USA TODAY The deaths come as a heat dome traps hot air over the Pacific Northwest, with temperature records being set earlier in the week. At least 63 people in Oregon have died since Friday, according to the State Medical Examiner's office. Washington state authorities had linked more than half-dozen deaths to the heat, but that number was likely to rise. Scientists expect more frequent and intense heat waves because of climate change and the worst drought in modern history. Authorities from Oregon to British Columbia are investigating hundreds of deaths in connection to the historic heat wave in the Pacific Northwest corridor.