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At 117 degrees, Salem has its hottest day ever

 Ice was sold out at a west Salem store Monday morning as Salem braced for record heat. City residents reported being unable to find ice during the third day in a row of triple-digit Salem temperatures. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter)

Salem saw its hottest day in recorded history on Monday. 

As of 2:10 p.m. Oregon’s capital city saw temperatures of 117 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Monday’s high temperature broke the previous record of 112 degrees seen just a day earlier. 

The last time temperatures in Salem came close to being this high was nearly 80 years ago, according to National Weather service records that date back to the 1890s. Salem saw 108 degree temperatures on Aug. 9, 1891, July 15, 1941, and July 23, 1927. 



A pepper plan wilts in the heat as Salem temperatures climbed to 116 degrees the afternoon of Monday, June 28 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) 

However, cooler weather is on the way. In Corvallis, temperatures have dropped to 89 degrees after cool ocean air blew over the city just south of Salem, the National Weather Service said on Twitter.

According to the service’s forecast, Salem could see a low of 62 degrees tonight. Tuesday has a high of 91 degrees and 88 degrees for Wednesday. 

-Jake Thomas