Phoenix Scorches: Heat Advisory, Cooling Centers, Air Quality

PHOENIX, AZ — Triple-digit temperatures of 107 or higher are forecast for the next several days as the scorching sun puts Phoenix under an extreme heat advsiory. There’s no rain in the forecast until at least Wednesday night, and then the National Weather Service forecasts a less than 20 percent chance of showers through Saturday.

Temperatures are above 100 degrees for about a third of the year in Phoenix — 110 days on average, according to the Weather Service. Temperatures are higher than 110 degrees an average of 19 days a year.

Temperatures like these have been deadly in the past. There were at least 50 heat-related deaths in Maricopa County in 2017, and another 140 remain under investigation for inks to the heat, according to public health officials.

In Phoenix, officials are preparing for extreme heat in the way some cities prepare for extreme storms under a first-of-its-kind “heat ready” program, funded under a $35,000 Bloomberg Charities’ challenge grant given to Phoenix and 34 other cities nationwide to tackle their toughest problems.

The program addresses immediate needs, like increasing the number of cooling shelters, and long-term goals, like planting more shade trees throughout the city and in neighborhoods.

Cooling centers, water stations, emergency heat and relief stations, and water collection sites are currently open across Maricopa County. Find the full list here.

The Salvation Army has opened 13 heat stations that will operate daily from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. anytime an excessive heat warning is issued in the Valley. Additionally, the Salvation Army has two mobile hydration units that will be on the streets during the excessive heat warning.

When the heat response program was announced earlier this year, now former mayor Greg Stanton said Phoenix already is a desert city and that “a very hot city is getting hotter.”

In addition to facing days of blistering heat, Phoenix is under a ozone high pollution advisory through Monday. This means that forecast heat combined with existing ozone levels are expected to result in local maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations that pose a health risk, the Weather Service said.

Children and people with respiratory difficulties may have breathing problems, and a decrease in physical activity is recommended. To decrease ozone emissions, Phoenix residents are urged to carpool to work, telecommute or use mass transit. The use of gasoline-powered equipment should be reduced or done late in the day.

Here's the forecast from the National Weather Service:

Sunday: High near 105, breezy with gusts as high as 20 mph; overnight low, 75.

Monday: High near 107; 5 mph wind; overnight low, 77.

Tuesday: High near 108; wind 5 to 10 mph; overnight low 83.Wednesday

Wednesday: High near 108, wind 5 to 10 mph; 10 percent chance of showers overnight with a low around 82.

Thursday: High near 107; 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m.; breezy; overnight low around 82.

Friday: High near 98; 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms; breezy; overnight low around 76.

Saturday: High near 96; 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms; breezy

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