Temperatures in Death Valley reached 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and highs in the Southwest United States reached well into the triple digits

Temperatures in the Southwest United States reached over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) on Thursday, breaking records across the region. Temperatures reached this level from southeast California to Arizona, where the region’s first heat wave of the year was forecast to continue for at least another day.

There is still two weeks until the formal beginning of summer, but the National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat notice for approximately half of Arizona and Nevada. The alert is expected to remain in effect until Friday evening, according to the weather service. The heat warning for Las Vegas has been extended to Saturday (the next day).

The nine-year-old Eleanor Wallace, who was in Phoenix from northern Utah on Thursday to celebrate her birthday with her mother, Megan Wallace, remarked, “It’s so hot.” Megan Wallace was also in Phoenix for the occasion.

“Dangerous hot” was the term used by the National Weather Service in Phoenix, where the temperature reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) on Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 111 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) that had been established in 2016.

It was not immediately reported that there were any deaths or major injuries that were caused by the heat.

However, while attending a campaign rally in Phoenix for the presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, eleven individuals became ill with heat exhaustion by the late afternoon. They were sent to the hospital, where they were treated and then released, according to officials from the fire department.

In addition, the Clark County Fire Department reported that it had responded to at least 12 complaints for heat exposure since midnight on Wednesday. This was in Las Vegas, where the temperature set a new record of 111 (43.8 C) on Thursday, which also equaled the earliest time of the year that the high temperature reached at least 110 (43.3 C). There were nine of such calls that ended in a patient requiring treatment at the hospital.

The temperature in Death Valley National Park, which is located in the desert that is 194 feet (59 meters) below sea level near the California-Nevada line, reached a record high for the date of 122 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record of 121 degrees Fahrenheit (49.4 degrees Celsius) that was set in 1996. Many other regions in Arizona, California, and Nevada also broke records by a degree or two. Those records go back to the year 1911.

Even in locations farther to the north at higher elevations, where it is usually a dozen degrees colder, the heat has arrived weeks earlier than usual. This also applies to Reno, where on Thursday the typical high of 81 F (27 C) for this time of year shot up to a record 98 F (37 C). Documents there go back to 1888.

Only a slight regional cooling is expected this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. That still means triple-digit highs in central and southern Arizona, with temperatures reaching as high as 110 F (43 C).

Oscar Tomasio of Cleveland, Ohio, proposed to his fiancée, Megan McCracken, on Thursday in Phoenix despite the unusually high temperatures. They hiked to the top of a route on Camelback Mountain, carrying three liters of water each.

According to Tomasio, the hike was extremely taxing. “We started extra early because it was really hot.”

“The vistas were breathtaking. She was a little anxious due to the heat, so we didn’t quite make it to the top,” he remarked. “Well, as the sun rose, I made her a proposal.”

In an attempt to beat the heat and the trail’s approaching closure, McCracken stated they had planned a sunrise hike and had gotten up at roughly five in the morning.

“Most likely not early enough,” she remarked.

“We started just a few minutes after 6 and it’s like we came prepared, but we got through all of our water and it was hot — was hotter than we’re used to,” said Megan Wallace, the mother of the birthday girl from Utah who also arrived carrying water bottles.

Source – Apnews