The end is near for Phoenix’s record-shattering streak of 100-degree days

PHOENIX – The record-shattering streak of 100-degree days in Phoenix appears to be on its last legs as the relentlessly hot summer of 2024 winds down.

May 26 was the last time the mercury didn’t reach triple-digit territory at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the National Weather Service (NWS) uses for the city’s official readings. But the Valley could see peaks in the 90s again this weekend.

“It looks like we’re going to have highs in the mid to upper 100s today, and then we’ll see a pretty significant cooldown going through the weekend where it looks like by Sunday … we’re going to have some pretty good chances of seeing our first high temperatures of below 100 degrees,” Alex Young, a meteorologist with the NWS in Phoenix, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday morning.

Before then, the Valley could experience wind gusts above 30 mph on Thursday afternoon and evening, according to the NWS.

Thursday was Phoenix’s 109th consecutive day with temperatures of at least 100 degrees. The current run has destroyed the previous record streak of 100-degree days in Phoenix, which was 76 in 1993.

Rain could accompany end streak of 100-degree days in Phoenix

Young said a weekend weather disturbance won’t only drop temperatures; it could bring late monsoon season rainfall to the Valley.

He said the chances are good the area will see thunderstorms as early as Saturday night, and “especially during the daytime hours on Sunday.”

Rain totals will mostly range from a quarter-inch to a half-inch, Young said, with up to an inch in the higher terrains.

The storms should clear out by midday Monday, although the high temperatures are expected to stay in the 90s at least through the middle of next week.

Phoenix hasn’t seen any measurable rain since 0.24 inches fell on Aug. 22. That pushed the total for the 2024 monsoon season, which runs annually from June 15 to Sept. 30, to 0.74 inches.

Shower and storm chances increase this weekend across central and eastern Arizona. While there is still some uncertainty regarding the exact timing and rain amounts, this system will cool temperatures off to below normal by the start of next week. #azwx pic.twitter.com/EeUd3TqfT1

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) September 11, 2024

This year’s monsoon rainfall is an improvement from the record-dry 2023 seasonal accumulation of 0.15 inches, but it’s still far short of the typical total of 2-3 inches.

How many heat-related deaths are there in Maricopa County this summer?

Although summer runs through Sept. 22 on the calendar this year, climate experts track what they call the meteorological summer, which covers June-August. That period for 2024 was the hottest on record in Phoenix, with an average temperature of 98.9 degrees.

As the dangerously hot summer progresses, Maricopa County is on track to approach last year’s record of 645 heat-related deaths.

Through Sept. 7, county health officials classified 209 deaths in 2024 as heat-caused or heat-contributed, with 427 cases still under investigation. At the same time in 2023, the county confirmed 202 such deaths and was still looking into 497 cases.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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