Dry desert heat breaks records as it blasts much of the US Southwest, forecasters say

PHOENIX (AP) — An overnight storm has kept Phoenix from setting a record for overnight low temperatures, but the city can’t seem to escape excessive daytime heat.

The National Weather Service in Phoenix reported that the low around dawn Sunday was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 Celsius) after as much as 1.77 inches (4.5 centimeters) of monsoon rain fell on the metro area.

Saturday night’s low of 93 degrees (33.8 C) had tied the city’s record set last year of 35 overnight lows in the 90s.

National Weather Service meteorologists in Phoenix said the 36th overnight low likely will come soon.

The mark for consecutive days of 90 degrees or below is 16, set in July 2023 when Phoenix had its hottest summer on record.

Meanwhile, a daytime heat record for the city keeps expanding.

Counting the expected high temperature of 106 degrees (41.1 C) on Sunday, Phoenix will have experienced 84 days in a row at 100 degrees (37.7 C) or hotter.

The previous mark was 76 consecutive triple-digit days, set in August 1993.

National Weather Service meteorologist Isaac Smith said there doesn’t seem to be any break in 100-degree days in the foreseeable future. An excessive heat watch has been posted for Phoenix for the next few days.

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“We’re looking at 112 degrees Monday and 114 on Tuesday,” Smith said.

Gabriel Lojero, another meteorologist, said heat is bad “because your body doesn’t get sufficient overnight cooling and the chance to recuperate.”

Lojero noted that downtown Phoenix in particular suffers from the urban heat island effect in which building materials such as concrete, steel and asphalt continue to retain heat and keep the city warm overnight.

Monsoon rainstorms have helped to cool the Las Vegas area, where temperatures fell to 81 (27.2 C) on Thursday, the coolest weather experienced there since June 21, the meteorologists there said.

Hotter weekend weather was forecast in New Mexico, with highs for Albuquerque nearing triple digits and even warmer weather along the state’s southern strip in the the counties along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The grim impact of the blistering Southwest summer was already being reflected in the rising toll of heat-related deaths for the year.

Public health officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, home to Phoenix, as of Aug. 10 had confirmed 96 heat-related deaths for 2024 so far, with another 462 deaths under investigation for heat causes. The county of some 4.5 million people has reported 645 heat-related deaths for 2023.

The Medical Examiner’s Office in Pima County, home to Tucson, said that as of the beginning of August, it had confirmed 99 heat-related deaths in that county and four other small rural ones in Arizona that contract for its forensic services.

In Clark County, Nevada, which encompasses Las Vegas, 123 heat-related deaths have been confirmed so far this year, the Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner said.

In New Mexico, state health officials reported Friday that there have been more than 760 visits to emergency health clinics and hospitals since April 1 because of heat-related illnesses. That includes 29 visits in just the past seven days.

The most recent available data from the New Mexico Health Department also shows there were 11 heat-related deaths in May, all in Doña Ana County. Officials noted this represents an underestimate of heat deaths in New Mexico since not all cases fall under the purview of the Office of the Medical Investigator.