An extremely dangerous, unusually long heat wave is intensifying and spreading up the West Coast – and there will be no relief for days.
Officials from California to Oregon and Washington, to Nevada and Arizona are bracing for potential wildfires, opening cooling centers and warning residents to stay indoors and keep hydrated as the unrelenting heat wave delivers sweltering temperatures well up into the 100s and 110s, with highs in the 120s possible in the Desert Southwest.
And it’s only getting hotter.
Death Valley, California, could top 125 degrees by Sunday or Monday, setting a new daily record for those dates. Las Vegas, Nevada, could also exceed its all-time high temperature of 117 degrees Sunday or Monday.
“Confidence is increasing that this potentially historic heatwave will last several days,” the National Weather Service in Portland warned, adding that the risk of heat-related illness will increase significantly.
Nationwide, nearly 140 million people remain under heat alerts, mostly in Western states, where the heat wave is expected to last through the middle of next week.
Parts of Oregon will experience triple digits Friday, and the heat could last up to five days with poor overnight relief, says the National Weather Service Portland.
A previous heat wave that scorched Oregon in 2021 left dozens dead as power equipment buckled in the heat, triggering rolling blackouts for tens of thousands as temperatures soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
While this heat wave isn’t expected to be as intense as the 2021 scorcher, forecasters are concerned about its long duration, National Weather Service—Portland, Oregon, Meteorologist Noah Alviz told CNN. “Getting into the upper 90s or even triple digits of 100 to 105 for four to five days. That is very unusual for this location,” he said.