Heat Wave

Starting Tuesday, the Seattle-area temperature is expected to soar to around 90 degrees and climb to the mid-90s on Wednesday and Thursday, the National Weather Service in Seattle says. Lower temperatures won't return until Friday.

"We live in an old craftsman with no (air conditioning) and I can barely take it now," Billings said in his shorts, echoing many Seattleites' sentiments. "It's going to be tough to be in the car, to sleep at night -- just bearing it. We're not going to be able to escape."

Temperatures are expected to be 15 to 20 degrees higher than normal, and record highs could either be matched or broken, a Weather Service spokesman said.