OPB’s First Look: Goodbye, flood watch. Hello, heat dome?

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Good morning, Northwest.

Parts of Oregon could feel the effects of a dangerous heat dome gripping the American West this week.

OPB’s Courtney Sherwood reports temperatures in some cities will be up to 20 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. Today’s newsletter starts with the forecast.

Also this morning, traffic deaths are down for the second straight year in Portland but still a long way from zero.

Here’s your First Look at Monday’s news.

—Bradley W. Parks

Oregon could see weather whiplash this week as temperatures climb

Warm weather is in the forecast for much of Oregon, expected to arrive just days after heavy rain brought flood alerts across a broad stretch of the state.

A heat dome that could be dangerous in some parts of the Western U.S. is heading our way — with forecasters saying some areas of California and Arizona could see temperatures climb near 105 degrees.

Oregon will dodge those triple-digit highs, however.

In Medford, Lakeview, Klamath Falls and Ashland temperatures could climb into the high 70s Tuesday through the end of next week — as much as 20 degrees hotter than normal for this time of year. (Courtney Sherwood)

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3 things to know this morning

• Reed College trustee Amy Madigan won best supporting actress at last night’s Academy Awards for portraying Aunt Gladys in “Weapons,” while the Washington-filmed “Train Dreams” came away empty despite receiving four Oscar nominations. (Winston Szeto and Associated Press)
• The 2026 season of Oregon Shakespeare Festival started over the weekend, with musical “Come From Away” — centering on flight passengers stranded in Gander, Canada, following 9/11 — running through Oct. 24 in Ashland’s Angus Bowmer Theatre. (Vanessa Finney)
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agent Samuel Landis will not face criminal charges for a crash that killed bicyclist Marganne Allen in Salem in March 2023, following the Oregon Department of Justice’s announcement last week it will not seek further review of the case. (Jeff Thompson)

How to take care of Oregon’s beloved Bagby Hot Springs

How do we reckon with the impact our presence has on the natural spaces we feel connected to? And can a place like Bagby Hot Springs be saved for good? We consider these big questions with OPB “Oregon Field Guide” producer Ian McCluskey, who first visited and fell in love with the springs as a small child. (Jenn Chávez and Ian McCluskey)

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Headlines from around the Northwest

• Can Portland eliminate traffic deaths? This East Coast city could be a model (Riley Martinez)
• For Pi Day, Portlanders recite as many digits as possible of the famed number (Joni Auden Land)
• Olympia becomes first Washington city to pass polyamory protections (Nate Sanford)
• Winners, losers and takeaways from Washington’s legislative session (Bill Lucia and Jerry Cornfield)
• Portland venue the Off Beat creates space for music fans, performers of all ages (Gemma DiCarlo)
• Springfield Education Association files unfair labor practice complaint over mid-year layoffs (Rebecca Hansen-White)
• Northwest looking at a dry spring, summer and fall for agriculture (Anna King)
• Blazers fall to short-handed 76ers 109-103 on road (Associated Press)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

Noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Clark County nonprofit theater company eliminates cost as a barrier to attending its shows
• Early Alzheimer’s can be treated, says leading OHSU researcher in Portland
• Southern Oregon’s first transgender resource center set to open in Ashland

In Portland, the newest yoga mate isn’t a puppy. It’s a snake

Yoga classes featuring animals are pretty old news.

You’re probably already familiar with people doing downward dog alongside actual dogs, or letting a goat scamper across their tabletop pose. In Alaska, they’ve even done yoga with reindeer. It seems we may have reached peak animal yoga.

But here’s one more entry: in Portland, one yoga class goes beyond the usual furry, adorable yoga classmates, and teaches yoga with snakes.

Snake yoga is held at HISSS, a reptile-centered pet store that opened last year. (Deena Prichep)

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