PORTLAND, Ore. — Multnomah County will reopen its two daytime cooling centers on Friday. The region is experiencing an unusually strong September heat wave. Temperatures hit 102 degrees in Portland on Thursday, and Friday highs are expected to rise near 100 degrees.
The current plan is only for cooling centers rather than cooling shelters, the difference being that centers only operate during daytime hours. The nights are expected to stay relatively cool in the coming days, with overnight lows in the mid 60s until Sunday.
Here's where to find relief during the day:
Multnomah County
Two daytime cooling centers in Multnomah County will be open on Friday from noon to 9 p.m.
- Cook Plaza, 19421 Southeast Stark Street, Gresham
- Portland Covenant Church, 4046 Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Portland
Bud Clark Commons (650 Northwest Irving Street, Portland) will also extend its hours until 6:30 p.m. on Friday, and the Multnomah County Library's Central and Gresham branches will extend their hours to 8 p.m. on Friday, with bottled water on hand.
TriMet will offer free rides to cooling centers from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday for people who can't afford to pay fare.
Washington, Clackamas and Clark counties
The three other Portland metro area counties each have online lists of available cooling spaces, most of which are public library branches or community centers.
How does Multnomah County decide when to open cooling centers?
Multnomah County has specific thresholds that dictate when they open cooling centers and shelters. In fact, there's one specific measurement: if the Portland region hits the highest level on the National Weather Service's HeatRisk assessment, the county will always open shelters. The county will also consider opening cooling centers at the second-highest level, but it will depend on additional factors.
The National Weather Service's HeatRisk tool is an online map that color-codes the entire United States based on heat risk for each day of the coming week. The map has five levels, each with its own number and color.
- Level 0 (Green): Little or no heat risk
- Level 1 (Yellow): Minor heat risk
- Level 2 (Orange): Moderate heat risk
- Level 3 (Red): Major heat risk
- Level 4 (Magenta): Extreme heat risk
Multnomah County on its website says it starts to consider whether it will open formal cooling centers or shelters at Level 3, and at Level 4, it's no longer a maybe: the county opens 24-hour shelters.
The Portland metro area was at a mix of Level 2 and Level 3 as of Wednesday afternoon, but the entire region is forecasted to be at Level 3 on Friday.
Jared Cowley of KGW contributed to this report.