Dangerous heat prompts KOIN 6 Weather Alert Thursday around Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A KOIN 6 Weather Alert is in place for western Oregon and southwest Washington Thursday as dangerous heat returns to the region.

Summer temperatures will spike Thursday afternoon and evening with highs sitting in the upper 90s. A few 100-degree temperatures are possible along the Willamette Valley as records are threatened. Portland's current record is 98-degrees last set in 2015. That record will likely be broken Thursday afternoon with a forecast high of 100 predicted.

This latest round of summer heat also comes with a layer of haze. Wildfires burning both in Oregon and California will push smoke back into the region Thursday. Red sunsets and sunrises will likely take Portland into the weekend.

Air quality has the potential to decrease along the Willamette Valley Thursday evening into Friday. The worst of the air quality will remain east of the Cascades.

The increase in temperature and the lack of rainfall will keep the wildfire threat elevated. The lack of rainfall and high heat is expected to last through the end of the week and into next week.

Temperatures will continue to sit above normal through the middle of next week as rain remains absent. August is typically Oregon's hottest month of the year and is the second driest month, just behind July. The Temperatures trend forecasts are expected to remain warm this month with very little rain.