Last week’s temperatures broke records and roadways, and the heat isn’t letting up anytime soon

While recent days have cooled since the record-breaking heat spell peaking at 104 degrees, the ones ahead could be similarly scorching and unrelenting.

This year is on track to beat Spokane records for the longest continuous stretch of days reaching 90 degrees. Currently, the record is held by 2017, when 15 days at the end of July and into August hit 90 degrees.

If all goes according to the National Weather Service forecast, 2024 will dethrone the year, with 99-plus temperatures forecast through Monday.

Monday was the 11th day in a streak of temperatures reaching at least 90 degrees; Sunday was the eighth day reaching at least 95, according to the service. It doesn’t set a record, but the eight-day streak is the third-longest stretch of 95-degree-or-higher days. The longest stretch was in 1938, when 11 days in July met the 95-degree threshold.

This July is also trending above typical Spokane Julys, the hottest of the three summer months on average. With about half the month accounted for, the average maximum temperature is 93.5 degrees this year, nearly 10 degrees above the average high of 84.4 degrees.

Typical for the region’s summers, a high-pressure system is lingering over the U.S. Southwest . This system creates an even higher-pressure ridge over the Pacific Northwest, said meteorologist Joey Clevenger with the service.

This system is particularly “stubborn,” causing the lingering heat. The end may be in sight, Clevenger said.

“The models are hinting at the ridge finally shifting east starting Monday or Tuesday next week, which will be some relief from this heat,” Clevenger said.

Look out, Dakotas and Montana. The ridge is forecast to settle over this region, Clevenger said, offering hot and dry conditions in the area.

There isn’t much unaffected by the enduring heat. Namely, humans and roadways have felt the strain.

So far in July, the Spokane Fire Department has responded to 10 calls for heat-related maladies. The department treated three patients and transported two of the three who needed additional medical attention, such as intravenous fluids, Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter said.

The three treated were a 6-year-old, a 44-year-old and a 70-year-old. The elder two were ferried to hospitals.

The department receives increased calls during heat events, de Ruyter said, but it’s not their busiest time. That’s the winter, when people fall or crash their cars on ice-covered roads.

Some calls to put out fires during the summer are indirectly heat-related, de Ruyter said, as people more fervently use their air conditioning to cool off.

Constant operation can risk electrical fires, de Ruyter said.

“Those air conditioners can draw a lot of power, and they do draw a lot of power, that can overload peoples’ electrical systems, especially if they’re plugged into a power strip,” de Ruyter said. “AC should be plugged into the wall.”

Signs of an overheating air conditioning unit include the aroma of burning rubber or plastic, flickering lights or popping sounds.

Hot and dry conditions are prime for wildfires. Toss in some wind forecast on Wednesday, and fire fighters are even more alert.

“We’re at that critical point in our fire season now,” de Ruyter said.

The county is enforcing a prohibition on all open burning and recreational fires, with the Department of Natural Resources enacting the same restriction on the land it manages.

“Be alert, especially on the outskirts of town,” de Ruyter said. “You shouldn’t be seeing or smelling smoke.”

The unrelenting heat can ravage the human body and create prime conditions for fires, but roadways are also susceptible to the sun’s rays.

South of Rosalia, along a recently repaired section of U.S. Route 195, three separate concrete panels burst Tuesday, creating inches-tall bumps in the highway along the snapped seams .

When outside temperatures climb to 105 degrees, concrete can bake to the 120s, said Washington State Department of Transportation spokesperson Joe McHale.

The high temperatures cause the concrete panels in the roadway to expand. Enough expansion leads two panels to push against each other, forcing a panel to snap and jut out into the roadway, like tectonic plates forming a mountain range.

The department last year wrapped up a project to replace some cracking and splitting concrete panels in a 10-mile stretch of highway that connects Spokane to the southeast corner of the state. This area was last repaired in the 1960s, McHale said.

Some 80-year-old panels that weren’t replaced in this project are now buckling from the heat. It’s not uncommon for the area: Age and heat create a “recipe” for snapped panels.

“This section, with it being an older section, we’ve seen this happen in this area before,” McHale said.

Bracing for the scorcher ahead, crews from the department will patrol the highway with heat guns and jack hammers at the ready in search of buckling road.

The weather service forecast a high of 99 degrees and low of 63 on Tuesday. Wednesday holds a slight chance of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon, with a high of 102 and low of 64. Triple-digit temperatures are likely to persist through Thursday, expected to reach 101 degrees with a low of 65. Friday bears a 99 -degree forecast with lows of 64. Saturday and Sunday forecast 102 and 107 degree highs, respectively, and lows of 65 and 68.