have a plan to stay cool. Stay safe, check in with family, friends and neighbors and offer any help they may need." — Ted Wheeler, mayor of Portland, Oregon
"It's not so much a matter of what temperature records we will break. Really, what WON'T be broken?" — Tweet from NWS office in Seattle
"When I was 12, we suffered through the great August 1981 heatwave. I was living near Mt. Angel at the time. We spent a few days mainly down in the basement. Almost no one had air conditioning back then. Then when my career began in 1991, just out of college, I wondered when we might break that all-time 107 degree record in Portland. It was only a matter of time, but I didn’t think it would take another 30 years!" — Mark Nelsen, Fox 12 meteorologist
"I don't think it would be safe. I think I would last maybe an hour and a half with a good attitude and then maybe another 20 minutes with a bad attitude and then be like OK I'm done with this." — Courtney Reese, manager of Van's Burger in Olympia, Washington, whose owner has said the drive-thru will close Saturday because of the heat
(MORE: Portland, Seattle, Other Northwest Communities Prepare for Potentially Historic Heat Wave)
"Portland's very unique, and I've lived here all my life. When it snows, they wait till there's six inches of snow to go buy tire chains. Nobody seems to like to be prepared ahead of time. ... It's kind of the nature of people, especially in Portland, to say gee, an air conditioner is $200 to $300 and I don't want to spend it if I don't need it. So I'll just wait till I need it. Well, when you need it, so does everyone else and it turns into a giant storm of people needing stuff." — Norman Chusid, owner of Ankeny Hardware in southeast Portland, which has sold more than 450 air conditioning units this week
“I’m not even thinking about how much it costs, I’m just trying to cool off. Make sure my daughters are okay.” — Shopper looking for an air conditioner in a sold-out hardware store in Renton, Washington
“There should be enough power. We have no indications that that’s an issue for us. Of course we’re monitoring closely and at this point do not see any issues in continuing to serve power to our customers.” — Andrea Platt, spokesperson for Portland General Electric
“Staff are seeing that since drinking fountains have been off for quite some time, they are needing more work to get turned back on.” — Spokesperson for Seattle Parks and Recreation, where 80% of park water fountains don't work.
“We have been very thoughtful and intentional in our approach to providing relief to all members of our community. Businesses and malls are open and operating at reduced COVID capacities into next week and are still a great way to escape the heat and support our economy. For those in our community who are unsheltered, we have a multi-pronged approach that includes taking advantage of the existing resources and adding additional space to cool off.” — Nadine Woodward, mayor of Spokane, Washington
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"This stagnant dome of record heat, and the intensely strong high pressure producing it, will grudgingly get a move on by the middle of next week. Hang in there and stay cool!" — Kristin Clark, KOMO-TV meteorologist
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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