Scorcher: Arizona home to nation’s three hottest cities
Aug 11, 2015, 3:47 PM
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
PHOENIX — It’s not your imagination: It really is hotter in Arizona than other states, a website said.
The folks over at 24/7 Wall Street said Arizona is home to not one, not two, but the three hottest cities in the United States.
Tucson came in at number three. The site claimed the southern Arizona city sees the mercury tops 90 degrees 144 days annually and has an average daily temperature of 84.7 degrees in August. With a record high of 117 degrees, it’s no surprise the home of the University of Arizona made the list.
The state’s capital, Phoenix, came in second on the list. With a record high of 122 degrees — 122 degrees — and an annual average of 169 days above 90 degrees, it’s a wonder it didn’t top the list. Surely it can’t be hotter anywhere else, save for the surface of the sun itself, right?
That’s where Yuma, in western Arizona, steps in. The city has a record high of 124 degrees, just 10 degrees shy of the national mark. With an average August temperature of 91.9 degrees and 175 days above 90, it’s a wonder the entire city doesn’t pack up and a move few hours west to San Diego, California.
Despite being the nation’s hottest city, Yuma is a thriving agricultural contributor. Between November and March, fields near the city supply 90 percent of the nation’s leafy vegetables.
That’s cool. See what we did there?
