Extreme heat bakes American Southwest during one of the driest monsoon seasons on record
The American Southwest is feeling the heat with another round of record-challenging temperatures forecast during the last half of August as the region endures one of the driest monsoon seasons on record.
On Wednesday, at least four record highs were broken in the Southwest, four of which were in Arizona.
Phoenix faced sweltering heat on Wednesday with the mercury reaching 114 F, smashing the previous record of 110, which had been set in 2007. This wasn't far off from the temperature in Death Valley, which topped out at 116 F.
On Thursday, a group of 44 fitness coordinators from Kansas had to be rescued, two of which were airlifted, from the Lost Dutchman State Park in Arizona after park officials advised them not to continue, according to ABC 15.
The State Parks spokeswoman Michelle Thompson told ABC 15 that the hikers didn't begin their trek until 3 p.m. MST. At this time, temperatures were lingering around 107 degrees with an AccuWeather RealFeel® of 109. She said the first rescues came around an hour later, and others contacted for help around 8:40 p.m. MST. Temperatures had peaked around 5 p.m. MST at 108 degrees.
Two of the rescued people needed to be flown by helicopter off the trail and treated for heat-related injuries, though only one went to the hospital, Superstition Fire & Medical District spokesman Richard Ochs told ABC 15.
On Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in South Texas due to drought conditions. The United States Drought Monitor shows that areas of extreme drought have developed in southern and western Texas after a week of extreme heat. The areas of drought on the intensity scale ranges from "abnormally dry" to "exceptional drought."
"Phoenix and the entire Desert Southwest has been under the influence of a ridge of high pressure the last few days, which has had temperatures in the region about 10 degrees above average," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist John Feerick said.
He notes while the heat is not unusual, August typically introduces more moisture amid the Southwest Monsoon, limiting temperatures with more clouds and storms.
"This year, that has not been the case," Feerick said. "2019 has been one of the driest monsoon seasons on record, so the extreme heat has continued."
Flagstaff, Arizona, has received a little over an inch of rain since June 1. Typically, the city receives about 5.25 inches of rain by this point in the summer.
The North American monsoon had a late start this year, officially beginning in Tuscon, Arizona, on July 13, nearly a month after the North American monsoon season began on June 15. The monsoon ends on Sept. 30 each year.
According to the Drought Monitor, this has been the city's latest start date since 2005.
A hiker finishes his morning walk at the South Mountain Preserve to beat the high temperatures, Thursday, July 11, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Record-challenging temperatures will end the weekend.
Pueblo, Colorado, met its daily record high of 98 degrees F around 1 p.m. MDT on Sunday, later surpassing it when temperatures soared to 100 F within the next hour. At 2 p.m. MDT, the city had an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of 101. By 4 p.m. MDT, the city had reached 102 degrees F with an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of 106.
As of 4 p.m. CDT on Sunday, the majority of Texas is under either a heat advisory, an excessive heat warning or a red flag warning.
"Monsoonal moisture will retreat again early this week, and temperatures will climb above average as we finish the month of August," Feerick said. "Though Monday and Wednesday will be very hot, too, Tuesday is probably the peak of the heat this week."
Report a Typo
