Sunday, Seattle temperatures reached a high of 91 late in the day, and much the same is expected for today, with one fun caveat, says the National Weather Service, who have issued an excessive heat warning:
TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE GREATER SEATTLE METROPOLITAN AREA TODAY WILL BE SIMILAR TO SUNDAY…AND HUMIDITY WILL BE SLIGHTLY HIGHER.
But for context, as you shakily mop your brow, consider Ellensburg, over in eastern Washington, which on Saturday saw both a high of 95 degrees and thunderstorms with hail that provoked flash flooding. UW meteorologist Cliff Mass happened to be flying back from Denver, and got a glimpse of the T-storm tops from 40,000 feet. One towering storm cloud registered on the radar at 31,000 feet, clearly visible from Seattle’s Matthews Beach.
None of this Northwestern heat holds a candle to the way the Southwest is getting scorched. No doubt a few Las Vegas visitors were making the discovery, to their chagrin, that planes have maximum heat ratings, since lift is less and less the hotter air gets. With temperatures well above 118, US Airways canceled 18 flights on Saturday. Death Valley, depending on the thermometer you trust, reached between 128 and 130 degrees on Sunday.
