Phoenix will f lirt with heat records
Upcoming temps ‘dangerous,’ ‘deadly,’ forecasters warn
Hot weather in June is no surprise for Phoenix.
But the heat wave ready to engulf the area for the next week is way beyond normal, with high temperatures approaching and possibly exceeding 120 degrees Monday and Tuesday.
The all-time record high temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is 122 degrees on June 26, 1990.
That’s why meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Phoenix have been talking about the coming heat in the strongest terms possible.
In addition to the official excessiveheat warning — declared to run from 10 a.m. today through 8 p.m. Thursday — recent social-media posts from the Phoenix office have included words such as “extreme,” “dangerous” and “deadly” to describe the heat.
“We want to make sure everyone know this is, even for Phoenix, an unusual event,” NWS meteorologist Mark O’Malley said. “This is beyond the typical heat wave that we would see in June. We’re going to be pushing up to close to 120 degrees, and we don’t see that every year around here.”
The Weather Service doesn’t generally issue excessive-heat warnings more than a day or two in advance of the onset of extreme temperatures. However, meteorologists have been talking about this heat wave for at least a week.
“A week ago we were looking at this saying (that) it’s a slam dunk it’s going to be between 115 and 120 degrees for several days,” O’Malley said. “That’s why we just
put it out there.”
‘Prime heat season’
The reason for the heat: an extremely strong area of high pressure settled right over central Arizona. O’Malley said there was no reason the high was so strong at this particular time, other than “the randomness of the environment.”
The clear skies associated with high pressure offer little to no relief from the sun through cloud cover.
Tuesday is the first day of summer, meaning the sun will be at its highest point in the sky. That day is also the longest of the year, which means more time for solar heating and less time to cool off overnight.
“If this (high pressure setting up over the area) had happened a month ago, it wouldn’t be this hot,” O’Malley said. “But we’re in the prime heat season right now.”
The first chance for even a little relief could come in the middle of the week. “Maybe at that time we’ll start to see some thunderstorms over the mountains and we’ll start to get outflow from those storms that may cool us down slightly,” O’Malley said. “But I would not be looking at anything getting below 110 here for the next week. We’re pretty much stuck in this.”
Everyone at risk
O’Malley stressed the warnings were meant for everyone, not just those in the community typically considered vulnerable, such as people without adequate shelter or access to air-conditioning.
“People need to take it seriously,” O’Malley said. “Stay inside. Drink plenty of water. Take all the typical precautions — even people who think they are immune from the heat because they can just go inside. If you’re out for any amount of time, you’re going to feel the effects.”
People are heeding those warnings and preparing for the heat wave. Agencies that provide heat relief are stepping up requests for water donations, and some, such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, are extending hours to allow people a chance to cool off.
St. Vincent de Paul’s Mesa, Phoenix and Sunnyslope dining rooms are staying open later to offer refuge.
“Typically we serve meals and close up for the day,” Marketing Director Mary Chou-Thompson said. “But the heat is pretty extreme, and they’re opening up to make sure people have a place to go that’s air-conditioned where they can get water and cool off.”
The Salvation Army encouraged people to check in on neighbors who might be more vulnerable to dehydration or heat-related health issues.