Seattle, WA
No relief: US cities with lowest air conditioning rates suffer through summer heat
High temperatures in the 80s and 90s might seem mild to many, but many people in these cities live without air conditioning, pushing those temperatures from disturbing to deadly.
West coasters are experiencing a dangerous heat wave which broke record temperatures over the weekend and is expected to stay through midweek. Large parts of California and southern Oregon are under excessive heat warnings as temperatures across the states have broken the 100 degree mark.
Over 150 million Americans were under an excessive heat watch and heat advisory as of Friday, forecasters said. Palm Springs, California saw its all-time high broken Friday when the mercury hit 124 degrees.
Many rely on fans and air conditioning during extreme heat events. But some West Coast cities including Seattle, Portland and San Francisco have low rates of in-home air conditioning units, leaving many residents to struggle during heat waves.
These cities have the lowest rates of in-home air conditioning units:
Which cities are the least air conditioned?
San Francisco is the least air-conditioned city, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey. In 2021 – the most recent year of data available – nearly 55% of homes did not have air conditioning units in San Francisco. The American Housing Survey looks at the 15 largest American Metro areas to determine which have the lowest rates of in-home AC.
Seattle ranked second on the list with 46% of homes functioning without AC.
Vivek Shandas, the founder of the Sustaining Urban Places Research Lab at Portland State University previously told USA TODAY, “In the Pacific Northwest, in these northern latitudes, we’re really ill-prepared and arguably most vulnerable to these heat waves coming through because we just don’t have a history of planning for it.”
Scientists say introducing more AC units is not the solution to the underlying causes that contribute to an increase in heat waves, but it can offer relief to at-risk residents living in areas where extreme heat is not common.
“The cities that have the least amount of air conditioning, it’s often because their outside, ambient environments don’t really break 90 degrees very often and historically we design a lot of infrastructure based on historical patterns of what is it that happens in an environment,” said Shandas.
Previously, Seattle was the least air conditioned city in the U.S. The amount of homes in the Seattle metro area with air conditioning nearly doubled between 2013 and 2021. About 31% of Seattle homes had air conditioning in 2013, compared to 53% in 2021.
Staying cool during a heat wave without AC
If you live somewhere without air conditioning, experts recommend opening your windows at night and closing them before the afternoon heats up.
Typically, the peak hours when most areas see the hottest weather is from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. That’s when it’s most important to try to keep cool, even if that means finding refuge in a business or restaurant or carrying around a fan or spray bottle to cool off.
Dr. Fred Campbell, a professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio previously told USA TODAY that having multiple fans “directly blowing” on you can make a big difference, when it comes to regulating your temperature. This is especially helpful for older Americans and young children who can’t regulate their temperature as well.
Keeping cool: Here’s how to keep cool and stay safe during this week’s heat wave hitting millions
Contributing: Claire Thornton, Olivia Munson and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Police from Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled to Portland to announce a break in a cold case from four years ago, linking a missing person to the Portland-Seattle area.
“This is a woman who died alone, a long way from home. And we feel an obligation, and it’s important to be able to reunite her with her family,” said Sgt. Adam Donaldson with the Vancouver Police Missing Persons Unit in Canada.
On September 29, 2022, a tugboat crew found a woman’s body floating in the waters off Spanish Banks in British Columbia.
She was found near a blue inflatable kayak and had candy, insulin, and a backpack, but no identification.
While they were able to get a pulse back on her, she never regained consciousness and was officially declared dead the following morning.
Police from Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled to Portland to announce a break in a cold case from four years ago, linking a missing woman to the Portland-Seattle area. By sharing her story on YouTube and spreading flyers with this illustrated rendering of the unidentified woman across the Pacific Northwest, they hope to get tips that lead to answers/Avery Elowitt, KATU News
“We know what somebody’s got to know about her. She’s somebody’s sister. She’s somebody’s daughter. She’s somebody’s friend. Somebody’s coworker. Somebody will know who she is,” said Detective Rebecca Matson with the Vancouver Police Missing Persons Unit.
After four years with no leads, Sgt. Anton Schamberger with the Vancouver Police Missing Persons Unit in Canada came across a forensic technique that hadn’t been used by their agency, and has increased movement in this four-year-old investigation.
“They were able to say, based on pollen grains and fern spores found on her sweater, that the sweater had had recent exposure to an urban or suburban environment in the Pacific Northwest, most positively between Portland and Seattle,” said Sgt. Schamberger. “They were also able to say, based on the complete lack of pollen grains and fern spores that were native to British Columbia, that she likely had not had any exposure or was likely not a resident.”
Now, the Vancouver Police Department, Portland Police Bureau, and the Seattle Police Department are reaching beyond the Canadian border.
KATU’s Avery Elowitt asked, “With this new information, how will future outreach efforts be different from these previous efforts now that we have more local ties?”
Sgt. Donaldson answered, “Well, if we have more local ties, we can focus the information, and since we’ve done some outreach in the past few days, we have had some actionable tips to our email address. So now we’re going to have to go back, start investigating those tips, and build up that investigation. It may not be information that leads directly to her identification, but it can narrow the scope of the investigation.”
