Seattle got so hot today Bungie shut its doors early

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Temps of up to 108F are no place for work.

Bungie office
(Image credit: Glassdoor)

The National Weather Service warned of "unprecedented heat" in Northwest Washington today, with temperatures expected to reach up to 113 degrees fahrenheit (45 degrees celsius). That's very hot weather indeed, and Seattle-based Bungie had to shut its doors early as a result.

Bungie tools engineer James Haywood confirmed as much on Twitter. "Bungie is shutting down all the things because of the heat," he wrote. "Guess that's a wrap on work today."  

Seattle is not known for its heat, with the average June temperature over the last decade hitting a high of 72F (22C) and falling as low as (54F) 12C—that's very moderate for summer. The Washington Post reports that Seattle itself hit "at least" 107F today. 

The weather event is so extreme and unexpected that Amazon has turned its downtown Seattle headquarters into a "public cooling centre," along with droves of other sites as listed by the City of Seattle. These public cooling centres, which are air conditioned, are necessary in a city where air conditioning isn't usually necessary due to a lack of hot weather.

Temperatures are expected to ease tomorrow, with highs of 89—still above average, but hopefully a nice respite from melting roads. 

Shaun Prescott
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.