The first day of winter in the Phoenix area shattered high-temperature records, with the Valley reaching 14 degrees above average on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Phoenix.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport recorded a high of 79 degrees, breaking last year’s record by one degree, as reported by the weather service on the social media platform X.
A wave of warm and dry weather set another record in southern Arizona, as Tucson saw a high of 83 degrees that broke the record of 80 degrees previously set in 1917, according to the Tucson National Weather Service office.
The National Weather Service office in Flagstaff said the northern Arizona city saw a high of 62 degrees, breaking a record set in 1969 by one degree.
Meteorologist Alex Young, in the weather service’s Phoenix office, said the “record high temperatures will continue today before slight cooling” next week.
A weather system from the west would drop those temperatures, but Young noted “temperatures will continue to run above normal going through the middle of next week.”
Phoenix also remained especially dry as 121 days passed without measurable rainfall at Sky Harbor, according to the weather service’s Phoenix office, adding that conditions were expected to stay dry.
Arizona weather wrapped: A broken record of broken records in Phoenix during 2024
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: First day of winter started 14 degrees hotter than average in Phoenix
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