NORTH SHORE, Calif. – In a striking weather event, the small desert town of North Shore, California, soared to a sweltering 108 degrees on Wednesday. This matches an all-time March record for the highest temperature ever documented in the United States.
This scorching milestone arrives amid an unusual winter heatwave sweeping through the Southwest, anticipated to persist into the weekend. Meteorologists warn that temperatures could climb even higher in the coming days.
Previously, this record was solely held by Rio Grande City, Texas, since 1954. Now, North Shore shares this spot in history, and other towns might soon join them as temperatures rise. The community of Thermal, aptly named, is predicted to reach a blistering 110 degrees by Friday.
Phoenix, Arizona, also experienced unprecedented March warmth, with the mercury hitting 101 degrees on Wednesday. This is the earliest occurrence of triple-digit temperatures there, surpassing a record set nearly four decades ago on March 26, 1988. Until now, that was the only March day Phoenix had reached such extremes, as per the National Weather Service (NWS).
According to Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the NWS, this heatwave is one of the most remarkable on record for March. “We’ve shattered numerous records yesterday, and as of today, several more have already fallen,” he remarked.
“We’ve broken so many records yesterday and even today we’ve broken quite a few so far,” he said.
Several cities on Wednesday experienced their hottest March day in almost 40 years, according to the NWS.
Las Vegas hit 99 degrees, smashing its hottest March day on record, which was 93 degrees in 2022.
Downtown Los Angeles reached 94 degrees, beating its previous daily high of 87 degrees in 1997.
And the desert destination of Palm Springs, California, was 104 degrees, tying its hottest March day on record from 1966.
It will continue to be 20 to 30 degrees above normal March temperatures for the rest of the week in the Southwest before dropping slightly over the weekend. Many other cities in the region are expected to see their earliest 100-plus degree day on record, according to the NWS.
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