Record-breaking, risky heat will continue on Monday in parts of the southwestern US, especially in the deserts where temperatures of 120 degrees will be possible early this week.
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Just as fire crews start to get the upper hand on some of the wildfires that have been burning, they’re facing the hottest day of a heat wave in the Southwest. This could be alarming since Sunday recorded 118 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix, which forced an airplane to fly back to Texas because of too much heat.
Temperatures in Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson and Yuma broke daily records Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
“Given dry conditions, the heat all goes into raising temperatures.initially drying things out even more and increasing wild fire risk”, Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said in an email to HuffPost. The National Weather Service said the thermometer was at 121 degrees in Palm Springs by 1 p.m.
On Monday, the heat set records.
Needles, Calif., surged to 125 degrees, tying its all-time high temperature from 1925 and 2005, while Blythe Airport in California hit 124, beating the previous all-time high of 123.
Triple-digit temperatures began scorching Nevada, California, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico early this week.
Not everyone was deterred by the hellish temperatures: “I like to run in the heat”, Don Solbers said, while hiking and running up Camelback mountain in Phoenix on Monday.
More of the same was in the works for Monday due to high pressure over the Four Corners region of the Southwest. The temperature in Phoenix climbed past 111 degrees.
Michael Martinez drinks a bottle of water at a Salvation Army hydration station in an effort to beat rising temperatures, expected to reach 115-degrees Monday, June 20, 2016, in Phoenix.
CBS Palm Springs affiliate KESQ-TV says area firefighters were kept busy Monday, rescuing two hikers complaining of heat-related injuries in Palm Desert, then fighting three house fires in a two hour period in Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. The heat played a role in the deaths of mountain biker in Phoenix and a hiker in Pinal County over the weekend.
Fire officials say the personal trainer was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Mayweather says he survives the heat by staying hydrated. Sheriff’s officials said they believed he died from extreme heat exposure.
“No one needs to die in a heat wave, yet we do have deaths”.
On social media, residents commiserated about the sweltering heat by posting photos of boiling temperature readings on vehicle thermometers and cellphones.
Some still ventured outside for quick errands. Kim Leeds, 28, had to take her dog Bo outside in the early afternoon for a bathroom break.
“He does really well with them”.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Monday a 54-year-old woman died on Sunday night in Tucson walking along a loop trail.
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Preparing to enter her fourth summer in Phoenix, Leeds also made a decision to experiment with her vehicle. Other cities, such as Phoenix, were set to see a slower downward dip that would still keep them in triple digits.
