By Associated Press - Thursday, May 1, 2014

SEATTLE (AP) - Forecasters and emergency responders are warning Northwest residents to be careful around rivers and lakes as temperatures rise into the 80s.

A handful of northwest Oregon cities set heat records for the day Wednesday with highs in the mid-80s. A high of 91 was recorded at Florence on the Oregon coast. However, National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Elson in Portland says there are insufficient records there to say if that’s a record.

In Western Washington, the Weather Service says Hoquiam and Quillayute both hit 84 degrees. That was an April 30 record high for both spots.

Portland reached 83 degrees while Seattle was 82. Neither was a record.

Despite the sunshine, the Weather Service says rivers fed by melting snow are around 45-to-50 degrees. People who jump or fall in could be immobilized by cold water shock or suffer from hypothermia.

Warming has also raised the avalanche danger for parts of the Washington Cascades and the Mount Hood area.

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