- Phoenix’s winning streak began on May 27.
- The previous record was set in 1993.
- The lack of monsoon rains did not help.
Phoenix just hit a record no one wants to see: 100 days in a row with temperatures of 100 degrees or more.
The series began when the mercury reached 102 degrees in Phoenix on May 27.
“Unfortunately, there is no end in sight,” Jonathan Erdman, senior meteorologist at weather.com, said Tuesday afternoon. “Highs could exceed 109 degrees until at least early next week.”
A look at Phoenix’s scorching heat in numbers:
-The average low temperature over the last 100 days was 30 degrees, according to the local weather service. It was measured at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
-At least 177 deaths in Maricopa County, where the city is located, have been attributed to heat this year. At least 436 more deaths are under investigation. Last year, the Phoenix metropolitan area had a record 645 heat-related deaths.
– The city is on track for its hottest year since weather records began in 1896. This comes hot on the heels of the world’s hottest July on record.
A billboard shows the current temperature of over 100 degrees on June 5, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Erdman adds:
-Phoenix’s new record of triple-digit temperatures is over three weeks longer than the previous record (76 days in a row), set in 1993. That’s not the only superlative. Phoenix also surpassed its record hot summer of last year by nearly 3 degrees, a summer with heat that drew national attention.
-Triple-digit highs are normal in the summer. What makes this heat wave so impressive is the absence of monsoon storms in the Phoenix Valley, which usually temper the scorching heat by several degrees.
-On average, the last triple-digit high of the season in Phoenix is reached in the first week of October, but last year it happened on October 21st.
What else you should know:
– Heat is the number one weather-related cause of death in the United States. High temperatures at night are especially dangerous because the body does not have time to cool down.
– It’s brutal for outdoor workers, too. That includes people like Ramiro Lopez, who has worked as a landscaper in a Phoenix suburb for five years. “I’ve learned to drink a lot of sports drinks and make sure I’m ready by 1 p.m.,” Lopez told the Associated Press. “Otherwise, it’s just too much.”
– Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and vehicles that burn fossil fuels are the main reason for the rise in temperatures.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM
-Heat deaths in the US reached record high last year
-2023 was not only the hottest year on Earth since weather records began
-Study: Climate change makes deadly heat waves 35 times more likely
Reporter from Weather.com Jan Childs covers breaking news and features on weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
