Southwest US states bake, wildfire threatens Arizona towns [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By KEN RITTER

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Southwest U.S. continued to bake Saturday, and weather forecasters kept warnings in effect for excessive heat in Arizona, Nevada and desert areas, at least through the weekend.

High temperature marks didn’t fall Saturday, but Phoenix reached a sweltering high of 115 degrees (46 C) for the day and Las Vegas hit 111 degrees (44 C). Both were 3 degrees shy of records for the date, forecasters said.

Predicted highs on Sunday of 116 degrees (46.6 C) in Phoenix and 113 degrees (45 C) in Las Vegas were expected to fall short of high marks for June 20, the National Weather Service said.

But Phoenix did set a record Saturday for consecutive 115-degree (46 C) days, meteorologist Isaac Smith said, and Sunday could extend the record to six days.



FILE - In this Tuesday, June 15, 2021, file photo, a pedestrian holds a bottle of cold water at a Salvation Army hydration station during a heatwave as temperatures hit 115-degrees in Phoenix. The Southwest U.S. continued to bake Saturday, June 19, and weather forecasters kept warnings in effect for excessive heat in Arizona, Nevada and desert areas, at least through the weekend. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ca-state-wire-arizona-fires-wildfires-environment-and-nature-8dcb89fd5ded4c632155c3478d8ba3ee