I mentioned in Tuesday’s column to head to the coast for relief from the excessive heat. Well, I didn’t say which beach to travel to; good thing, because Astoria reached 92 degrees as of 3 p.m. Wednesday. breaking a 102-year-old record for that date. The previous high for July 7 was 90 degrees back in 1908. It was also 90 degrees or better at Ocean Shores on the Washington Coast.
Vancouver in the mid-90s Wednesday afternoon was a bit below the record high for the date of 100 degrees set in 1905. East winds rapidly pushed the mercury to near record levels in many locations Wednesday.
Now getting back to the beach trip: Newport was the place to be, as their afternoon temperature was running in the mid 50s, some 40 degrees cooler than inland areas. They did reach a high of 72 degrees around 7 a.m. Wednesday before winds switched to the southwest.
So how does today shape up? It will be HOT! The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for our area. So it is official and OK to sweat it out. Vancouver should tie or break the record high for today, which was 97 degrees in 1926. Just to make you feel a bit cooler maybe, think about the chilly 37 degrees we had for a low on this date in 1981. I remember that one, very unusual for July, and I had a couple of reports of frost near Moulton Falls. Yes, it was July 8 not Jan. 8.
