Whatcom: How ... hot ... was ... it? One record down, power lost in east county
Bellingham’s 66-year-old record high for the month of June (93 degrees set June 9, 1955) fell Saturday, June 6, at Bellingham International Airport topping out at 94 degrees at 2:53 p.m., with a heat index of 99.
Sumas, Everson, Nooksack (Abbotsford International Airport) reached 102 degrees at 6:10 p.m., with a heat index of 105. And Ferndale reported 102 degrees at 2:15 p.m., with a heat index of 106.
And, it’s going to get hotter.
The National Weather Service Sunday, June 27, said the excessive heat warning remains in place until 9 p.m. Monday, June. 28., with temperatures 100 to 115 degrees in the northwest.
That may best the nearly 12-year-old record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Bellingham, which is 96 degrees on July 29, 2009.
Little relief is expected during the night hours as lows will remain high. Temperatures will remain above average in the extended forecast, through July 4.
“The hottest temperatures remain from Everson up the Sumas Valley where current models put temperatures up over 100 on Sunday and Monday,” John Gargett wrote in the county’s update Saturday. He’s the deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Division of Emergency Management.
Temperatures in the Bellingham area are now forecast by the National Weather Service to reach 100 on Monday. Whatcom County’s coastal areas will be slightly cooler, with highs in the high 80s to low 90s.
The National Weather Service Saturday said the unprecedented heat wave will continue into next week., with little to no relief from the heat overnight.
Potential impacts of heat like this, according to the weather service, include increases in water-related accidents and heat-related illnesses, damage to heat-sensitive infrastructures such as road and rail buckling, power outages and significant impacts on snow and glaciers into next week.
About 2,000 Puget Sound Energy customers east of Bellingham in Whatcom County were without power about 5 p.m. due to equipment failure. Another outage further east, centered in Deming, impacted 1,969 customers and was under investigation. Both outages were reported at cleared by 6:45 p.m.
Stores sold out of portable air conditioners and fans, hospitals canceled outdoor vaccination clinics, cities opened cooling centers, baseball teams canceled or moved up weekend games, and utilities braced for possible power outages, according to the Associated Press.
Seattle reached 101 degrees Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record and only the fourth time in recorded history the usually temperate city had topped 100 degrees.
This story was originally published June 26, 2021 at 2:22 PM.
