Pacific Northwest

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Enjoy Next Week's 'False Spring' While You Can

Record high temps across large chunk of US will give way to chillier weather from polar vortex

(Newser) - Winter isn't done with the US, but you wouldn't know it from next week's forecast. Meteorologists say a surge of unusually warm air will send temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above normal for more than 100 million people across the central, eastern, and southern states, with highs...

Washington Governor Declares Statewide Emergency

Flooding could be 'worst-case scenario'

(Newser) - Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency as the Pacific Northwest is battered by relentless flooding from an atmospheric river. He urged residents to heed evacuation orders as the state braces for more rain and waits to see whether the federal government will approve a request for disaster...

Next Cascadia Quake Could Trigger One in California
Next Cascadia Quake Could
Trigger One in California
new study
Oct 13, 2025 12:20 PM CDT

Next Cascadia Quake Could Trigger One in California

Researchers find possible link between Cascadia and San Andreas faults

(Newser) - Two of North America's most notorious earthquake faults may be more closely linked than scientists once thought, raising fears that a massive quake in the Pacific Northwest could set off another disaster along California's San Andreas fault. The Cascadia subduction zone, which runs from Vancouver Island in...

Something in the Air May Create Serial Killers

Could the Pacific Northwest's history of serial killers have been man-made?

(Newser) - Between the '70s and '90s, the Pacific Northwest wasn't just a foggy haven for flannel and coffee—it was ground zero for some of the most notorious serial killers in American history. One after another, the likes of Ted Bundy, the Hillside Strangler, and the Green River...

Northwest Coast Could Drop 6 Feet With Overdue Quake

'We could have a disaster on the scale of Japan 2011 or Sumatra 2004'

(Newser) - Major earthquakes of magnitude 9 or higher typically occur every 500 years or so along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, stretching for 600 miles offshore from Northern California to Vancouver Island. The last "Big One" to strike came in 1700. But geologists estimate quakes around magnitude 8 hit the zone'...

Severe Storms Wreak Havoc on Both Coasts

Record rain, high winds in California, Seattle; blizzard and winter storm warnings on East Coast

(Newser) - A major storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, causing small landslides and flooding some streets, while on the opposite side of the country, blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for areas spanning from the Northeast to central Appalachia. The storm on the West Coast...

West Coast's 'Bomb Cyclone' Has Arrived

More than 100K are already without power, wind speeds of up to 68mph have been recorded

(Newser) - What was expected to be one of the strongest storms in the northwest US in decades arrived Tuesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees across the region, the AP reports. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river—...

That Rotary Phone in the Forest Can Ease Your Grief

After Army vet created a 'wind phone' for a local park, they're now popping up everywhere

(Newser) - At the end of 2020, Corey Dembeck heard the awful news that the 4-year-old daughter of a friend had suddenly died after a bout with strep led to sepsis. The US Army veteran and former photojournalist wanted to do something immediate for the family of little Joelle Sylvester, so he...

Seattle Doesn't Usually Hit 90 Till July. This Year Is Different

Heat advisory is in effect in Pacific Northwest, where temps may soar 30 degrees above average

(Newser) - It's been a hot one in the Pacific Northwest over the past few days, and it looks like residents there will have to endure the extreme weather for at least a little longer. The New York Times reports that upward of 12 million people are sweating it out under...

Pacific Northwest Readies for Dangerous Heat

Several deaths already are tentatively blamed on hyperthermia

(Newser) - Extreme heat is forecast to stretch through the weekend in the Pacific Northwest, and authorities are investigating whether triple-digit temperatures were to blame for the deaths of at least four people. The Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office said at least three people have died of suspected hyperthermia during the...

The Pacific Northwest Is About to Get Very, Very Wet

Atmospheric river will bring heavy rain, floods to parts of Washington state, Oregon

(Newser) - If you live in Oregon or Washington state, get out your umbrellas. An atmospheric river is expected to hit the Pacific Northwest hard from Monday into Tuesday morning, with rainfall of 3 inches to 6 inches expected in that one-day span along parts of the coast, and even higher numbers...

