Hang on the temperature continues to rise. There is an Excessive Heat Warning in effect from Noon today through 10 PM Wednesday for all of the Willamette Valley from Portland to Eugene. That also includes the mountains, but not the coast. It will remain cooler. Look for temperatures in the high 90s today and 100 or above Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday will cool a bit back into the 90s if you can call that cool.

The place to be really cool is at the coast. My wife and I spent the weekend in Newport ending in Florence on Sunday afternoon and evening. While those in the valley were heating up we were kept cool by clouds, fog, and a light misty drizzle in the wind. Here are a few pictures to show you what it was like. First we go to Newport where it was difficult at times to see that there was an ocean out there. By Sunday we could see waves at the shore.

View of Ocean from our room on Sunday

Yaquina Head Light house shrouded in fog

And last, but not least, here is how clear it was on Sunday in Florence.

Blue sky with some clouds in Old Town Florence

Remember, when the interior valleys are hot in the summer and the coast is foggy there is usually sunshine breaking through in Florence in part due to the fact that it is 2.5 to 3 miles inland from the ocean. Since we are back now I get to feel this intense heat just as much as you. Keep cool and remember to give your outside pets plenty of cool water and some shade. You need to drink plenty of water also and if you must work outside do so in short sessions with rest in between.