Record heat blasts Phoenix and parts of northern Arizona

Arizona is well known for its heat, and this summer, the state beat a previous record set in 1993 for the highest number of consecutive days with temperatures reaching 100 degrees or higher.

On Wednesday, Phoenix hit 80 consecutive days of 100+ degrees, the longest stretch in recorded state history. The 80-day stretch began on May 27. Several towns in northern Arizona broke heat records too.

The National Weather Service predicted many parts of the U.S., including New England and the Southwest, were likely to have higher-than-average temperatures from June through August.

So how much longer is the heat here to stay? “Arizona Horizon” welcomed Randy Cerveny, an ASU climatologist, to help answer that question.

“There is no end in sight. We’re gonna have the next week at still above 100-degree temperatures,” Cerveny said. “The monsoon precipitation, well, what little we’ve had, is shut down now for a while so we’re gonna be dry again for the next week.”

While Arizona hasn’t seen as many days over 115 degrees this summer, our highs 10 to 15 years ago were usually about 105 to 106 degrees. Recently, our highs have been on the order of 110 to 112 degrees.

“It’s been really hot. It’s not limited to just Phoenix, by the way,” Cerveny said. “But Phoenix has been manifesting it better than any other city.”