Phoenix heat wave: ‘I don’t see anything that’s going to stop it’
Jul 12, 2023, 10:00 AM | Updated: 5:22 pm
A Salvation Army volunteer gives water to a man at a Valley Heat Relief Station, Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the 12th day in a row with a high temperature of 110 degrees or hotter in the city. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX – The ongoing streak of 110-degree days in Phoenix will almost certainly keep sizzling until it breaks a 49-year-old record, forecasters say.
The city’s record of 18 consecutive days with high temperatures at 110 degrees or hotter was set in June 1974. Barring an improbable shift in weather patterns, the mark will be tied Monday and broken the next day.
Chris Kuhlman, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, said last best chance to stop the streak before it enters the record books is already in the past.
“I don’t see anything that’s going to stop it from hitting 110,” Kuhlman told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday morning.
“Yesterday and the day before were probably the two days that we could have kept it under 110, but now the high-pressure system’s getting much stronger the next several days.”
How long is Phoenix’s streak of 110-degree days?
The streak reached 12 days on Tuesday, when the high was 111 degrees at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the National Weather Service uses for the city’s official readings.
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The mercury topped out at 110 on Monday, which was the “coolest” day in Phoenix since it also peaked at 110 on June 30, the first day of the streak.
Here’s a day-by-day look at the high temperatures in Phoenix during the streak:
- June 30: 110
- July 1: 114
- July 2: 115
- July 3: 116
- July 4: 113
- July 5: 111
- July 6: 115
- July 7: 112
- July 8: 113
- July 9: 112
- July 10: 110
- July 11: 111
How hot will it get in Phoenix this weekend?
Temperatures are expected to climb in the coming days and approach record levels over the weekend.
“We’ll be above 115 probably for four days straight starting Friday,” Kuhlman said.
Temperatures are likely to reach record territory this weekend. Be careful out there and please practice good heat safety. #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/AlI3j0cfTh
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 12, 2023
Phoenix is expected to see its hottest days of the year over the weekend, with the forecast high at 118 degrees Saturday and Sunday. That would pass the daily record for Saturday by 1 degree and tie the previous mark for Sunday.
“They start to drop down, maybe closer to 112 to 115, middle next week,” Kuhlman said. “It’s still quite a ways out, so it’s a little bit hard to say, but it really doesn’t look like it’s going to get below 110 anytime soon.”
The Valley is under an ongoing excessive heat warning that has been extended multiple times since going into effect July 1. As of Wednesday morning, it was set to expire Tuesday at 8 p.m. It’s already the area’s longest excessive heat warning since the National Weather Service started issuing them in 2006.
“Just seeing these consecutive hot days, it’s pretty amazing,” Kuhlman said.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.
