Heat expected to break records in Spokane on Tuesday and Wednesday

The dangerous heat wave throughout the Pacific Northwest is set to break records Tuesday and Wednesday in Spokane.

According to meteorologists at the National Weather Service, the high temperature in the city is expected to reach 103 degrees Tuesday and 102 degrees Wednesday. Current records for those dates in Spokane are 99 degrees and 101 degrees, respectively.

Though likely to make their mark on this week of August, Spokane’s temperatures are not forecast to come close to the city’s all-time high. Recorded during the deadly 2021 heat dome, that record is a high temperature of 109 degrees.

Heat warnings are predicted to last through Thursday – with a high of 100 degrees. Even though Thursday will likely not break a record, 15-20 mph winds combined with the dry heat will create “critical conditions for wildfire.”

“Those conditions make it really difficult to manage fires. It will be easier for fires to start and harder to control them,” weather service meteorologist Charlotte Dewey said.

With a forecast high of 93 degrees, Spokane will begin to cool down Friday. Temperatures through the weekend and the beginning of next week will return to more typical weather with highs in the 80s.

The effects of the heat are exacerbated this week by nightime temperatures that are not anticipated to drop much . Lows are expected to be around 70 degrees. Dewey called it a “longer-duration heat.”