PHOENIX (AP) — The first heat wave of the season is bringing triple-digit temperatures above normal to much of the American Southwest, where forecasters warned residents Tuesday of “dangerously hot conditions” expected to reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) in Las Vegas and Phoenix in the coming days.
By Wednesday, most areas stretching from southeastern California to central Arizona will easily see “their warmest” weather. Since last SeptemberAnd record daily highs are at risk across the region, the National Weather Service said.
Too much A heat warning has been issued 10 a.m. Wednesday through 8 p.m. Friday for southern Nevada and Arizona. Unseasonably warm weather is expected to move into parts of the Pacific Northwest over the weekend.
“We’re looking at high temperatures well into the 90s and 100s, above average for the year — some places will be 10 to 20 degrees above average,” Mark Senard, a National Weather Service meteorologist in College Park, Maryland, said Tuesday.
Southeastern California, southern Nevada and much of Arizona will be hardest hit, he said.
“As we go through the week, some of those high temperatures may spread north and into parts of the Pacific Northwest,” Senard said.
“We have a lot of days where these temperatures last, and that usually magnifies the impact. If it’s just one day, it doesn’t have a big impact,” he said. “But when you start getting two, three or four days of this heat and then warmer temperatures at night, the impact is You’ll start to see an increase.”
Unseasonably warm weather has already affected some areas. Four migrants who tried to cross the border into southeastern New Mexico near El Paso, Texas, died of heat-related causes over the weekend, the U.S. Border Patrol said Monday.
Border Patrol El Paso Division Chief Anthony Good urged migrants not to try to cross the border in the heat.
“The desert environment is very unforgiving, especially in the summer months,” Good said. “We urge anyone considering crossing illegally to understand the serious risks involved.”
Fire crews will be especially on high alert in Arizona, where fire restrictions went into effect before Memorial Day in some areas, and most of the western and south-central parts of the state will be under orders by Thursday, officials said.
Fire forecasters at the Southwest Coordinating Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said weather in the region typically won’t warm until mid- or late June.
“It looks like Mother Nature is turning the heat on us a little quicker than usual,” Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management spokeswoman Tiffany Davila said Monday evening.
“Pushing out 113 degrees, we can’t back down from the fire. But we are keeping a close eye on everyone in the field. They’re making sure they’re hydrated and they’re taking more breaks than usual,” he told The Associated Press.
Monday’s highs were 110 F (43.3 C) near the Nevada line in Death Valley National Park, California, 103 F (39.4 C) in Phoenix and 105 F (40.5 C) in Needles, California.
In Las Vegas, which hit 103 F (39.4 C) on Monday, temperatures will rise 10 to 15 degrees above normal for the second half of the week — with a high of 111 (43.8 C) on Thursday.
A high of 120 F (48.8 C) is forecast for Thursday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley.
The current high for Phoenix on Thursday of 113 F (45 C) will break the daily record of 111 F (43.8 C) set in 2016.
Last summer, Phoenix A record of 31 consecutive days A minimum of 110 degrees F (43.3 C) lasts from the last day of June through July. At least 400 of the 645 are related to heat Deaths that occurred last year were during that month.
Phoenix, Maricopa County and Arizona State officials this year Striving to better protect people Always from high temperature. That Most vulnerable to heat People who are outside, especially the homeless in downtown areas, do not have access to adequate shade, air conditioning, and cold water.
Governments are allocating more money this year, so cooling stations will stay open longer and have two doors open overnight on weekends.
Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles said, “We are committed to ensuring that those most vulnerable to heatstroke have access to essential life-saving services, including hydration and cooling stations and day respite centers.”
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Associated Press writers Jim Verduno in Austin, Texas and Donna Warder in Washington, DC contributed to this report. Sonner reports from Reno.
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