100 degrees at Disneyland? Triple digit temps spread from Arizona to California and beyond

Summer may be over, but the season’s heat hasn’t vacated the West just yet. A heat wave is scorching 61 million Americans, with extreme heat warnings posted from Arizona to Washington state this week.

A high-pressure atmospheric system, sometimes referred to as a heat dome, has settled over the West, hitting parts of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

The Southwest is particularly hot, as Phoenix, the San Fernando Valley north of downtown Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Palm Springs and Death Valley are seeing temperatures upward of 110 degrees. Even Anaheim, home to the Disneyland resort, could top 100 degrees in the next two days.

Phoenix is expected to peak at 114 degrees, Las Vegas at 107, Palm Springs at 116, Death Valley at 118 and areas of the San Fernando Valley at 105 this week, according to the National Weather Service.

“We’re seeing quite a strong high-pressure system develop over the area, specifically over the desert Southwest,” said Ted Whittock, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Phoenix.

“With this strong high pressure, we’re not seeing a lot of cloud cover. Sunny skies and high pressure combined and we have some pretty high temperatures down here,” he added.

Whittock expects the heat wave will peak Thursday before diminishing by the weekend. The high-pressure system will move east late this week, and temperatures should decline.

“It’s still going to be pretty hot in the lower deserts, we’re still forecasting highs above 100 degrees,” he said. “It’s still going to be hot this week, just not as hot as we’re going to see tomorrow.”

While extreme heat batters the West, September heat waves are not unheard of. Triple digits are common in early fall — on average the last 100-degree day in Phoenix is in early October.

On average, the last 110-plus degree day in Phoenix is Aug. 26, and, Whittock expects 110-degree days until at least this Friday.

“Our latest 110-degree day ever was Sept. 19, so it’s not unheard of, but it’s less common this time of year on average.”

Hayleigh Evans writes about extreme weather and related topics for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com . Email her with story tips at hayleigh.evans@arizonarepublic.com .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 100 degrees at Disneyland? Triple digit temps spread from Arizona to California and beyond