Heat — Lower Columbia, Oregon

2006-07-20 to 2006-07-24 · Lower Columbia, Oregon

Wider weather episode

An unusually strong ridge of high pressure brought several days of record breaking hot and humid weather to NW Oregon. An Excessive Heat Warning was issued the afternoon of July 20th, and persisted through July 24th. Many cities in Oregon saw record-breaking daily high temperatures for multiple days in a row. Some of the highest maximum temperatures from around the area over the time period are as follows:On July 21st:Astoria reported 81 degrees;McMinnville reported 106 degrees;Scappoose reported 106 degrees;Aurora reported 105 degrees;Portland reported 104 degrees, breaking the old record of 101 set in 1994;Troutdale reported 105 degrees, breaking the old record of 103 set in 1994;Hillsboro reported 108 degrees, breaking the old record of 101 set in 1994, and tying the all-time high temperature set on July 19, 1956.On July 23rd:Salem reported 105 degrees;Eugene reported 105 degrees; breaking the old record of 103 set in 2004.Many daily maximums were between 10 and 20 degrees above normal. A few sites reported record high minimum temperatures during this very humid event; a couple broke all-time record high minimums as well. Fortunately, there were no human fatalities attributed to this event; however, 35 dogs reportedly perished in a kennel on July 21st. Also, 4500 homes lost power during this event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5523153. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.