Excessive Heat — Southwest Maricopa County, Arizona

2013-06-02 · Southwest Maricopa County, Arizona

Event narrative

Strong high pressure aloft was situated across Arizona on June 2nd, and it lead to excessive heat across the south central Arizona deserts, including southwestern Maricopa county. According to the official observation at Gila Bend, the high on June 2nd reached to 110 degrees, exceeding the heat warning threshold temperature for that day. An Excessive Heat Warning was in effect from 10 AM until 8 PM on June 2nd.

Wider weather episode

Unseasonably strong high pressure developed across the desert southwest at the start of June, which caused high temperatures to approach 110 degrees on Sunday, the second of June. An Excessive Heat Warning was issued for the south central Deserts on the 2nd, which included the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The excessive heat led to the death of a hiker in the White Tank Mountains, and was also responsible for several heat related medical calls during the first part of the weekend.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 464098. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.