Southwest Temperature Records
Summer may bring record temperatures and fire risk to the Southwest
Summer heat and wildfires are facts of life in the Southwest. Here's a look at record temperatures in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
It's not even mid-May, but already temperatures in Arizona have reached the three-digit mark. It looks like we're well on the way to matching last year's record temperatures, when Phoenix hit 118 degrees in July, the hottest in over a decade and one of the 11 hottest days since temperature records began in 1895.
Meanwhile, a scary picture jumped out at me from the pages of my newspaper this week – Los Angeles's Griffith Observatory backlit by the bright orange sky of a wildfire. This landmark planetarium had reopened only last November after a four-year, $93 million renovation. Luckily, the observatory and nearby zoo were spared, but by the time firefighters extinguished the blaze, one-fifth of the surrounding Griffith Park was charred to a crisp. It was the third fire in the Hollywood Hills this year.
Summer can be a tragic time in our dry Southwestern states. A careless camper or smoker, an unlucky bolt of lightning, or a thoughtless act gone wrong can cause a blazing inferno that destroys thousands of acres of precious woodlands, not to mention wildlife, homes and human lives.
Federal and state fire management agencies report that the outlook for potential wildfires for 2007 is above normal for southern New Mexico, western Utah, and more than half of Arizona, Nevada and California. Please, be careful with anything that sparks, sizzles or flames.
As we get ready for summer's rising mercury, here's a look at some record temperatures (Fahrenheit) for the Southwest states and Hawaii:
Arizona: 128 degrees at Lake Havasu City, June 29, 1994
California: 134 degrees at Greenland Ranch, July 10, 1913
Colorado: 114 degrees at Bennett, July 11, 1888
Hawaii: 100 degrees at Pahala, April 27, 1931
Nevada: 125 degrees at Laughlin, June 29, 1994
New Mexico: 122 degrees at Lakewood, June 27, 1994
Utah: 118 near St George, July 4, 2007
