The Southwestern United States saw a sharp rise in temperatures on Thursday (June 6), expected to last for at least two days, marking the first heatwave of the year in the region. Temperatures soared over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) from southeastern California to Arizona.
According to the Associated Press, even though summer officially begins in two weeks, about half of Arizona and Nevada are under a heat advisory. The National Weather Service (NWS) has extended the advisory until Friday night and Las Vegas’s high temperature warning is extended until Saturday.
The Phoenix branch of the National Weather Service reported that Phoenix hit a new high of 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) on Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 111 degrees Fahrenheit (43.8 degrees Celsius) set in 2016. The agency warned that this extreme heat was “dangerous.”
There have been no reports of any heat-related deaths or serious injuries so far.
However, firefighters reported that as of late Thursday afternoon, 11 people collapsed due to heatstroke at former U.S. President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Trump’s campaign rally in Phoenix and were taken to the hospital. They were treated and later discharged.
In Las Vegas, the highest temperature on Thursday reached 111 degrees Fahrenheit (43.8 degrees Celsius), setting a new record and tying for the earliest occurrence of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) in a year. The Clark County Fire Department stated that since midnight on Wednesday, they had responded to at least 12 calls related to high temperature exposure, with one person being taken to the hospital for treatment.
Several other areas in Arizona, California, and Nevada also broke their high-temperature records by one or two degrees. Death Valley National Park in California reached a scorching 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), surpassing the 1996 record of 121 degrees Fahrenheit (49.4 degrees Celsius) set in 1911.
Even in areas located further north with higher elevations where temperatures typically run lower by ten degrees, the heat arrived weeks earlier than usual. This includes Reno, Nevada, where the high temperature on Thursday hit a record-breaking 98 degrees Fahrenheit (36.7 degrees Celsius), compared to the normal high of 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27.2 degrees Celsius) for this time of year. The temperature records in the city date back to 1888.
The National Weather Service predicts a slight cooling trend across the entire southwestern region this weekend, though the drop in temperatures will only be by a few degrees. In central and southern Arizona, this means triple-digit temperatures will persist, reaching as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius).