The heat is on its way
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The unusually cool temperatures from mid-May to the beginning of June is ending. The National Weather Service in Pendleton predicts highs in the 90s Friday and Saturday across many areas of the Lower Columbia Basin, surrounding valleys, north central Oregon and the John Day Basin.
The culprit is a heat wave that is moving north after causing extreme heat in Mexico for more than a week. The Climate Prediction Center says the odds are 80 to 90 percent that there will be highs in the 90s. The odds of readings of 100 degrees or more are 10 to 30 percent.
Overnight lows Friday and Saturday will be in the 60s. Daytime highs will begin to drop into the upper 80s Sunday through Tuesday. At least 60 people have died in Mexico in the heat wave, which lasted more than a month.
As the so-called heat dome moves north, the National Weather Service has issued high temperature warnings for several Western states. In addition to Oregon and Washington, they include Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The so-called heat dome is a high pressure system that traps warm air and creates dry, hot weather conditions preventing clouds from forming.
