Multiple National Weather Service (NWS) offices issued extreme heat warnings on Friday, affecting portions of California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Nevada, with forecast highs ranging from the upper 90s into triple digits and officials urging residents to stay in air-conditioned spaces and limit outdoor activity until temperatures fall to normal levels.
Why it Matters
Extreme heat events raise immediate public health and public safety concerns. When warnings span multiple states and metropolitan areas, impacts can include increased emergency room visits, heightened stress on electricity grids from air-conditioning demand, and disruptions to outdoor work.
The cluster of warnings—issued by NWS offices including Hanford, Los Angeles/Oxnard, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, Medford, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Flagstaff—highlights a widespread heat episode across the western United States. The warnings emphasize increased risk of heat-related illness, limited overnight cooling in some valleys and specific safety precautions for residents and outdoor workers.
What To Know
The NWS alerts issued on Friday warned of “dangerously hot conditions” and explicitly noted that “heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events,” urging people to drink fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms, avoid the sun and check on neighbors and relatives.
Active extreme heat warnings in parts of the following states: California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Nevada. Specific areas named in the warnings included valley and desert locations where daytime highs and warm overnight lows reduce relief from the heat.
- California: Multiple counties and valleys served by Hanford, Los Angeles/Oxnard and San Diego NWS offices were included; warnings covered inland areas, like Fresno and Bakersfield; coastal-inland pockets, like Los Angeles and the adjacent mountains; deserts, including Coachella Valley; and portions of southwest California, with temperatures ranging from the upper 90s to mid-110s, depending on the location.
- Arizona: Warnings covered much of the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas, the Grand Canyon lower elevations, Yuma and western/southern Arizona deserts with afternoon highs often exceeding 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit in many places.
- Oregon: The Portland/Vancouver metro and Willamette Valley, Columbia River Gorge and inland foothills were under warnings with forecast highs ranging from the upper 90s to 103 degrees, and warm overnight lows in many urban and gorge pockets.
- Washington: Foothills and valleys across portions of northwest Washington, including Snohomish, King, Pierce, Thurston and Lewis county lowlands and foothills, faced upper-80s to upper-90s.
- Utah: Lower Washington County and Zion National Park were under an extreme heat warning with highs up to 109 degrees.
- Nevada: Southern and south-central Nevada including the Las Vegas Valley, portions of Clark County and surrounding desert and river valleys were included in regional warnings with afternoon readings expected to reach up to 110 degrees in some areas.
“The highest anomalies are centered over the Pacific Northwest, so generally portions of Oregon to Washington,” NWS Weather Prediction Center meteorologist Marc Chenard told Newsweek.
These areas are seeing temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees above average for this time of year, Chenard said.
Meanwhile, the Upper Midwest and Central U.S. are expecting more fall-like temperatures beginning this weekend.
What People Are Saying
NWS Seattle in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “The warming trend really kicks in today. Thus far this summer, Seattle has (surprisingly) had no more than 4 consecutive days at or above 80°. That looks to change in the days ahead. Record high maximum (and minimum) temperatures are likely at a number of locations.”
NWS Hanford, California, in an extreme heat warning: “Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
What Happens Next
Many of the warnings will remain in place through Saturday night, with some persisting into Sunday morning. People in the affected areas were urged to stay indoors out of the sun and in air-conditioned rooms.
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