A western Arizona community made weather history on Thursday when temperatures hit 100 degrees, setting a new U.S. record for March heat and drawing attention from meteorologists on social media.
“Historic heat in the Desert Southwest,” wrote meteorologist Colin Gross. “It reached 110°F today near Martinez Lake, Arizona which is the hottest March temperature ever recorded in the United States!”. AccuWeather noted in a post that the previous record was set in 1902 in Rio Grande, Texas.
Located in Yuma County, the community sits approximately 145 miles west of Phoenix on the Arizona-California border.
“For some perspective, the average first 105° day of the year normally occurs on May 22,” the National Weather Service Phoenix forecast office said in a statement.
It comes amid days of record-shattering temperatures across the western U.S., including at locations in Nevada, California, and elsewhere in Arizona.
Forecasters said Wednesday that Phoenix, Yuma and El Centro all set new daily and monthly temperature records for March.
The NWS Las Vegas office in Nevada said Friday all seven its climate sites broke or tied daily record temperatures for the third consecutive day.
Meanwhile, records were toppled across California on Thursday, including at Burbank Airport, Lancaster, San Francisco and Santa Rosa.
The NWS said on Friday that more than more than 50 March high temperatures records and over 150 daily temperature records have been broken since March 17.
The record-setting heatwave is expected to continue in the West while expanding over the Central U.S. through the weekend, it said.
“Record setting temperatures are expected to continue over the next several days. Most areas will see temperature departures of 25 to 35 degrees higher than normal for this time of year,” it added. “However, some locations in the central Plains on Saturday could see departures exceed 40 degrees from normal!”
As of reporting, extreme heat warnings span western and southern Arizona, southern Nevada, and southeastern California, where the NWS continues to warn of dangerously hot conditions. The agency is advising those in affected areas to keep hydrated and in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and to check up on neighbors and relatives.
“Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles,” it cautioned. “Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
