Document text
Medford topples all-time heat record for June By Ryan Pfeil Updated: Jun 28, 2021 01:15 PM A A Medford endured the hottest June day on record Sunday as the high temperature soared to 113 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The previous hottest June temperature for the city was 111 degrees, set June 22, 1992. Medford was just two degrees shy of tying its record for highest temperature ever recorded — 115 degrees, set July 20, 1946, Weather Service meteorologist Brian Nieuwenhuis said. It took a while for things to cool down overnight, too. “At 9 o’clock, it was still 102,” Nieuwenhuis said. “At midnight, it was 91.” The temperature bottomed out at 75 degrees overnight. That’s one degree off the highest overnight low temperature for that day, Weather Service officials said. The heat was accompanied by a 2-hour power outage that, at its peak, affected more than 30,000 Pacific Power customers in the Rogue Valley. The blackout extended from about 9 to 11 p.m., Pacific Power spokesman Drew Hanson said. The failure of a transformer bushing, a component that allows electricity to flow safely through the unit, caused the outage. The scorching Sunday followed a sizzling Saturday that hit 104 degrees in Medford. That wasn’t enough to topple the daily temperature record for June 26 — 107 degrees, set in 2015. Fire watch Despite the heat, wildfire activity in Jackson and Josephine counties remained low over the weekend. Wildland firefighters responded to one small grass fire Saturday and Sunday, Oregon Department of Forestry public information officer Natalie Weber said. That fire, near Redwood Elementary School, in Grants Pass, burned one-hundredth of an acre. ODF also responded to a handful of other blazes such as vehicle and structure fires. “This is typically what we see when the weather gets really hot,” Weber said. “We don’t see as many fires, which is great. If you think about it, people are spending a lot more time indoors.” Fires typically pop up along roadways in extreme heat, she added. “It’s usually people who are having problems with their catalytic converter or are dragging chains and it’s sparking,” Weber said. High fire danger remained in effect on ODF-protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties Monday. That comes with restrictions on power equipment use, with equipment like power saws and mowers prohibited between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., Weber said. Debris burning is also still prohibited. In Siskiyou County, California, fire officials were battling the Lava fire near the town of Weed. The fire was listed Monday morning at 1,446 acres with 20% containment, and evacuation advisories had been issued for areas along Highway 97. More of the same forecast The heat is expected to continue this week as a substantial ridge of high pressure continues to stay put over the Pacific Northwest. “It’s just sitting there. You can think of it as a big bubble of just warm, hot temperatures,” Nieuwenhuis said. Then there’s the thermal trough — hot air at the surface level — which usually comes up out of California to coastal areas along parts of the Oregon Coast and pushes inland. “That thermal trough, which usually only extends up into Southern Oregon, that’s going all the way up to Canada. Up to Seattle,” Nieuwenhuis said. “Basically everything’s shifted way north of where it usually is.” Triple digits are in the forecast into the weekend. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning until 11 p.m. Thursday, July 1. The coverage area for that advisory includes Jackson, Klamath, Josephine, Lake, Siskiyou, Modoc and Douglas counties. “The high daytime temperatures combined with warm overnight lows will result in high heat risk and heat-related stress,” the advisory said. “Some daily high temperature records will be broken. High temperature records for June are likely to be set, and there is a chance to set all-time highs for any date.” The all-time record for consecutive 100-plus degree temperatures in Medford is 10, occurring in 1962 and 1967, Nieuwenhuis said. That record could potentially be tied based on the forecast. Smoke from the Lava fire could offer some cooling. So could some monsoonal moisture forecast to come up out of the southwest later this week. Weather Service officials continued to point toward several recommendations intended to help Rogue Valley residents stay safe in the heat. • Stay hydrated and limit outdoor activity • Don’t leave people or pets in a closed, parked vehicle • Wear a life jacket if recreating on the water Reach Mail Tribune web editor Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanpfeil .