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    • Early fall heatwave in Phoenix sets more weather records
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    Early fall heatwave in Phoenix sets more weather records

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    Phoenix residents may have to put off ordering hot coffee, pulling on sweatshirts, and pulling other fall clothes out of the closet a little longer. America’s hottest city is set to hit 109 degrees again by the end of this week. That’s 109 degrees in late September, if you’ve been counting.

    After the hottest summer on record, last week’s 95-degree temperatures were a welcome, if temporary, relief. But the National Weather Service is forecasting daytime highs of over 110 degrees through Sunday in an unexpected fall heat wave.

    “For Phoenix, we have a high of 111 today, 110 tomorrow, 112 Friday, 113 Saturday and then 111 Sunday,” said Katherine Berislavich, meteorologist for the National Weather Service Phoenix.

    The normal high temperature, or 30-year average, for September 25th is 97 degrees, so 110 degrees is definitely not normal.

    Phoenix could also break another heat record on Wednesday: If the high temperature at Sky Harbor International Airport reaches 110 degrees, it would be the latest 110-degree day on record. The old record was set on Sept. 19, 2010. The last 110-degree day this year was Sept. 10.

    “There’s a really unusually strong high pressure system over us,” Berislavich said. “Currently it’s just east of Colorado, but the center of the system will move west again and be over us by the end of this week and over the weekend.”

    A high-pressure area, sometimes called a heat dome, forms when air descends from the atmosphere and condenses toward the ground. As it descends, the air gets hotter, displacing clouds and increasing solar radiation.

    No rain brings relief

    Since the monsoon season ends on September 30 this year, there is little chance of rain in the coming days to cool off the scorching temperatures. October and November are two of the driest months in Arizona.

    “The dew points have dropped, it’s gotten drier,” said Erinanne Saffell, a climate scientist at Arizona State. “The dew point temperature helps us understand whether there is enough water in the atmosphere to create a thunderstorm.”

    Berislavich expects the high pressure system’s highest temperatures to reach Phoenix on Friday and Saturday.

    Next week will be a little cooler, but still reach triple digit temperatures. Temperatures will be around 43 degrees at the start of the week, but they should ease off towards the end of the week.

    If triple-digit temperatures continue, Phoenix could break another heat record. This year, there have been 122 days with highs of 100 degrees or more. If fall continues to be hot, Phoenix could come close to the record for most days over 100 degrees, which was set in 2020 with 145 days.

    The last day with triple-digit temperatures ever recorded is October 27, 2016, so Phoenix could break that record, too.

    Phoenix already broke the record for days over 100 degrees before this week’s heat wave, with 61 degrees. The record could rise even further with the current heat wave.

    “I’ll be watching closely to see if we get to 110 degrees at the Phoenix weather station,” Saffell said. “That’s the highest 110 degrees we’ve ever seen here at the weather station, and maybe even higher.”

    Hayleigh Evans writes about extreme weather and related topics for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email her story tips to [email protected].

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    Caradoc Wyn
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