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What summer? Seattle missing out on massive U.S. heat wave

You didn't need a thermometer to measure Seattle's below-average temperatures this week. It was enough to see Melissa Belt standing in Westlake Park, wearing a down jacket.
/ Source: KING5

SEATTLE -- You didn't need a thermometer to measure Seattle's below-average temperatures this week. It was enough to see Melissa Belt standing in Westlake Park, wearing a down jacket.

"I didn't leave the house without being prepared," she said shortly before flipping up the hood.

Belt was watching dozens of people dance as part of Seattle Park and Rec's "Dancing in the Parks" series. Several dancers were bundled up in jackets, trying to stay warm.

"I'd say [it's] miserably cold," Belt said. "I've got a cold right now in fact."

But a trip to Sea-Tac Airport quickly puts things into perspective. Just about every U.S. passenger was escaping temperatures near or above 100 degrees, including Daniele Crandall, who arrived from Cincinnati.

"It feels like you put your head in the oven," she said.

But she was shocked to see Seattle temperatures were only in the mid-60s.

"This is not summer," she said. "It's missing some degrees."

In some parts of the Midwest Tuesday, the heat index hovered around 120 degrees, which means it felt about 50 degrees warmer than it did in Seattle.