Heat dome sizzling West breaks Canada's national high temperature record for September
A thermometer in Lytton, B.C. recorded a max temperature of 104 degrees F (40.0 Celsius) on Tuesday, setting the September heat provincial record for British Columbia and matching only two other times a Canadian city reported such heat this late in the year.
Preventing child deaths in hot cars as summer heat moves across the country
Sue Auriemma, Vice President, Kids and Car Safety spoke with FOX Weather First about the best way to prevent hot car deaths this summer.
ASHCROFT, British Columbia – A massive heat dome sprawled across the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia has not only shattered daily records, but for Canada, has now set the hottest temperature the nation has ever recorded in September.
A thermometer in Ashcroft, British Columbia, recorded a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.7 degrees Celsius) during its 5 p.m. observation on Wednesday. The day's official high temperature will be posted after midnight and may be higher.
The previous September heat record was 40.0 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F), matched just Tuesday in nearby Lytton, according to Canada's The Weather Network. The other instances were at Morden, Manitoba, in 1906 and in 1940 in Lost River, Saskatchewan, The Weather Network said.
Lytton was not far behind Ashcroft on Wednesday evening at 39 degrees C and may still surpass Ashcroft when final readings are calculated.
(FOX Weather)
Lytton is no stranger to Canadian national records. The town holds multiple heat records, including the overall Canadian national heat record of 121.3 degrees F (49.6 degrees C), stemming from the historic heat wave of June 2021.
While much of the heart of both Canada and the U.S. has been experiencing an early taste of autumn-like weather as polar air plunges into the region, a large ridge of high pressure has generated a searing heat dome across much of the West, sending temperatures soaring.
High temperature records were set in America's Inland Northwest, with Spokane, Washington, reaching 99 degrees both Monday and Tuesday – a place where the average high for early September is 78 degrees.
There is no relief for days as the heat dome remains entrenched through the end of the week. Various heat alerts cover much of the southern interior of British Columbia, stretching across the border into parts of Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana on Thursday.
Northwest Heat Alerts
(FOX Weather)
Forecasts for Wednesday and Thursday call for widespread high temperatures reaching at least the mid- to upper 90s, with the hottest areas expected to cross over 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) again.
EATING ICE CREAM IN THE SUMMER HEAT MIGHT BE MAKING YOU EVEN HOTTER
The heat dome should fade by early next week with warmer weather shifting east, but long-range forecasts indicate overall warmer-than-average temperatures will continue into the middle of the month.