<p>When a city known for cool drizzle in “June-uary” is as hot as the Middle East it’s clear something unusual is happening. </p> <p>The average June high in Seattle is 21.1C (70F), but on Monday the northwestern city hit 42C (108F).</p> <p>It was the second day in a row of record temperatures, after the 40C (104F) seen on Sunday.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"> <figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"> <div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"> <img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/768x432/skynews-seattle-heat-wave_5431127.jpg?20210629103131" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/384x216/skynews-seattle-heat-wave_5431127.jpg?20210629103131 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/768x432/skynews-seattle-heat-wave_5431127.jpg?20210629103131 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/1600x900/skynews-seattle-heat-wave_5431127.jpg?20210629103131 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/2048x1152/skynews-seattle-heat-wave_5431127.jpg?20210629103131 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="A girl jumps across a sprinkler at Jefferson Park in Seattle"> </div><figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"> <span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden">Image:</span><br /> <span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text">A girl jumps across a sprinkler at Jefferson Park in Seattle</span><br /> </figcaption></figure> </div> <p>Fewer than half the city’s residents have air conditioning, according to US census data, and many schools and businesses have had to close.</p> <p>Portland, Oregon’s biggest city – 130 miles south of Seattle, was hotter than Dubai on Monday, recording 46.6C (116F).</p> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region " data-interscroller="true" data-format="floated-mpu" data-role="sticky-region" data-component-name="sdc-site-layout"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__target"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__mask"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__content"> <div class="sdc-site-au-wrapper "> <div class="sdc-site-au site-component-vertical-margin" data-ad-format="mpu-1" data-type="" aria-hidden="true"> <p> <span class="sdc-site-au__label-text" data-label-text="Advertisement">Advertisement</span> </p> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> <p>It was the third day of record temperatures in the city, with state capital Salem even hotter at 47.2C (117F).</p> <p>Canada has also been affected and broke its all-time high on Sunday, with 46.6C (116F) recorded in the northwestern province of British Columbia.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-related-stories" data-component-name="sdc-article-related-stories"> <div class="sdc-article-related-stories__content"> <h3 class="sdc-article-related-stories__title">More on Oregon</h3> </p></div> </div> <p><strong>What is a heat dome?</strong></p> <p>It is a block of high pressure that plants itself over the affected area, acting like a lid on a saucepan, trapping heat.</p> <p>The US National Ocean Service says these conditions are created when “strong, high-pressure atmospheric conditions” combine with a climate pattern called La Nina, which affects sea temperatures.</p> <div class="sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn" data-fn="sdc-site-video" data-component-name="sdc-site-video" data-lite="true" data-id="id_eddfbea1-7887-43eb-8ccf-ee25d40b45e8" data-video-id="ref:eddfbea1-7887-43eb-8ccf-ee25d40b45e8" data-account-id="6058004172001" data-provider="brightcove" data-originator-id="51" data-clip-type="" data-sdc-video-id="eddfbea1-7887-43eb-8ccf-ee25d40b45e8" data-sensitive="false" data-player-id="RC9PQUaJ6" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids="" data-package="" data-asset-path="" data-asset-version="" data-competition="" data-sport-category="" data-amp-iframe-embed="" data-autoplay="" data-options="" data-video-ad-unit="" data-is-live-stream="false" data-state="loading" data-copy-url-text="URL copied to clipboard" tabindex="-1" readability="7"> <p class="sdc-site-video__accessibility-message" data-role="accessibility-message">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player</p> <div class="sdc-site-video__inner"> <div class="sdc-site-video__content"> <span aria-hidden="true" data-role="poster" class="sdc-site-video__poster"><br /> <img src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/768x432/skynews-heatwave-us-rain-weather_5430897.jpg?20210629060613%20600w" alt="" srcset="" aria-hidden="true" class="sdc-site-video__poster-img"><br /> <span class="sdc-site-video__loader"></span></p> <p> </span><br /> <video id="id_eddfbea1-7887-43eb-8ccf-ee25d40b45e8" data-embed="default" data-application-id="" class="video-js sdc-site-video__tag" controls="" playsinline=""></video> </div><figcaption class="sdc-site-video__caption"> <p> <span class="sdc-site-video__caption-text" data-role="caption-text">US hit by extremes of weather</span><br /> </figcaption></div> </p></div> <p>The main trigger for a heat dome is a rise in temperatures from west to east across the Pacific in the preceding winter, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.</p> <p>Warm air that rises over the western Pacific moves east on the prevailing winds.</p> <p>Northern areas of the jet stream then trap the air and move it towards land, where it sinks, resulting in a heatwave.</p> <p><strong>The influence of climate change</strong></p> <p>The extent to which any single weather event is linked to climate change is hard to say.</p> <p>However, Zeke Hausfather, a scientist with non-profit organisation Berkeley Earth, says the Pacific Northwest has warmed by about 1.7C (3F) in the last 50 years.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"> <figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"> <div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"> <img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/768x432/skynews-seattle-heat-heatwave_5431189.jpg?20210629114317" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/384x216/skynews-seattle-heat-heatwave_5431189.jpg?20210629114317 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/768x432/skynews-seattle-heat-heatwave_5431189.jpg?20210629114317 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/1600x900/skynews-seattle-heat-heatwave_5431189.jpg?20210629114317 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/2048x1152/skynews-seattle-heat-heatwave_5431189.jpg?20210629114317 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="A local Christian group gives out water in Seattle on Monday. Pic: AP"> </div><figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"> <span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden">Image:</span><br /> <span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text">A local Christian group gives out water in Seattle on Monday. Pic: AP</span><br /> </figcaption></figure> </div> <p>That rise will be “significant, especially for vulnerable populations”, he said.</p> <p>Mr Hausfather added: “In a world without climate change, this still would have been a really extreme heatwave. This is worse than the same event would have been 50 years ago, and notably so.”</p> <p>Governor of Washington state Jay Inslee said: “This is the beginning of a permanent emergency. We have to tackle the source of this problem, which is climate change.”</p> <p><strong>Blackouts and melted power cables</strong></p> <p>The power infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest has struggled to cope, with the surge in the use of fans and air conditioning units causing blackouts.</p> <p>In Portland, trams ground to a halt as power cables melted, while roads and pavements have buckled, including on Interstate 5 in Seattle.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"> <figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"> <div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"> <img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/768x432/skynews-oregon-portland-heat_5431182.jpg?20210629113532" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/384x216/skynews-oregon-portland-heat_5431182.jpg?20210629113532 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/768x432/skynews-oregon-portland-heat_5431182.jpg?20210629113532 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/1600x900/skynews-oregon-portland-heat_5431182.jpg?20210629113532 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/06/2048x1152/skynews-oregon-portland-heat_5431182.jpg?20210629113532 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="Cooling shelters have been set across the region"> </div><figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"> <span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden">Image:</span><br /> <span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text">Cooling shelters have been set across the region</span><br /> </figcaption></figure> </div> <p>“Washington state was not built for triple digit temperatures,” said Senator Maria Cantwell.</p> <p>Authorities have set up dozens of special cooling centres where people can take refuge from the heat, and Washington’s King County even has one especially for pets.</p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news/2021/06/29/rainy-us-states-hotter-than-dubai-in-third-day-of-record-temperatures-but-what-is-a-heatdome/">‘Rainy’ US states hotter than Dubai in third day of record temperatures – but what is a ‘heatdome’?</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news">Patabook News </a>.</p>
source https://patabook.com/blogs/100306/Rainy-US-states-hotter-than-Dubai-in-third-day-of
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