PORTLAND, Ore. — Intense. Prolonged. Record-breaking. Unprecedented. Abnormal. Dangerous. That’s how the National Weather Service described the historic heat wave hitting the Pacific Northwest, pushing daytime temperatures into the triple digits, disrupting Olympic qualifying events and breaking all-time high temperature records in places unaccustomed to such extreme heat. Portland, Oregon, reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4…

Unprecedented Heat Wave Builds in the Northwest U.S. as Temperature Records Fall