2021 Summer Heatwaves: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Heatwave.png|alt=June heatwave dates and temperatures.|center|''June heatwave dates and temperatures.''|frame]]Emergency managers in the region mobilized for heatwave preparations only three days before June 25. Since more preparation lead time can improve response capacity, it is worth noting factors that possibly contributed to curtailed lead time in June: | [[File:Heatwave.png|alt=June heatwave dates and temperatures.|center|''June heatwave dates and temperatures.''|frame]]Emergency managers in the region mobilized for heatwave preparations only three days before June 25. Since more preparation lead time can improve response capacity, it is worth noting factors that possibly contributed to curtailed lead time in June: | ||
* '''Regional response inexperience with temperature extremes at this level.''' For example, at the time, PBEM did not have Operational Guidelines in place for an event like the June heat dome. | * '''Regional response inexperience with temperature extremes at this level.''' For example, at the time, PBEM did not have Operational Guidelines in place for an event like the June heat dome.[[File:HeatHistory.jpg|alt=Timeline/history of temperatures in Portland 1938-2021|thumb|''Daily maximum temperatures in Portland, 1938 - 2021. The three isolated points above the fray represent June 26 - 28, 2021. Click to enlarge.''<ref>Data: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via Oregon Live; Graphic by Cedric Scherer.</ref>|444x444px]] | ||
* '''Conservative weather forecasts leading up to the heat event.''' A June 21 NWS weather briefing indicated a high confidence forecast of temperatures above 90° starting June 25 with a 50% chance of temperatures hitting 100° that weekend. Concerning, but not highly alarming. Email traffic at PBEM confirms professionals in the region took the prospective heat seriously and worked to plan for it; but until June 22, some doubts remained Portland would reach temperatures over 100° that weekend. Solid indications from NWS that temperatures would exceed 100° on Sunday and Monday in addition to Friday and Saturday do not appear in email traffic until the morning of June 23. Even on the days that followed, the forecasted hottest day and temperatures changed. | * '''Conservative weather forecasts leading up to the heat event.''' A June 21 NWS weather briefing indicated a high confidence forecast of temperatures above 90° starting June 25 with a 50% chance of temperatures hitting 100° that weekend. Concerning, but not highly alarming. Email traffic at PBEM confirms professionals in the region took the prospective heat seriously and worked to plan for it; but until June 22, some doubts remained Portland would reach temperatures over 100° that weekend. Solid indications from NWS that temperatures would exceed 100° on Sunday and Monday in addition to Friday and Saturday do not appear in email traffic until the morning of June 23. Even on the days that followed, the forecasted hottest day and temperatures changed. | ||
* '''A community safety net already stretched and frayed by COVID-19.''' The pandemic has led to increased social isolation (a factor in heat illness deaths) and houselessness. | * '''A community safety net already stretched and frayed by COVID-19.''' The pandemic has led to increased social isolation (a factor in heat illness deaths) and houselessness. | ||
* '''A possible boil water notice looming over much of the west coast.''' Regional emergency managers were planning for a prospective interruption of the supply of sodium hypochlorite.<ref>Hasenstab, A. (2021, July 6). Chlorine shortage comes to an end in Portland as production ramps up. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved January 8, 2022, from https://www.opb.org/article/2021/07/06/oregon-chlorine-shortage-portland-water-bureau-washington-chemical-facility/</ref> Utilities use sodium hypochlorite to disinfect drinking water and wastewater. An equipment failure at a chlorine manufacturer in Longview resulted in a shortage of the disinfectant impacting the entire west coast. From June 14 to 28, utilities and emergency managers braced for the possibility of running out. That did not happen. But the implications of a short chlorine supply were serious: it could mean asking Portlanders to curtail water use and possibly a regional boil water notice. This incident held the attention and resources of emergency managers right up to the June heatwave. | * '''A possible boil water notice looming over much of the west coast.''' Regional emergency managers were planning for a prospective interruption of the supply of sodium hypochlorite.<ref>Hasenstab, A. (2021, July 6). Chlorine shortage comes to an end in Portland as production ramps up. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved January 8, 2022, from https://www.opb.org/article/2021/07/06/oregon-chlorine-shortage-portland-water-bureau-washington-chemical-facility/</ref> Utilities use sodium hypochlorite to disinfect drinking water and wastewater. An equipment failure at a chlorine manufacturer in Longview resulted in a shortage of the disinfectant impacting the entire west coast. From June 14 to 28, utilities and emergency managers braced for the possibility of running out. That did not happen. But the implications of a short chlorine supply were serious: it could mean asking Portlanders to curtail water use and possibly a regional boil water notice. This incident held the attention and resources of emergency managers right up to the June heatwave. | ||
In other words, the June heat dome was a growing emergency inside [[wikipedia:Matryoshka_doll|matryoshka dolls]] of emergencies. | |||
PBEM moved the ECC into partial activation on June 23. That day, the COAD Coordinator began mobilizing community outreach efforts via PDX COAD on June 23, sending warnings and instructions to partner CBOs and calling some of them individually to check in. In a meeting the next day, Multnomah County decided to open two cooling centers beginning on Friday, June 25: the Oregon Convention Center and Sunrise Center (and later added the Arbor Lodge Shelter). A bulletin to NETs that day put them on standby for volunteering, but online shift signups were not available for sending to NETs until 11:00 the next day (June 24). Multnomah County Emergency Management took responsibility for the online signups, but posted eight hour shifts instead of the four hour shifts customarily offered to volunteers. The short notice combined with the long shifts later factored into low volunteer availability. On June 25, Portland’s Chief Administrator’s Office requested help from City employees to fill shift gaps. | PBEM moved the ECC into partial activation on June 23. That day, the COAD Coordinator began mobilizing community outreach efforts via PDX COAD on June 23, sending warnings and instructions to partner CBOs and calling some of them individually to check in. In a meeting the next day, Multnomah County decided to open two cooling centers beginning on Friday, June 25: the Oregon Convention Center and Sunrise Center (and later added the Arbor Lodge Shelter). A bulletin to NETs that day put them on standby for volunteering, but online shift signups were not available for sending to NETs until 11:00 the next day (June 24). Multnomah County Emergency Management took responsibility for the online signups, but posted eight hour shifts instead of the four hour shifts customarily offered to volunteers. The short notice combined with the long shifts later factored into low volunteer availability. On June 25, Portland’s Chief Administrator’s Office requested help from City employees to fill shift gaps. | ||
