Western US Heat Wave Pushes North; No Relief In Sight
Last update: 7/5/2007 4:24:20 PM
BOISE, Idaho (AP)--Residents across the U.S. West headed for the region's lakes and rivers Thursday, seeking relief from record high temperatures expected to continue through at least Friday.
In Boise, with forecasters predicting a high of 105 Fahrenheit Thursday and 107 on Friday - six degrees higher than the 101 record for that date set in 1985 - workers at the digital marketing firm Wirestone were given the option to float on innertubes down the Boise River instead of sitting at stuffy desks.
Temperatures in part of the West were climbing so high that authorities warned residents of southern Nevada, southeastern California and northwestern Arizona to avoid any outdoor activity except during the cooler early morning hours. Phoenix was expected to reach 115 degrees; forecasters predicted a high of 123 degrees in Baker, Nev.
The Coachella Valley and San Diego County deserts in California were expected to reach temperatures between 112 and 120.
Even Stanley, Idaho, which at more than 6,000 feet elevation is routinely the coldest place in the lower 48 states, was seeing record highs, said National Weather Service forecaster Paul Flatt in Boise. The remote town in the Sawtooth Mountains was expected to reach 93 degrees Thursday, and 92 degrees Friday.
The heat wave began last week after a large high pressure center developed over Arizona, Flatt said. Clear skies during the longest days of the year allowed intense sunshine rays to heat the ground, which in turn heated up the atmosphere, he said. A weather pattern was pushing that high-pressure center northward, into southern Canada, Flatt said, but most of the West will continue to see high temperatures into next week.
"We're going to get some minimal relief the next couple of days, with tomorrow being the hottest day and then cooling off to the mid-90s by early next week," Flatt said, speaking of Idaho. "But then we'll be back up to 100 by the middle part of next week again."
In Spokane, Wash., the temperature was expected to soar past 100, breaking a record for July 5 set in 1975. In the northern Idaho lake city of Sandpoint, a forecast temperature of 103 would break a record for the date set in 1926, the National Weather Service reported.
The 100-degree temperatures being experienced in the Inland Northwest of eastern Washington state and northern Idaho normally come in late July, NWS meteorologist Steve Bodnar said from the agency's Spokane office.
"This is a rare occurrence where the axis of an upper level ridge of high pressure is over us in early July, instead of later in the summer," Bodnar said.
As the ridge weakens Friday, temperatures are expected to decrease and winds are expected to pick up on the eastern slopes of the Washington Cascades, increasing wildfire risks, Bodnar said.
Northeastern Oregon residents were experiencing what was expected to be the hottest day of the year on Thursday, with temperatures hitting 107 in Hermiston and Pendleton.
(END) Dow Jones NewswiresJuly 05, 2007 16:24 ET (20:24 GMT)