© 2025 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Protect my public media

‘Dangerous, Unprecedented’: The Record-Breaking Heat In The Pacific Northwest

A man cools off in the Salmon Street springs fountain in Portland, Oregon as a heatwave moves over much of the United States.
A man cools off in the Salmon Street springs fountain in Portland, Oregon as a heatwave moves over much of the United States.

Typically, you wouldn’t want to hear any of these words in the weather forecast:historic, dangerous, prolonged, unprecedented.

But that’s exactly how the National Weather Service chose to describe the record-breaking heat currently being experienced by millions in the Pacific Northwest.

It got so hot, that at one point the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, had to be postponed as the trackside temperature closed in on 150 degrees.

We talk about the historic temperatures in the PNW and their connection to climate change.

 

Copyright 2021 WAMU 88.5

Rupert Allman

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.