Medford, Ore. — The hot temperatures are putting several local agencies on alert. The old record high in Medford on August 2nd was 105 degrees back in 1993, now we’ve smashed another record. The all-time record high temperature recorded at the Rogue Valley International-Medford airport is 115 degrees. Though we may not have hit that Wednesday, the extreme heat this week is still something to put down in the history books.
“Seven months ago, it was half a foot to a foot of snow on the ground with temperatures down to six degrees,” said Ryan Sandler. Sandler is a meteorologist for the Medford National Weather Service office.
Fast forward to August and we’re telling a different story.
“Haha, wasn’t that long ago, we were cursing winter,” Sandler said.
Now, people are cursing a different season and the weather system bringing all this heat.
“Way out in the pacific, the jetstream goes up up over this high, into northern British Columbia, and then it drops down almost into the great lakes and comes back up,” Sandler said.
He says the jetstream is responsible for the large bump in temperatures this week.
“There’s the high pressure, there’s the warmest temperatures from the desert southwest in the pacific northwest,” Sandler said.
The all-time record high temperature is 115 degrees from 1946.
“Most people don’t even remember that,” Sandler said.
We might not remember that heat wave, but local meteorologists will sure remember this one.
“This is once, twice, maybe three times in a lifetime,” Sandler said.
And it’s not just the high temperatures looking to shatter records. Thursday’s low temperature might also take a swing at the records as well.
“Most people focus on high temperatures but we’re expecting a low Thursday morning of 76 degrees which would tie the all-time record high minimum temperature,” Sandler said.
With the extreme heat, local law enforcement is reminding everyone to limit your amount of sun exposure during the day, drink plenty of water, and be a good neighbor. If you know someone who is older or someone who lives alone, try to check on them a couple times throughout the day. It doesn’t have to be for long, but a simple knock on the door or phone call could save someone’s life.
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