Seattle has recorded the hottest temperature in its history.
The National Weather Service recorded 103 degrees Wednesday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking a previous record of 100 degrees, set in downtown Seattle in 1941 and repeated at the airport in 1994.
Jay Albrecht with the weather service says that's the hottest it has been in Seattle since temperatures were first recorded in 1891.
Renton recorded a temperature of 103 degrees around noon. Bremerton reached 102 degrees and Kirkland reported 102 degrees.
While this may be the peak for this particular heat wave, University of Washington atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass says you should not expect substantial relief anytime soon. "(Thursday) is going to be almost as warm. And then we're going to slowly grade down but not to normal temperatures - still way above normal... temperatures dropping into the lower 90's.".
Mass says we already broke one major record on Wednesday morning, "We broke the record for the all-time highest minimum temperature in Seattle, in history... that's a very big record. It was 69 (degrees) and now it's going to be 71, it only got down to 71 at Sea-Tac (on Wednesday)."
Forecasters have issued an excessive heat warning for much of Western Washington through Friday.
But Mass says the heat may not even be over by Friday, "There's just no end in sight to this. This is going to be one of the longest heat waves we've ever had."
