Phoenix remains under an extreme heat warning through the weekend. By Sunday, this warning will have lasted 18 consecutive days, making it the second-longest extreme heat warning ever for the Valley.
Phoenix’s only extreme heat warning to last longer than the current event was in July 2023, when a record-shattering heatwave resulted in 29 warning days in a row.
The National Weather Service issues extreme heat warnings when heat is intense enough to pose major health risks to most people. But the threshold for declaring an extreme heat warning varies, depending on the average temperature for the time of year.
“A temperature of 105 in May will seem hot, whereas the same temperature in June or July will not seem as hot because our bodies have acclimated to the heat. Hence, there is not one single, constant temperature used to determine when an alert will be issued,” the National Weather Service website says.
Throughout most of Phoenix’s current extreme heat warning, highs have climbed past 110 degrees. Even though temperatures were below that for the past few days, NWS meteorologist Matt Salerno said higher humidity has kept conditions dangerous.
“The ‘feels-like temperatures’ are still above that 110 mark,” Salerno said.
Salerno said there is some relief in sight.
“By early next week, storm chances are actually going to be on the rise, so starting maybe Sunday evening into Tuesday, Wednesday timeframe, it looks like we’ll have daily chances around 30%,” Salerno said.
NWS forecast for Phoenix
Saturday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 111. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Saturday night: A 10% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9 p.m. Mostly clear during the early evening, then becoming mostly cloudy, with a low around 90. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 110. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming west in the morning.
Sunday night: A 10% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 89. West southwest wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 108. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday night: A 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 85. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the evening. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tuesday: A 10% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 103. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday night: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 85. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 103. West southwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday night: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 84. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
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