A historic heat wave swept across the northwestern region of the United States and Canada, breaking records and prompting residents to seek relief.

Stores sold out portable air conditioners and fans, hospitals cancelled outdoor vaccination clinics, cities opened cooling centers, baseball teams abandoned or upgraded weekend games, and utilities prepared for possible power outages.

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Portland, Oregon reached 42.2 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday afternoon. The previous high temperature record for the largest city in Oregon was 41.7 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit), which was the highest recorded in 1965 and 1981.

Seattle reached 38.3 C (101 F) on Saturday, making it the hottest June day on record, and it was the fourth time in history that this usually temperate city exceeded 37.7 C (100 F).

The temperature is expected to be higher on Sunday and Monday. Many historical high temperature records may be broken. In Seattle, the highest temperature measured in 2009 was 39.4 C (103 F).