Cities in Oregon break records for summer heat

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Climatologists say at least a dozen Oregon cities experienced the hottest months of July and August on record. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports Oregon State Climatologist Larry O’Neill studied average weather temperatures and focused on communities with at least 50 years of consistent data. He found new average-temperature records everywhere from Portland and Eugene in the Willamette Valley to Ontario and Burns in Eastern Oregon. Even Astoria on the Oregon Coast had its second warmest two-month period on record. Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last several decades and will continue to make weather more extreme.