Extreme heat warning issued for Phoenix area as temperatures soar

With temperatures soaring across metro Phoenix this week, officials are warning residents and visitors about potential health risks.

In fact, an extreme heat warning is set to run from 10 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Thursday.

“We’ll be looking at some hot temperatures heading through the middle of this week. So, temperatures [are] hovering right around 6 to 8 degrees above normal for this time of year. That’s right around 110 to 112 degrees Fahrenheit across the Phoenix metro area,” meteorologist Ted Whittock of the National Weather Service in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.

Whittock noted that the coolest times will be warmer than usual, too.

“We probably won’t see the overnight lows cool off below the middle 80s for the next few days, and that’s going to result in moderate-to-major heat risk across … the Phoenix metro area,” he said.

What happens during extreme heat warnings?

Extreme heat warnings trigger the daytime closures of hiking trails at Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak and South Mountain in Phoenix.

Health experts urge precautions during times of extreme heat like keeping hydrated, wearing light clothing and staying inside with air conditioning if possible.

Stretches of excessive heat can lead to an increase in monsoon storm activity this time of year, but Whittock said that’s probably not the case with this week’s weather pattern.

“We are seeing a little bit of an increase in moisture. You might see some isolated showers, maybe some storms over the northern Arizona high terrain, but then we’ll dry out again this weekend, unfortunately,” he said.

Highs will trend downward by the end of the week and stay below 110 degrees over the weekend, Whittock added.

“We’ll see this large area of low pressure moving onshore [on] the West Coast, and that’ll bring us some breezy conditions, especially heading into Friday and Saturday. And that’ll also bring us a cooldown, so there is a little bit of relief in sight this weekend as far as the hot temperatures,” he said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s John Roller contributed to this report.

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