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ARIZONA NEWS

Phoenix sets another daily heat record with hottest day of 2023

The hottest day of the year in Phoenix happened Wednesday when the temperature reached 119 degrees at 2:42 p.m.

(AP Photo/Matt York)...

(AP Photo/Matt York)

(AP Photo/Matt York)

PHOENIX — The streak of 110-degree days isn’t the only heat record being broken in Phoenix.

The hottest day of the year happened Wednesday when the temperature reached 119 degrees at 2:42 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

It’s the hottest day in Arizona’s capital city since June 20, 2017.

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Also, the mercury reached 117 degrees at 1:06 p.m., making it the hottest July 19 recorded in city history.

The previous record of 116 degrees had stood since 1989.

It was the second consecutive day for a daily heat record. Phoenix reached 118 degrees on Tuesday, shattering the previous mark by three degrees and tying the old record heat day of the year.

How long will this extraordinary heat wave continue?

The city remains in a brutal heat wave, with Wednesday also being the 20th consecutive day of 110-plus temperatures.

An excessive heat warning, which has been in effect since July 1, was extended through Saturday.

The low temperature Wednesday morning was 97 degrees, the highest low ever recorded in Phoenix.

The previous warm low was 96 degrees on July 15, 2003.

Wednesday was the third time in the last seven days with a low temperature of 95 degrees or hotter in Phoenix, according to the National Weather Service. Previously, there were only six days ever documented with lows in that range.

In addition, Phoenix’s ongoing streak of daily lows of at least 90 degrees stretched to 10 consecutive days, three days longer than the previous record.

Danny Shapiro is a Phoenix native and 2014 graduate of Arizona State University. He spent 3 years covering athletics in Beaumont, Texas, before coming to KTAR and Arizona Sports in 2018. He has been KTAR's lead editor for digital content since 2021.… Read more

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