Historic March heat wave made it warmest on record, broke 10 daily heat records

PHOENIX — The historic heat wave that hit Phoenix in March not only made it the hottest ever recorded but also set a number of new daily heat records.

The National Weather Service (NWS) for Phoenix confirmed Wednesday that temperatures during the month were well above normal, causing it to be the warmest on record.

The weather authority noted that it didn’t only break the record in Phoenix, but Yuma and El Centro as well.

The month’s average temperature was 78.8 degrees. That is more than six degrees warmer than the second warmest March, which was recorded in 2004 when the average temperature was 72.3 degrees.

The heat wave the region experienced last month was well above our normal temperatures, placing March, 2026 as the warmest March on record at all three climate sites. #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/u5GzQ0ZRuj

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) April 1, 2026

The heat wave caused an eight-day streak, from March 18 to March 25, of triple-digit days and broken heat records. On three days during the streak, March 19 through March 21, temperatures reached 105 degrees, which were the hottest March temperatures ever recorded.

Before the heat wave, the city had only reached 100 degrees in March once in 1988.

In fact, highs were consistently around 20 degrees above normal at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which NWS uses for the city’s official readings.

In total, there were 10 daily heat records broken, with the last one occurring on March 28 when a 40-year-old record was broken.

Temperatures on Wednesday, the first day of April, peaked at 86 degrees at Sky Harbor, providing Phoenix its first day under 90 degrees since March 11.

However, it is forecasted that Phoenix will be back in the low to mid 90s this weekend.

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