By sharing her story on YouTube and spreading flyers with this illustrated rendering of the unidentified woman across the Pacific Northwest, they hope to get tips that lead to answers.
Police from Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled to Portland to announce a break in a cold case from four years ago, linking a missing woman to the Portland-Seattle area. By sharing her story on YouTube and spreading flyers with this illustrated rendering of the unidentified woman across the Pacific Northwest, they hope to get tips that lead to answers/Avery Elowitt, KATU News
“What we need is one tip. All it takes is one. All it takes is someone saying, ‘hey, that’s my auntie,’ ‘that’s my mom.’ Or, ‘that was my neighbor,’” said Sgt. Donaldson.
The unidentified woman is believed to be approximately 30-40 years old, Black, and despite extensive investigation across North America, no missing persons report matches her descriptions, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
If you have any information on this case, email thekayaker@vpd.ca or call 604-717-0619.
Populus
When it opened in 2025, this “carbon-positive” hotel brought a touch of eco-futurism to historic Pioneer Square, Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. The massive lobby is full of plants and nature-inspired art, and there are dozens of fun interior design choices throughout the hotel, like depictions of plants painted onto room doors. Salt Harvest, Populus’s restaurant, continues this eco-centric theme, focusing on seasonal ingredients cooked simply at the wood-fired hearth; the new $125 chef’s counter experience guides diners through a five-course menu with details on how and where every ingredient is sourced. At rooftop bar Firn, the cocktails play with different ice formats—spheres, oversized cubes, shaved mounds, and more—and the cafe downstairs serves Monorail Espresso, a longtime local coffee roaster. Populus is ideal for tourists coming for a concert or sporting event at the Seattle stadiums, located mere blocks away, and it’s a stone’s throw from Chinatown-International District, one of the richest dining areas in the city.
1 Hotel Seattle
Slightly farther from the water is the 1 Hotel, which made a big splash in the dining scene in 2025, when it tapped James Beard nominee Oscar Amador to open its flagship restaurant. La Loba earned accolades from local food critics for its fusion of Barcelona culinary techniques and Pacific Northwest flavors (its smoked “candy” salmon is not to be missed). The restaurant leans extravagant with offerings like a tableside beef tartare, far from the norm in famously casual Seattle. Rooms are peaceful in tones of beige and gold, with wood floors and plenty of greenery. If you need to take a break from a food-centric vacation, the 1 has a wide array of wellness treatments, including IV vitamin therapies.
Harry’s Guest House
For a more intimate experience, try this bed and breakfast in a leafy, quiet section of Capitol Hill. The quaint but stylish converted house is next door to Harry’s Fine Foods, a restaurant whose cozy indoor-outdoor porch belies its inventive menu that borrows influences ranging from the Mediterranean to Southeast Asia. Guests can get continental breakfast and room service when the restaurant is open, but the great advantage of Harry’s is the location—Capitol Hill is the center of Seattle’s nightlife scene and LGBTQ+ community, and you’ll be within walking distance of a plethora of clubs, coffee shops, and restaurants. The B&B also has dedicated parking spots for guests, a major perk rarely found in this part of town. Keep in mind that Harry’s only has two rooms (exclusive!), so you’ll want to book here well in advance. (You can also book the entire house, which accommodates six people.)
The Seattle Mariners are closing in on first place in the American League West.
Led by a dominant night of pitching, the Mariners beat the Athletics 4-1 on Tuesday night in Sacramento to clinch a series win over the division leaders. With the victory, Seattle cut the Athletics’ lead to just a half-game in the standings.
Seattle Mariners 4, Athletics 1: Box score | Standings
Even with just a 27-29 record, the Mariners can overtake the A’s (27-28) for first place if they complete a sweep in the series finale at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday.
The Mariners are the defending division champs, having won the AL West last season for the first time in 24 years.
Emerson Hancock continued his stellar 2026 season with six scoreless innings to earn the win for the M’s, holding the A’s to just one hit while walking two and striking out three. Hancock lowered his ERA to 2.78 with the outing.
Jose Ferrer and Gabe Speier each threw a scoreless inning in relief. Andrés Muñoz allowed a run while finishing the game in a non-save situation in the ninth.
The Mariners took a 3-0 lead in the second inning, with Mitch Garver putting Seattle on the board with an RBI double.
Plated 3️⃣ in the 2️⃣nd. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/RpkeiABpia
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 27, 2026
Julio Rodríguez added an RBI single in the fourth.
Tack on another. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/jAPVBfB7Ei
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 27, 2026
Victor Robles went 3 for 3 with a double and a run scored, and Garver and Josh Naylor each had a pair of hits.
Star A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz saw his on-base streak end at 48 games. That is tied for the longest in franchise history with Mark McGwire.
Mariners Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports of Wednesday’s finale begins at 11 a.m. with the pregame show.
More Seattle Mariners coverage
• With velo up, Bryce Miller relishing return to good health
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• Olney: Seattle Mariners an interesting trade deadline team
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