January is off to an unseasonably warm start, and Phoenix could even break a heat record Friday.
The average high temperature for this time of year in Phoenix is about 66 degrees. But Friday’s high is expected to be about 79 degrees and could even pass 80 — that would tie or break the record for the date.
“It’s uncommon to see anything near 80 degrees for this time of year,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Young.
This warm start to January comes after the hottest December on record in Phoenix. Young said December was extremely dry, too, with no measurable rainfall at Sky Harbor International Airport.
“For the entire month of December, we were pretty much under high pressure most of the time, we had a couple of systems move through, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get any moisture into the desert Southwest,” Young said.
Young said Phoenix will cool off just a bit next week. But he expects warmer- and drier-than-normal conditions will continue throughout January.
“For the rest of the month, we’re looking at above-normal temperature probability leaning toward above, and then also below-normal probabilities for precipitation for the month of January,” Young said.
