2023 Western North America heat wave explained

Start Date:May 2023
Areas:Western North America
Fatalities:995
  • 112 (Mexico)[1]
  • 883 (United States)[2]

Starting in May 2023, a heat wave affected Western North America. The heat wave entailed wildfires in Alberta, record temperatures across Canada and the US, and over 100 deaths in Mexico. The heat also accelerated snow melt in mountain ranges, causing flooding and mudslides. According to scientists, climate change increased the strength of the 2023 heatwaves including in North America.[3] [4] [5]

Overview

Canada

The heat wave has fueled the wildfires in Alberta.[6] [7] Environment Canada has issued heat warnings for the northern parts of Alberta and parts of British Columbia. Environment Canada stated, "While the developing heat may result in daily temperature records being broken, it must be emphasized that the expected hot conditions will not approach those reached during the 'Heat Dome' of late June 2021".[8]

On May 13, the hamlet of Arviat, Nunavut reached, which was about 7C-change higher than the previous May record.[9] The next day, Squamish, British Columbia reached a record high temperature of, and Lytton and Tofino set monthly records of and, respectively.

United States

On May 12, the National Weather Service issued a health advisory between May 13 and 15 for the western parts of Oregon and Washington state.[10] [11]

On May 13, four locations in the Seattle region broke temperature records, with Quillayute reaching, SeaTac reaching, and Olympia and Hoquiam reaching .[12]

On May 14, cities such as Hoquiam, Washington and Florence, Oregon set monthly temperature records, with high temperatures of or above. Seattle reached the same day. Eugene and Portland reached and, respectively.

The heat has caused the snow on some mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevada, Colorado Rockies and Cascade Range to melt rapidly, posing danger due to flooding, mudslides and landslides.[13] On May 14, flooding of the Ogden River forced residents of Huntsville, Utah to evacuate their homes,[14] and part of State Route 504 near Mount St. Helens in Cowlitz County, Washington, was destroyed by a mudslide off the Cascade mountains.

In mid-June, more than 100 million individuals, or almost one-third of all Americans, were "under extreme heat advisories".[15]

On July 31, Phoenix, Arizona ended a 31-day streak of high temperatures of over .[16] The average temperature in Phoenix during July 2023 was 102.7F, the hottest month for any U.S. city in history.[17] On July 19, Phoenix broke their all time warmest low temperature by only falling to 97F at night.[18] The extreme heat resulted in 569 deaths in Phoenix.[19]

The summer heat wave resulted in Texas experiencing its second hottest summer on record in 2023, with the full year being its hottest on record. Over 300 people died from heat in Texas in 2023, the most since the state began tracking such deaths in 1989.[20]

Mexico

Over 100 people died across Mexico as a result of two weeks of heat waves in the country.[21]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Mexico: Heat wave claims over 100 lives – DW – 06/30/2023 . dw.com . en.
  2. Web site: Deadly heatwave envelops Mexico and southern US . www.aljazeera.com . en.
  3. Web site: Extreme heat in North America, Europe and China in July 2023 made much more likely by climate change . World Weather Attribution . 3 August 2023.
  4. Web site: July 2023 Is Hottest Month Ever Recorded on Earth . Scientific American . 3 August 2023.
  5. Web site: IGINI . MARTINA . More than 80% of People on Earth Experienced a Hotter July Triggered by Climate Change: Report . Earth.Org . Climate central . 4 August 2023.
  6. Web site: Prociv . Kathryn . 2023-05-15 . Pacific Northwest heat wave continues after historic weekend . 2023-05-21 . . en . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521080844/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/pacific-northwest-heat-wave-continues-historic-weekend-rcna84423 . live .
  7. News: Canon . Gabrielle . 2023-05-15 . Punishing heatwave grips Pacific north-west as wildfires rage in western Canada . en-GB . . 2023-05-21 . 0261-3077 . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521080842/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/15/heatwave-pacific-north-west-canada-wildfires . live .
  8. Web site: Gray . Jennifer . 2023-05-15 . Record-breaking heat scorches the western US and Canada as wildfires continue to rage . 2023-05-23 . . en . May 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230523003653/https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/weather/pacific-northwest-canada-heat-wildfires-monday-wxn/index.html . live .
  9. Web site: Freedman . Andrew . May 16, 2023 . Pacific Northwest heat wave shatters records . May 21, 2023 . . May 20, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230520203625/https://www.axios.com/2023/05/16/pacific-northwest-heat-canada-wildfires-climate . live .
  10. Web site: May 12, 2023 . Early Heat Wave in Pacific Northwest Could Break Records . May 21, 2023 . . . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521080846/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/oregon/articles/2023-05-12/early-heat-wave-in-pacific-northwest-could-break-records . live .
  11. Kohli . Anisha . 2023-05-13 . A Heatwave Is Sweeping Across the Pacific Northwest . 2023-05-21 . . en . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521080846/https://time.com/6279678/pacific-northwest-heat-advisory/ . live .
  12. News: Oxenden . McKenna . Cameron . Chris . 2023-05-13 . 12 Million People Are Under a Heat Advisory in the Pacific Northwest . en-US . . 2023-05-21 . 0362-4331 . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521080842/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/13/us/heat-wave-pacific-northwest-canada.html . live .
  13. Web site: Jacobo . Julia . May 17, 2023 . Complications arise in the West as early heat wave causes snowpack to melt rapidly . 2023-05-23 . . en . May 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230523013638/https://abcnews.go.com/US/complications-arise-west-early-heat-wave-causes-snowpack/story?id=99363173 . live .
  14. Web site: Fox . Derick . 2023-05-15 . Huntsville homes face evacuation as Ogden River floods . 2023-05-23 . ABC4 Utah . en-US . May 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230523074738/https://www.abc4.com/news/northern-utah/several-huntsville-homes-evacuated-after-ogden-river-floods/ . live .
  15. News: Oliver . Mark . Sainato . Michael . 2023-07-16 . Millions in US under warnings as record heat expected to continue next week . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-07-16 . 0261-3077.
  16. Web site: Sganga . Nicole . 2023-08-01 . The hottest July: Inside Phoenix's brutal 31 days of 110-degree heat – CBS News . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230806064303/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/phoenix-heat-wave-july-110-degrees/ . 2023-08-06 . 2023-08-06 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  17. News: Phoenix officially records hottest month ever, sets national record for July 2023 . August 19, 2023 . AZ Family . August 1, 2023.
  18. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/phoenix-only-drops-to-97o-overnight-warmest-low-ever-recorded-in-the-city.amp Phoenix breaks all-time record for warmest low, sets a new daily high
  19. https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/maricopa-county-arizona-record-heat-deaths-2023 Phoenix sets all-time record again for heat-associated deaths after scorching summer
  20. News: "I don’t wish this on anyone": Two families mourn their losses after a record year for Texas heat deaths . Texas Tribune . January 12, 2024.
  21. Web site: Heat wave in Mexico leaves at least 100 dead, authorities say. 30 June 2023. 2 July 2023. Reuters.

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