Valley could see more high winds to start week as historically hot March winds down

PHOENIX – The Valley could see more high winds and blowing dust at the start of a week when high temperatures are expected to recede from historic levels.

“Winds this afternoon will be blowing about 10 to 15 miles per hour,” Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday morning. “Most of the stronger winds will be outside of the Phoenix area today, so (we) won’t expect to see anything close to what we experienced last evening.”

Another round of isolated showers and storms are possible this afternoon and evening. Activity is expected to form along higher terrain features surrounding Phoenix and propagate eastward through the evening. Strong gusty outflow winds will once again be possible. #azwx pic.twitter.com/XX0Rsz9i0n

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) March 30, 2026

On Sunday night, gusts exceeded 40 mph in parts of the East Valley. With visibility reduced to under 2 miles, authorities issued a dust advisory that expired at 9:45 p.m.

Monday’s weather disturbance will be strongest in Pinal County and southern Maricopa County, where winds could exceed 30 mph, according to the NWS. The daily forecast also includes a slight chance of rain, but primarily on the outskirts of the Phoenix area and further away, O’Malley noted.

“Any shower and thunderstorm chances this afternoon will be mainly over the mountains east of Phoenix,” he said. “Some areas south of town could see some gusty winds with some showers, but most people will see nothing whatsoever today.”

Phoenix high temperatures expected to remain above normal

Meanwhile, March is coming to a merciful end with slightly cooler temperatures following a historic heat wave. In fact, Wednesday, the start of April, is expected to be Phoenix’s first day with a high under 90 degrees since March 11.

“High temperatures the next couple of days [will be] in the middle 90s,” O’Malley said. “We’ll cool into the middle 80s by the middle of the week. By the weekend we’ll warm back up toward the 90s.”

Still, the temperatures expected this week are well above Phoenix’s normal highs in the lower 80s for late March and early April.

“We still want people to be aware for warm temperatures during the afternoon. If you’re doing any outdoor activity, drink plenty of water out there. Mid-90s isn’t as hot as we have been, but it’s still fairly warm,” O’Malley said.

Highs were consistently around 20 degrees above normal at Sky Harbor International Airport, which the NWS uses for Phoenix’s official readings, while the city broke daily heat records on 10 out of 11 days from March 18-28.

Arizona’s largest city reached at least 100 degrees on nine days during that stretch, including three days with highs of 105, the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Phoenix during the third month of the year.

Until this year, Phoenix had only reached triple digits during March one time, in 1988.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Kellen Shover contributed to this report.

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