When that air current encountered an upper-level high-pressure zone, also called a ridge, it started to significantly deform on June 25, forcing to accommodate the high-pressure area south of the jet stream's meander. There, the warm, moist air rose and was eventually entrained by the jet stream, which transported it east over cooler waters. On June 23, the United States National Weather Service warned of an approaching heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, whose origins could be traced to torrential rains in China. The center of the heat dome, which caused the heat wave, can be seen over the British Columbia Interior. ![]() Meteorological history Geopotential height chart at 500 millibars at 11:00 UTC on June 28, 2021. Confirmed deaths in the United States include at least 116 in Oregon (of which 72 are in Multnomah County, which includes Portland), and at least 112 in Washington and one death in Idaho An analysis by The New York Times suggests that around 600 excess deaths occurred the week the heat wave passed through Washington and Oregon. The Chief Coroner of British Columbia reported that in the week between June 25 to July 1, 619 deaths were due to heat exposure. ![]() The death toll exceeded 1,400 people, with a death toll of at least 808 estimated in western Canada. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated that the heatwave caused at least $8.9 billion (2021 USD) in damages in the USA. The heat wave also caused extensive damage to crops across the region, which was seen as likely to result in higher food prices globally, though the losses have yet to be calculated. The heat also damaged the road and rail infrastructure, forced closures of businesses, disrupted cultural events, and melted snowcaps, in some cases resulting in flooding. One of them destroyed the village of Lytton, British Columbia, the day after it had set a record high temperature for Canada. The heat wave sparked numerous extensive wildfires, some reaching hundreds of square kilometers in area, which led to widespread disruption on the roads. However, the Pacific Northwest suffered the vast majority of the disruption and damage connected with the extreme weather event. The record-high temperatures associated with the heat wave stretched from Oregon to northern Manitoba, and daily highs were set as far east as Labrador and as far southwest as Southern California. It resulted in some of the highest temperatures ever recorded in the region, including the highest temperature ever measured in Canada at 49.6 ☌ (121.3 ☏), as well as the highest temperatures in British Columbia, in the Northwest Territories, in the state of Washington as well as a tied record in Oregon. The heat wave appeared due to an exceptionally strong ridge centered over the area, whose strength was linked to the effects of climate change. It also affected inland regions of Central and Southern California, Northwestern and Southern Nevada and parts of Montana, though the temperature anomalies were not as extreme as in the regions farther north. The heat wave affected Northern California, Idaho, Western Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in the United States, as well as British Columbia, and in its latter phase, Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Yukon, all in Canada. A study in Nature Climate Change estimated that its occurrence, while previously thought virtually impossible, is projected to increase rapidly with further global warming, possibly becoming a 10-yearly occurrence in a climate 2☌ warming than the pre-industrial period, which may be reached by 2050 if fossil fuels are not phased out and carbon-dioxide emissions eliminated. Extreme event attribution found this was a 1000-year weather event, made 150 times more likely by climate change. ![]() The 2021 Western North America heat wave was an extreme heat wave that affected much of Western North America from late June through mid-July 2021.
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