Sweltering year: 2016 was one of Phoenix’s warmest years on record
Jan 3, 2017, 1:27 PM | Updated: Jan 4, 2017, 11:21 am
(Pexels Photo)
(Pexels Photo)
PHOENIX — Despite a wet and chilly end to 2016, last year was one of the warmest ever recorded in Phoenix, the National Weather Service said.
The average temperature of Phoenix was 76.7 degrees last year, matching 2012 and 2015 for the third-warmest year on the books.
“February and March, June and July were above normal for temperatures,” Ken Waters with the weather service said. “Really, the last three months of the year were all above normal.”
Phoenix saw the summer heat ratchet up quickly this year, when the mercury hit nearly 120 degrees in June. It was the fifth-hottest day in the city’s history. Numerous daily heat records were set during the month.
The warm weather stretched well into the fall. The Valley of the Sun saw a 100-degree day on Oct. 27, more than a month after autumn officially began. It was the latest day in the year to see triple-digit heat.
Waters said Phoenix weather patterns should continue to get warmer as they follow a heating trend. All of the city’s warmest 10 years have been recorded since 1981, with four of the top five happening since 2012.
Last year is also expected to be one of the warmest ever in Arizona’s history, but the results from the 2016 weather data are not expected to be released for a couple weeks.
