The Pacific Northwest is known for naturally temperate and cool weather. It rarely gets very cold, or very hot, with weather moderated by our proximity to the North Pacific Ocean. This environment makes for an ideal location for operating a datacenter as it allows the use of "free cooling", that is using filtered outside air for facility cooling. This keeps power usage low, conserving energy.

This week however the region has been hit with a very unusual heat wave. Right now the temperature has reached an all-time record high of 101˚F (38˚C) and it could get hotter. This is very tough on the residents as air conditioning is a rare thing in most houses and many office buildings. Here at digital.forest we've invested in cooling infrastructure to be specifically prepared for days like this. Our datacenter cooling systems are designed to use outside air when it is cool enough, but can switch to mechanical cooling when required. Today while it is 101˚F outside, it remains in the mid-60s in the digital.forest datacenters.

The photo above was taken just a few minutes ago in datacenter three.

As always, we're here, keeping a close eye on things, monitoring conditions and staying cool.