Phoenix breaks another daily record as historic March heat wave continues

PHOENIX – The historic March heat wave in Phoenix continued Thursday with another daily record.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the National Weather Service uses for the city’s official readings, reached 97 degrees before noon to rewrite the record book for the second consecutive day.

The previous record high for March 19 was 96 degrees in 2017.

Thursday went on to become the hottest March day ever recorded in Phoenix, peaking at 105 degrees and besting a mark that was just one day old.

On Wednesday, Phoenix reached a daily-record 102 degrees, at the time the city’s hottest March day and earliest triple-digit day on record.

Until this week, Phoenix had only reached 100 degrees in the third month of the year one time, on March 26, 1988.

Warning in effect as historic heat wave continues

To alert the public about the health risks as temperatures soar to 20-plus degrees above normal, the NWS issued an extreme heat warning that covers much of central and southern Arizona for Thursday morning through Sunday evening.

It’s the first extreme heat warning (or excessive heat warning, the term used until last year) ever issued in Arizona during the winter, which runs through March 20. In fact, an April 26-30, 2020, advisory was the only extreme heat warning issued earlier than May until now.

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

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