String of dangerously hot days has begun, high fire danger as well
The mercury in the thermometer will push over the century mark today as a ridge of high pressure dominates the west coast. Today we are likely to see another record high temperature in Bend as the old record of 99 set in 2007 will fall as I am forecasting a high of 101.
There is an Excessive Heat Warning in place each afternoon from now until Thursday. This will be about a one week run of excessive heat, which is very rare.
Fire Danger is on tap for this weekend as well, especially today. A Fire Weather Warning will be in place today for Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties. The heat and dry air will be enough to generate issues, but there will be breezy and gusty winds this afternoon that, if a fire gets started, it will grow rapidly.
Dangerously hot weather will persist through at least next Friday. The highs will be over 100° for the next five days in Bend and Redmond, which is going to be very dangerous. The temperatures in Bend and surrounding Central Oregon cities have been in the triple digit range before, but not this long.
The record for number of days over 100° in Bend is 4 days, which occurred in 2021, July 29th to August 1st. This forecast is calling for five days in a row, if we don’t hit 100 today. Redmond has a record 7 days in a row back in 2021 and 1968. This pattern of heat will dry out the region, lower the water table, probably push us back into a drought scenario and increase the chance of wildfires growing rapidly if ignited.
I am concerned about several aspects of this heat wave. The heat related illnesses are first to come to my mind along with the impact on your pets and livestock is concerning.
Please monitor the Alert Banner at the top of the page for any updates to the advisories, watches and warnings.
Stay Safe
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