The Phoenix area is under an excessive heat warning through Saturday evening. Daytime high temperatures are expected to be above 110 degrees. It's a continuation of the abnormally hot weather the city has been experiencing for weeks.
Phoenix has never recorded so many days with temperatures at or above 110 degrees so early in the year before.
Since the 1990s, Phoenix has seen an average of 21 days per year at or above 110, according to the National Weather Service. As of Friday, the city has already had 29 days that hot this year.
Only five years in Phoenix history have ever had more than 29 days of 110-degree weather. Last year brought a record 55 days of 110-degree temperatures to Phoenix. But last month was Phoenix’s hottest June on record, so this year could be on-track to surpass the 2023 total.
Meteorologist Sean Benedict with the National Weather Service said temperatures may cool off slightly by the end of this weekend.
“It will still be hot Sunday, but we’re looking at the potential for an increase in monsoon thunderstorm activity, also the high pressure that’s directly overhead is going to be shifting a little bit further away,” Benedict said.
But, he added, there’s likely more extreme heat on the way.
“Early next week we should have temperatures at, or just below 110 degrees, and it may stay that way through the first half of the week, but then things may actually trend back up for the second half of the week,” Benedict said.
The Weather Service’s seasonal outlook shows above-normal temperatures in Arizona could continue for at least the next few months.
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