The official start of summer is still 16 days away, but Western states are already bracing for triple-digit temperatures as the first substantial heat wave of the year moves into California and Arizona.
A heat dome moving up from Mexico is expected to bring record-high temperatures to much of the West Coast, with California taking the brunt of the heat. Temperatures in some deserts could reach as high as 120 degrees.
Overall, temperatures from Arizona to the Pacific Northwest are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees higher than normal. And Las Vegas is expected to reach 108 on Wednesday and as high as 111 on Thursday and Friday. Nighttime lows will drop only into the mid-80s.
Monday’s HeatRisk index from the National Weather Service, showed a very modest number of warnings. Tuesday’s, however, shows a substantial uptick, and by Wednesday, there are a tremendous number of “major” warnings throughout the Southwest which will run through the end of the week.
It’s a case of déjà vu for California and especially Arizona, which saw long swaths of brutal temperatures last summer. Death Valley, at one point, became an especially odd tourist mecca as temperatures hit 128 degrees (and overnight lows failed to fall below 100 degrees). Temperatures in Phoenix, meanwhile, topped 110 degrees for 31 consecutive days, a U.S. record.
The heat got so bad that patients who walked barefoot in some areas had to go to burn units for pavement burns, since asphalt and sidewalks can reach temperatures as high as 170 degrees on a hot day and door handles can reach unsafe temperatures as well.
One patient, who spent just a few minutes barefoot outside, ended up with a third-degree burn that required a skin graft and two hospitalizations.
Meteorologists warn this current heat wave is likely just a precursor for even more severe heat as we get into the summer months. Texas has already tied a 100-year old record for heat this month.