Heat envelops our lives in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. How does it define us?
Live in Phoenix long enough and you'll start thinking in extremes. The hottest day. The warmest night. The most 110-degree days. And will we ever make it through a night without falling below 100 degrees?
The answer to that question, according to Matt Salerno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix: "I'd say it is possible the way things have been trending."
The record for the highest low temperature at Sky Harbor International Airport is 97 degrees, set a year ago, so we're nearly there. Urban development has all but erased the desert phenomenon of "hot days, cool nights," something you'll still find away from the city.
Researchers have documented the difference. One study found that while high temperatures in Phoenix and the small community of Sacaton in Pinal County were within 5 degrees on average, the nighttime temperature in Phoenix was as much as 10 degrees higher.
Follow along with live coverage from Republic reporters in one of the hottest weeks of the year in the Phoenix area.
Monday's report: 'It's hotter than it's ever been'
Tuesday's report: 'My life revolves around the summer'
Wednesday's report: 'The sun, it gives life, but it will also take it'
Thursday's report: 'I normally wake up at 4:30 a.m.'
Friday's report: 'I don’t mind it. I like the heat'
Saturday's report: 'We are trying our best to provide relief where we can'
Amid the chaos of beeping, car vacuums, and rushing water, a crew at Raceway Express Car Wash in Scottsdale work under the beaming heat that reached 106 degrees on Sunday afternoon. The Arizona Republic took the surface temperature of the concrete at the car wash, which was 134 degrees.
Anthony Vera, district manager of the car wash, said working in the heat is something he and his employees have learned to deal with.
“I am an Arizona native, so I’m pretty much used to it. It’s definitely not for the weak,” Vera laughed.
He said his crew uses cooling towels and stay hydrated throughout the day while working in the tunnel part of the car wash that can sometimes feel like a sauna.
“We take a lot of those Pedialyte packs and the Liquid IV stuff to stay hydrated. I push the team to not drink soda. These guys love energy drinks — I definitely don’t recommend that.”
— Sabine Martin
Christian Gallagher was staying at a sober living home until about six months ago, when he says he was forced to leave due to an uncomfortable living situation.
Gallagher said this wasn’t his first time leaving a halfway home because he felt uncomfortable. He talked about one time when he was assigned a mattress that was “covered in blood,” and how the home management would make sly comments meant to insult him.
At his last sober living home, he felt his roommate was harassing him and was told by management there was nothing they could do. He’s been on the street ever since, and says this is the first summer in a “a while” that he’s been homeless.
Like many people on the street, Gallagher uses public transportation, not just to get around but to stay cool.
He likes to stay near the Phoenix Metro, along 19 th Avenue, where he can ride the air-conditioned light rail to some of his favorite destinations like the Phoenix Library or a strip mall on Bell Road. It was at the library where he was told about local cooling stations he could use, something he says he appreciates.
— Marcus Reichley
Red Cross Disaster Program Specialist Sara Kershaw was breaking down signs for the emergency shelter at North High School on Sunday at 9 a.m.
It is 94 degrees outside.
The shelter was set up to assist those who lost power after a violent storm Wednesday downed power lines . Some communities were left without electricity and air conditioning for days.
By Sunday morning, APS was reporting no outages.
The emergency shelter saw only a handful of visitors since it was set up on Thursday, though Kershaw said the Red Cross was prepared for much more.
APS also distributed free ice bags at Sullivan Elementary School at 31st Avenue and Van Buren Street on Friday afternoon.
The shelter was set up in the gymnasium . A Red Cross trailer parked outside had cots and blankets loaded up. Just an ice chest, rubber bin and cardboard box with snacks and tools were left by Sunday morning.
Kershaw and Diane Walters, a Red Cross volunteer, posed by the trailer for a photo before getting ready to part ways.
— Taylor Seely
It’s been a hot week, but that hasn’t stopped Zandy Viramontes from going about his routine. Church bells tolled as Viramontes walked into church on Sunday, sweating under the hot sun.
“With the monsoon coming in and all the humidity, it just makes it worse,” he said.
Churchgoers trickled in ahead of the morning mass, wearing hats, sunglasses and light clothing. The clear sky offered little protection from the sun, which reflected harshly off the church’s white stone doors.
