A record-breaking heat wave is expected to continue Tuesday in the Phoenix area before a storm system prompts a gradual decrease in temperatures by Thursday.
Since the heat wave began last Monday, the Valley has been shattering records. Temperatures have broken four all-time high temperatures for their respective dates and tied another, said Chris Kuhlman, a spokesman for the National Weather Service.
Aug. 7, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where the official temperatures are tracked, hit 112, which tied the previous record set in 1905.
On Wednesday, the Valley was 3 degrees hotter than the previous record set at 113 degrees in 1991.
On Thursday, the official temperature crept past the record from 2003 when it hit 114.
On Sunday, the recorded temperature of 115 surpassed the record of 114 set in 2007.
On Monday, the Valley felt a high of 115, which is 2 degrees warmer than the previous record of 113 set in 2003, Kuhlman said.
Beyond just the record breaking numbers, the Phoenix area has broken the record for consecutive days in a row of low temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, Kuhlman said.
Monday marked the seventh day with low temperatures above 90 degrees, surpassing the 2003 record of six consecutive days with low temperatures above 90 degrees.
The record could be broken again if temperatures don't drop below the 90 degree mark before midnight.
Lows in the 90s are not much of a relief from the day time highs. For the past eight days, Phoenix has seen high temperatures exceeding 110 degrees, Kuhlman said.
Normal high temperatures for mid-August in Phoenix are around 105 degrees, and often there is a heat wave passing through toward the end of the month.
Temperatures in the Valley are only expected to drop a couple of degrees a day until a storm system moves into the state Thursday.
The Valley is expected to see a high temperature of 113 degrees Tuesday, 110 degrees Wednesday, 104 degrees Thursday and 103 degrees Friday. Lows should remain in the mid to high 80s, according to the National Weather Service.
Chances for rain are predicted to start Tuesday night, but the Valley will see the highest chances for rainfall Thursday night into Friday morning. Even if sections of Phoenix don't see rain, the area's will likely feel a drop in temperatures because of the system.
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