UW Emergency Management

July 13, 2021

Hottest Day Ever in Seattle (June 28, 2021)

graphic showing map of Pacific NW and extreme heat measurementsOn June 28, 2021, the third day of a withering heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, the temperature in Seattle soars to 108 degrees, an all-time record. The reading is recorded at nearby Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which began keeping official records for Seattle in November 1948, and the 108-degree mark is the city’s highest temperature in the 151 years since detailed record-keeping began on February 16, 1870. The day Seattle records its record high, Washington weather stations at the Sol Duc River near Forks and the Mayfield Power Plant in Lewis County report 118 degrees, tying the all-time state record, pending certification. Seattle hits triple digits for the third consecutive day: 102 degrees on June 26, 104 degrees on June 27, and 108 on June 28. The three-day stretch is the first of its kind for the city, which has had only four previous days with 100-degree temperatures.   All 3 main UW campuses, operating under limited capacity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, experienced only minor problems; however, the University community was reminded of this trend for hotter/drier summers due to global climate change and its likely impacts on all university operations (utilities, air-quality, water supply, research impacts, etc…)