The Pacific Northwest Isn't Ready for This Tsunami

The evacuation options just aren't there for tens of thousands of people

(Newser) - "It’s going to dwarf the scale of any disaster we have ever had. We know it’s coming." So Chris Goldfinger of Oregon State University tells the New York Times . He's talking about a massive—think magnitude 9.0—quake along the Cascadia fault off the...

Pacific Northwest Flooded, Snow Closes Mountain Passes

One socked-in town asked for National Guard help

(Newser) - Flooding coursed over roads, inundated farmland and curtailed access to a Native American reservation in Washington state on Sunday as the Pacific Northwest slowly recovered from a series of storms that have engulfed the region with rain and snow. The swollen Chehalis River was expected to crest Sunday as the...

They Say 200 Died From PNW Heat Wave. It May Be Much More

'Excess death' numbers out of Oregon, Washington state suggest hundreds more died than officially noted

(Newser) - While much of the US was slammed with a wall of heat Wednesday , the Pacific Northwest in particular is bracing for more super-hot days, just weeks after enduring a deadly "heat dome" that shattered records. That weather event produced an official death toll of 95 in Washington state and...

Heat Wave Death Toll Reaches 95 in Oregon

Record temperatures seem to have caused hundreds of deaths in the Pacific Northwest

(Newser) - We don’t know how many people died in the recent heatwave in the Pacific Northwest, but it looks like a lot. The best guess is in the hundreds. Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown, said Sunday that 95 deaths there were related to the heat, the AP reports. Portland saw...

Rolling Blackouts Expected as Heat Wave Moves Inland

Spokane predicts highest-ever temperature

(Newser) - The unprecedented Northwest US heat wave that slammed Seattle and Portland, Oregon, moved inland Tuesday—prompting a electrical utility in Spokane, Washington, to warn that people will face more rolling blackouts amid heavy power demand. The intense weather that gave Seattle and Portland consecutive days of record high temperatures far...

Behind Talk of Heat Wave Is Talk of a 'Heat Dome'
Region With Few AC Units
Is Baking Under a 'Heat Dome'
the rundown
Jun 28, 2021 10:30 AM CDT

Region With Few AC Units Is Baking Under a 'Heat Dome'

Temperatures in Northwest raise fears of a new normal being established

(Newser) - The Pacific Northwest—and Canada, too —must bake for one more day before cooler temperatures arrive on Tuesday, reports the Oregonian . That's a relative term: It's still expected to be unusually hot in Portland, though in the 80s and 90s instead of triple digits. Related coverage of...

This Is the Hottest Temperature Ever Recorded in Canada

Nearly 115 degrees Fahrenheit, in the village of Lytton on Sunday

(Newser) - The village of Lytton in the interior of southern British Columbia sizzled under a new all-time high temperature for Canada on Sunday, reaching 46.1 degrees Celsius, or just under 115 degrees Fahrenheit. The reading by Environment Canada in Lytton surpassed the previous national high of 45 C (113 F),...

Northwest Isn't the Only Part of US Due for a Scorcher

East and West coasts will both see temps well above seasonal averages this weekend, next week

(Newser) - The Pacific Northwest was already gearing up for a sweltering weekend, with temps in Seattle set to be higher than those in Cairo , but it's not the only part of the US that's due to be hit with soaring digits. CNN notes the "dueling heat waves" that...

Seattle Will Be Hotter Than Cairo This Weekend

'This is an unprecedented event'

(Newser) - A record-breaking heat wave in the Northwest will make Seattle hotter than Cairo this weekend and authorities are scrambling to find ways to keep vulnerable residents cool. The National Weather Service predicts that temperatures in the city will hit 100 on Sunday and a record-breaking 104 on Monday, the Seattle ...

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