Daily record temperatures were set in Nevada, Arizona and California on Wednesday as several cities in the Western United States grapple with a stifling heat wave this week.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that the temperature at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, reached a high of 118 degrees at 2:55 p.m. PDT Wednesday, breaking the previous daily heat record of 117 set on July 10, 2021.
Forecasters added that Wednesday’s high marks the first time that the city has had two consecutive days of 118 degrees or higher—Tuesday’s high was clocked at 119. Wednesday is also the fifth consecutive day that Las Vegas has reached 115 degrees or higher, breaking another heat-related record. Sin City endured four consecutive days of the scorching temperatures in July 2005.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona tied its daily heat record at 115 degrees, matching the mark set on July 10 in 1934 and 1957. Kingman, Arizona, also tied its daily record set in 2021 at 111 degrees on Wednesday. The cities of Barstow-Daggett (118 degrees), Bishop (110 degrees) and Needles (122 degrees) in Southern California all set daily heat records as well.
The NWS has issued an excessive heat warning for southwestern Arizona, including Phoenix, until 7 p.m. PDT Friday, warning of “dangerously hot conditions” and afternoon temperatures forecast from 110 to 118 degrees.
Las Vegas is under an excessive heat warning until 11 p.m. PDT Friday. Counties in northern and central Nevada are under a warning until 9 a.m. PDT Saturday.
Other states with an excessive heat warning in place this week include parts of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and California.
Meteorologists at AccuWeather reported on Wednesday that the excessive heat is due to a heat dome, a phenomena that happens when a high-pressure atmospheric system traps hot air beneath it, like a lid trapping steam inside a pot.
The record-breaking heat will begin to shift east by the weekend, providing relief to the Western U.S. starting on Saturday and Sunday. The heat dome will then move into Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, according to AccuWeather, which will spark thunderstorm activity in the Southwest.
“The change in the orientation of the high-pressure area will allow some moisture that has been setting off thunderstorms in New Mexico and eastern Arizona to expand westward into more of the deserts and the mountains of the Southwest region during the balance of this week and this weekend,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk.
Newsweek reached out to AccuWeather via email for additional information late Wednesday night.
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