80 degrees? Phoenix could reach mark over Presidents Day weekend

PHOENIX — The Valley could soon see 80 degrees for the first time this year as temperatures warm up through what’s expected to be a tranquil and sunny holiday weekend.

The forecast calls for highs in the middle to upper 70s, and possible higher, through early next week, with a peak on Presidents Day.

“There’s a chance of 80 degrees, first one of the year, on Monday,” Mark O’Malley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday morning.

Overnight lows are expected to hover in the upper 40s and low 50s in the coming days.

Is there any rain in the Phoenix forecast?

A weakening Pacific disturbance could bring some precipitation to Arizona in the middle of next week, but the probability for rain in the Valley is no higher than 10%, O’Malley said.

“The best chance of rain across the state would be next Wednesday, but mostly across the higher-terrain areas,” he said. “Most people will not see anything at all; it will just be a little brief cooldown. Temperatures will still stay in the lower to middle 70s through the remainder of next week.”

Phoenix is in the midst of what’s been a relatively wet winter. Sky Harbor International Airport, which the National Weather Service uses for the city’s official readings, received just under 3 inches of rain from the start of December through Thursday, nearly an inch more than normal for that time span.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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