Portlanders sweated under a record-breaking swelter on Sunday.
The mercury hit 96 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the old record for Aug. 7 of 93 degrees set in 2001 and then tied in 2018, according to the National Weather Service office in Gray. That’s not even taking the humidity into consideration.
That still falls shy of the all-time high, since record keeping began in 1940, set for the month of August. The record remains 103 degrees, set on Aug. 2, 1975.
Elsewhere across the state, it wasn’t very much better.
Bangor saw temperatures rise to 92 degrees on Sunday, the eighth day so far this year when the mercury surged into the 90s.
The weather service station in Caribou tied its record high for Aug. 7 when temperatures hit 89 degrees. It was the 28th day so far this year when temperatures rose above 80 degrees in Caribou.
There is good news, though, because temperatures are forecast to moderate this week, with highs in the 70s and scattered rain throughout the state.