Polk County marine patrol deputy Tommy Hutchison and reserve deputy Derrick Angelus assist two distressed kayakers on the Willamette River on Sunday, July 18. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
July 2021 wasn’t just the hottest July in Salem.
It’s the hottest month ever recorded in Oregon’s capital since records began in the 1890s, the National Weather Service said Sunday.
The average temperature for the month was 73.3 degrees, beating the July 2015 record of 73.1 degrees, and the previous runner up, August 2017, which averaged 73 degrees.
Sixteen days in July had temperatures above 90 degrees, with a high of 100 on July 26.
Though the heat wave that hit Salem in late June sent temperatures soaring to 117 degrees, June was overall cooler than July, with just 10 days above 90 degrees. Salem recorded an average high temperature of 88.4 degrees in July, up from 83.5 degrees in June.
All told, July temperatures were four degrees above average for the month, the National Weather Service said.
Eugene and Portland recorded higher-than-average temperatures in July, but neither broke a record.
-Rachel Alexander
