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QuickTake:
Eugene set record highs on consecutive spring days during a heat wave, peaking on Graduation Day, with the surface of the field at Autzen Stadium reaching 155 degrees.
A dry, scorching heat wave in the Pacific Northwest set back-to-back, record-breaking temperatures in Eugene and Springfield.
The National Weather Service station at Eugene Airport recorded 98 degrees on Monday, June 15, following a high of 96 degrees on Sunday.
But the heat was not felt equally across the region. Areas with pavement, concrete and other heat-retaining materials absorbed and radiated more heat — creating what is known as the urban heat island effect.
At University of Oregon graduation ceremonies at Autzen Stadium on Monday, temperatures on the field reached 155 degrees, according to University of Oregon spokesperson and director of issues management Angela Seydel. That’s a scalding surface temperature hot enough to potentially burn exposed skin on contact.
UO postponed two afternoon commencement ceremonies and moved them indoors to Matthew Knight Arena that evening.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service reviewed photos from the ceremony and said decking material placed beneath rows of chairs on the field may have amplified surface temperatures.
The Eugene-Springfield area has experienced nearly double the number of days above 90 degrees this decade compared with previous decades, according to Larry O’Neill, state climatologist and associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. It once typically averaged 17 annually and now has had about 33 annually over the last six years, he told Lookout Eugene Springfield in an interview about Sunday’s record.
Last year around this time, a Eugene heat wave broke records for June 8, at 94 degrees, surpassing the previous daily record of 93 degrees set in 1955.
This year’s Sunday high of 96 degrees surpassed the previous record of 92 degrees, set in 1914. And Monday’s high of 98 degrees broke the previous record of 96 degrees, set in 1966.
The heat affected the region beyond the cloudless daytime skies. Nights felt a little toasty, too.
“Most areas were likely running a touch warmer than normal,” said meteorologist David Bishop of the night temperatures. “The Eugene Airport recorded the overnight low around 51°F, while a CWOP (citizen owned weather station) in Springfield recorded 57°F. The normal overnight low around this time of year for Eugene is in the upper 40s to mid 50s.”
Since 1970, average summer nighttime low temperatures have warmed in 231 U.S. locations including Eugene, according to an analysis by Climate Central — an independent group of scientists. Locally, summer overnight temperatures have risen by nearly 2 degrees over the last 30 years.