Viramontes said he’s been staying inside as much as he can and limiting his trips to the store. A Phoenix resident, Viramontes is used to the heat, and 90 is hardly as bad as it gets. It won’t stop him from going about his life, and it won’t stop him from going to church. He goes every Sunday, year round.
“You just deal with it,” he said.
— Jack Armstrong
As seasons change, Phoenix goes from 'heaven' to 'hell'
Anyone can succumb to heat illness in the Sonoran Desert's extreme temperatures, especially as climate change and the heat island effect last year led to Phoenix records for the number of days with a low temperature at or above 90 and the number of days with a high over 110 .
But unsheltered people are particularly vulnerable, comprising the largest category of the 645 heat-related deaths in 2023.
At a shaded shelter, Ismael Valencia waited for a bus next to his belongings, which consisted only of several plastic grocery bags full of clothing. He has no job currently, he said, and planned to ride the bus for hours to stay cool, using a free bus pass he obtained.
That's one of his survival methods while out on the hotplate-like sidewalks of Mesa during the summer. He's been unsheltered for about a year, he said.
When he's not riding public transportation, Valencia said, shade is key. But even if it's 115 degrees, he'll only sit around in a shady spot for about an hour before he decides to "get back out there." Rather than going to a cooling center, though, he said he likes to "hang out" at nearby Pioneer Park.
Arizona's weather: Kids are some of the most vulnerable to heat. Here's how to protect them and yourself
"It gets hot, but it's nothing I can't handle," he said. "I can do it."
— Ray Stern
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About a dozen dogs and their owners played at the Phoenix dog park on Third Avenue and Culver Street.
It is 88 degrees with a slight breeze.
Just west of Hance Park, the dog park offers a small dog and big dog section, and it’s a major hot spot for the community.
Patty Ann Bryant, 73, brings her “fluffy guy” named Jetson — after George Jetson — every day at 6:30 a.m. They usually stay 90 minutes, and if she skips a day, Jetson huffs and puffs and gets sad, Bryant said.
Bryant comes early in the morning with Jetson because the grass is damp and the weather is cooler. It’s particularly enjoyable beneath the park’s large shade tree, where dog owners sit on the large and curved concrete bench.
Jetson, a Tibetan Spaniel, is wearing a cooling jacket Sunday morning.
Bryant said Jetson and all the dogs had to get cooling coats after “Ruthie,” a dog named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg who regularly visits, wore one.
“Ruthie had one, so everyone had to have one,” Bryant said.
There’s a community at the dog park. Owners know each other, though they admittedly know the dogs’ names better than the human’s names sometimes.
Korby, an active and eager-to-be-photographed French Bulldog, also is wearing a cooling shirt Sunday morning. Korby’s owner, Maribeth England, said she bought a 2-pack on Amazon for $15, though it’s usually $20.
She wets the cooling shirt, wrings it out, and tosses it in the freezer for 15 minutes before putting it on Korby. As a flat-nosed dog, Korby doesn’t cool off as easily as other dogs, so it’s important that she’s diligent.
Luckily, today’s weather is a bit nicer than last weekend, England said.
Many of the dog owners bring water bowls, too.
Teddy Roosevelt, a Maltipoo, is well known at the park for lounging in muddy puddles to cool off.Teddy’s basking invites a wave of giggles and “awws” from all the dog parents.
Teddy’s mom, Amy Hurley, said she comes at 7 a.m. because it’s the “only safe time of day.”
Hurley comes prepared for the heat: she herself is sitting on a cooling pack, and she brings an insulated grocery bag with 2 chilled water bottles. She sits with Johnnie McDonald, dog mom of two white Maltipoos, on the park bench in the sun.
They wear hats and enjoy the weather that is warm but not too hot yet.
Dogs and dog parents start clearing out at 8 a.m. when it hits 90 degrees.
— Taylor Seely
Without monsoon storms to take the edge off, Saturday warmed up fast. The high temperature at Sky Harbor International Airport was 112 degrees, 6 degrees above normal, but still 6 degrees below the record of 118.
Overnight, the temperature dipped ever so slightly below 90.
Sunday's forecast is for more of the same, with a forecast high near 110 degrees and no rain expected.
— Republic staff
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Record heat in Phoenix area: Outdoor workers stay hydrated, say heat is 'not for the weak'
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