Record‑breaking February heat expected in Phoenix this weekend

PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix is on track to reach record high temperatures for February.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is forecasting a high of 94 degrees on Saturday, which would make it the hottest February day ever recorded in Phoenix.

“There’s a very high potential of breaking the all-time February high temperature record,” NWS meteorologist Gabriel Lojero told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday.

The current record is 92 degrees, reached first on Feb. 25, 1921, and again on Feb. 27, 1986.

In addition to high odds of tying or breaking daily high temperature records in Phoenix over the next several days, there are also high odds of tying or breaking the February record high of 92°F, set twice on the 27th in 1986 and 25th in 1921. #azwx pic.twitter.com/iF4VRnigur

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) February 25, 2026

So far this year, the warmest day was Feb. 8, when temperatures climbed to 86 degrees.

The hottest Feb. 28 in Phoenix history was in 1986 when the mercury reached 89 degrees.

Why is the February weather so hot this year?

February has already been an especially month in Arizona, with temperatures running about 20 degrees above normal, Lojero said.

“It has to do with the strong area of high pressure that has basically built across most of the desert southwest,” he said. “So, that’s basically the main culprit as to why we’re seeing temperatures this extreme for this time of the year.”

Lojero is urging residents and visitors to take precautions in the unusual heat.

“Given that it’s going to be really elevated temperatures, people need to take heat precautions, such as hydrating and taking frequent breaks in the shade to avoid any sort of heat exhaustion,” he explained.

However, temperatures are expected to cool back down after the weekend.

“It does look like after Monday, we’re going to start to see a gradual cooldown,” Lojero said. “So, instead of seeing record-breaking temperatures, we’ll actually see temperatures probably closer to around 80 degrees. Still above normal, but not record-breaking.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Oliver Boye contributed to this report.

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