Phoenix breaks 83-year-old heat record, setting new high mark for 2nd straight day

PHOENIX – The city of Phoenix broke an 83-year-old daily heat record on Monday, the second day in a row with a new high temperature.

The mercury topped out at 81 degrees at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the National Weather Service uses for the city’s official readings.

Another record falls today as Sky Harbor has reached 80 degrees as of 12:58 p.m. The previous record was 79 degrees last set in 1969. Still plenty of time for temperatures to rise further. #azwx

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) December 15, 2025

The previous record for the date of 79 degrees was set in 1942 and tied once, in 1969. The normal temperature for Dec. 15 is 66 degrees.

It was the city’s second consecutive record-breaking day in this unusually warm December. It reached 82 degrees on Sunday, easily topping the previous mark for Dec. 14 of 78 degrees from 2010.

Why has it been so warm in Phoenix?

Highs are expected to range from the upper 70s to around 80 degrees for the rest of the week.

“We have an area of high pressure that’s dominating most of the southwestern United States, and so that is why it’s bringing the well-above-normal temperatures that we’re seeing and we are expected to see for the next several days,” Gabriel Lojero of the National Weather Service in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Lojero explained that La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean can lead to warm, dry December weather in the Valley.

“Now, that’s not to say that we’re going to be dry the rest of this winter,” he said. “We may still see some inclement weather at times, but we’ll see what happens during the next several weeks and months.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz McNair contributed to this report.

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