By 9 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said the temperature had already risen to 98 degrees in Phoenix, which saw a record high of 118 F for the date on Friday.
"This is well more than enough to cause a serious heat illness if you’re outside in it for a prolonged period of time. Certainly if you’re working or trying to exercise in this kind of heat, it is deadly, potentially, so really have to take it seriously," said Austin Jamison with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.
The National Weather Service has issued excessive-heat warnings through Monday for Coconino, Graham, Greenlee, Mohave, Pima and Yavapai counties. The warning has been extended through Tuesday for Maricopa, Pinal, Yuma and La Paz counties.
Meteorologists predict temperatures will be near daily records region-wide through most, if not all, of the coming week with lower desert highs reaching 115 to 120 degrees.
Rare heat advisories had been extended even into the upper elevations, including around Lake Tahoe, with the National Weather Service in Reno warning of “major heat risk impacts, even in the mountains.”
“How hot are we talking? Well, high temperatures across (western Nevada and northeastern California) won't get below 100 degrees until next weekend,” the service posted online. “And unfortunately, there won't be much relief overnight either."
A new heat record for the day was set on Friday in California's Death Valley -- one of the hottest places on Earth — with the mercury climbing to 127 F. The old mark of 122 F was last tied in 2013.
More extreme highs are in the near forecast, including 129 F for Sunday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, and then around 130 through Wednesday. The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in Death Valley in July 1913, though some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 F recorded there in July 2021.
In Maricopa County, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year, along with more than 160 other suspected heat deaths are still under investigation, according to the county’s most recent report.
That does not include the death of a 10-year-old boy earlier this week in Phoenix who suffered a “heat-related medical event” while hiking with family at South Mountain Park and Preserve, according to police.
Metro Phoenix forecast
Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 114 and low around 88. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Monday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 114 and a low around 89.
Tuesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 114 and low near 89.
Wednesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 114 and a low around 90.
Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 114 and a low around 90.
Source: National Weather Service
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Arizona Public Service’s parent company reported first-quarter sales growth that was well above average for the utility. The heat wave in March and February was a driving factor, but so was industry growth. -
Federal agents are investigating the deaths of six people thought to be immigrants found inside a shipping container at a Union Pacific rail yard near the border with Mexico in Laredo, Texas, on Sunday as a "potential human smuggling event." -
Temperatures in Phoenix will be about 14 degrees hotter than normal Monday and Tuesday. Climate Central ranks the weather event at the highest end of its Climate Shift Index scale. -
An extreme heat warning is in effect now through Tuesday night as temperatures in the Valley reach over 100 degrees. The National Weather Service says heat-related illnesses increase significantly during this period. -
As temperatures continue to rise in Arizona, electric vehicles and hybrid efficiency could take a hit, according to a new study from AAA.
