Record Heat Scorches Mid-Valley

The National Weather Service says cooler temperatures are in store for the rest of the week.

Bank thermometer in South Salem Photo by: Kevin Hays

(SALEM) - Back in the 80`s, I can remember my mom and dad packing my brother and I up in the Mercury Zephyr station wagon, with no air conditioning, heading east for hot, dry summers of Kansas and Nebraska to visit family.

Picture two teenage boys, both going to different high schools, small 4-door station wagon, no air conditioning, only diet Shasta pop, yes even grapefruit flavored, and temperatures well over 100 degrees everyday, you get my drift.

On Monday, my three kids who don't travel in an un-air conditioned vehicle, and also have a pool, got just a taste of those boring stories, they say, from my youth.

The high temperature in Salem according to the National Weather Service was 103 degrees. The overnight low was 61 degrees.

That blew away the old record high of 97 degrees, set on June 27th, 1987.

Temperature signs at banks and businesses read anywhere from 107 degrees in south Salem, to 105 degrees in downtown Salem, to 104 degrees in Keizer.

Corvallis and McMinnville also broke records with 103 degree high temperatures Monday.

Hundreds flocked to the Oregon coast to beat the valley heat. The high temperature in Newport and Lincoln City was 63 degrees.

The highest official temperature in the state was recorded at both Medford and The Dalles, both reached 105 degrees.

The best place in the state to get away from the heat was Meacham, where their high temperature was 44 degrees.

PGE customers broke a summer record for electricity consumption. Sweltering temperatures have resulted in customer use that is more than 48 percent above "typical" power consumption on a summer day, which is about 2,400 megawatts (MW).

By 3:00 PM Monday, PGE customers were using 3,566 MW of electricity, well above the past record of 3,468 MW set on July 23, 2004.One megawatt is enough electricity to power roughly 750 homes.

FYI: According to the National Weather Service, the high temperatures in both Kansas and Nebraska this week will be in the mid-80`s Salem area weather forecast