Multnomah County announces cooling center plans for expected triple-digit temperatures

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland is heading into an unusually strong September heat wave, with temperatures expected to rise into the 90s on Wednesday and hit or top 100 degrees on Thursday and Friday. Counties and cities in the region have begun announcing plans to open cooling centers on at least the first of the two hottest days.

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:

As of Wednesday afternoon, Multnomah County has announced plans to open two cooling centers on Thursday, both of which will be open from noon to 9 p.m. The county said it will announce on Thursday whether the centers will reopen on Friday, based on the latest weather forecast.

• 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. Thursday, and the Multnomah County Library’s Central and Gresham branches will extend their hours to 8 p.m. Thursday, with bottled water on hand.

TriMet has also announced that it will offer free rides to cooling centers from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday for people who can’t afford to pay fare.

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. 

• Washington County’s map of available cooling spaces is here.
• Clackamas County’s list of available cooling spaces is here, and its map of cooling spaces is here.
• Clark County’s map of available cooling spaces is here.

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.

Check the NWS HeatRisk map here

The Portland metro area is 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 Thursday and Friday.

Jared Cowley of KGW contributed to this report.