Excessive Heat — Central Deserts, Arizona

2013-06-12 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Extreme heat developed across the central Arizona deserts on Wednesday, June 12th and it led to the issuance of an Excessive Heat Warning which ran from 10 am until 8 pm. High temperatures reached to around 110 degrees over the hotter deserts; in fact the official high temperature at Phoenix was 110 for the day. According to an on-line article posted at MyFoxPhoenix.Com, a 50 year old professor visiting Arizona from Spain died of heat exhaustion on Wednesday afternoon while attempting to hike Table Top Mountain locate near Casa Grande. At about 430 pm, the Pinal County Sheriff's office received a call about a man who had passed out while hiking. The victim and 2 friends set out for a day hike; they begain the 3 and one half mile hike during the morning and when they reached the top, they stopped for lunch. On the way back down, the 50 year old collapsed. He was unable to walk and appeared disoriented. His friends attempted to carry him down the trail but he lost conciousness; one of the men ran for help and the other performed CPR. Search and Rescue and Emergency Medical Units arrived but the man was pronounced dead. Deputies said that the men did have water but it was not enough for the extreme summer heat.

Wider weather episode

Unseasonably strong high pressure aloft developed across the desert southwest on Wednesday, June 6th, and it led to very hot temperatures across the central Arizona deserts including the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. High temperatures in the hotter deserts reached to around 110 degrees and this led to the issuance of an Excessive Heat Warning for the afternoon and early evening hours. The extreme heat led to the death of a Spanish tourist who was attempting to hike Table Top mountain near Casa Grande.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 448714. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.