Salt Lake City hit 107 degrees, tying its hottest temperature ever recorded year-round and establishing a record for June.
Denver made it to 101 degrees, breaking the daily record of 97 set in 1952 and 1993.
Billings, Mont., made it to 108 degrees, tying the city’s hottest temperature recorded, on July 14, 2002.
Laramie, Wyo., soared to 94 degrees, while Sheridan hit 107, both matching their highest temperatures on record.
Casper, Wyo., hit 101 degrees, nabbing a new daily record by a whopping 8 degrees. It’s also its hottest temperature observed on record so early in the year.
Death Valley, Calif., logged a high of 124.1 degrees, the highest temperature in the Lower 48 this year;
Needles, Calif., made it to 121, setting a new daily record, and Palm Springs, Calif., to 120, topping its daily record by 4 degrees.
Las Vegas snagged a high of 114 degree, falling just a bit short of the record of 116, seen in 1940.
Phoenix hit 115 degrees, tying a daily record high set in 1974.
A very diffuse, thin veil of smoke from the nearby Telegraph Fire probably reduced the temperature by a degree or two below what was originally forecast.
The [CA] Central Valley will be the bull’s eye for heat, coming a day after widespread 100-degree readings. Lower 100s are likely Wednesday, followed by highs between 105 and 110 degrees Thursday and several readings topping 110 degrees Friday.
A high of 110 degrees is expected in Sacramento on Thursday, which would beat the previous record by 7 degrees. Another record high of 107 is possible Thursday. The local Weather Service office advertised a “widespread high to very high heat risk.”
Bakersfield, Calif., is expecting three consecutive days near or at 110 degrees. That’s impressive but still a far cry from July 1908, when the city recorded 22 days in a row at or above 108. The Weather Service office in Hanford, Calif., referred to the forecast highs as “dangerously hot, life-threatening temperatures.”
Meanwhile, a spattering of wildfires has sparked up across California and the Southwest, including the 139,615-acre Telegraph Fire about 60 miles east of Phoenix, which was 59 percent contained as of Wednesday morning. A number of smaller spot fires have ignited along the Sierra Nevada foothills. Some of the smoke from the Arizona wildfires may reach New England on Friday, tinging sunsets with more vibrant shades.
The anomalous temperatures can be traced to an enormous “heat dome,” or a large area of high pressure languishing over the Four Corners region. That brings sinking air, clear skies and hot temperatures, simultaneously diverting clouds and other weather systems well to the north.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/ ... peratures/
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