Excessive Heat — Upper San Pedro River Valley, Arizona

2023-07-03 to 2023-07-08 · Upper San Pedro River Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

Very hot temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees above normal caused the Major Heat Risk category to be reached July 3-8. Record highs of 104 degrees on July 7 and 102 on July 8 occurred in Sierra Vista. The hottest temperature was 108 at Cascabel on July 3, 6 and 7. The Pima County Medical Examiner determined that heat was the primary cause of death for one individual found in the desert north of Whetstone on July 4 and for another found on July 8 in their Benson home with an A/C unit that had been turned off. On July 7, heat was found to be a contributing factor for an elderly individual with heart disease found in his front yard in Tombstone, who then died at a nearby hospital.

Wider weather episode

Persistent strong high pressure aloft created an extended period of very hot temperatures in early July across the lower elevations of southeast Arizona. High temperatures were 5 to 14 degrees above normal causing the Major Heat Risk category to be reached and several record high temperatures to be established. A total of 13 heat-related fatalities were reported by the Pima County Medical Examiner.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1125864. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.