PACIFIC CITY, Ore. — A multi-day heat wave has arrived in Portland, pushing afternoon temperatures north of 90 degrees in the metro area — and it's only going to get hotter over the next few days.
One of the closest places to beat the heat this week is the Oregon Coast, where visitors can expect to find much cooler conditions.
That’s where crowds have been gathering for the past couple of days, a trend that will likely continue as highs in the Willamette Valley push close to 100 degrees for much of the rest of the week.
Outside the Pelican Pub and Brewery in Pacific City on Monday, the parking lot was already full before the lunch crowd even arrived.
"You can tell the exodus from Portland right — now everyone is trying to beat the heat, nobody wants to sit at their place when it's 100 degrees. It’s ridiculous," said Loren Castillo, who said he and his family were planning to camp at the beach for the next couple of days.
While some people were cooling on the sand, others dove into the ocean to catch some waves. Connie Lockhard Bussard, who was visiting from the Midwest for an annual girls' trip, said she coincidentally scheduled an adventure out at the coast during what turned out to be the warmest stretch of summer weather so far this year.
"We have been doing a surf trip for twenty years, so do you get on the board? I did yesterday," she said. "I'm going to be 90 at the 27th of this month and I was going to do it one more time before I die."
Coming from Illinois, the nearly 90-years-young Bussard knows a thing or two about uncomfortable heat. The 100 degree weather is "God awful," she said, and anyone expecting to be in that kind of heat over the next few days should make sure to drink plenty of water.