The Southwest is cooking. An early-season heatwave is turning the region into a massive outdoor oven, with temperatures soaring 10-20 degrees above normal. Phoenix hit 99°F back in March – March! – and now meteorologists are throwing around numbers like 120°F for next week. Fun times.
At least 34 cities are about to watch their temperature records crumble like cookies in this heat. San Antonio already melted its way to 107°F on May 14, smashing the previous May record by around 10 degrees. Del Rio’s gunning for 110°F, which would blow past its old high by seven degrees.
The National Weather Service keeps issuing warnings about “dangerously intense” conditions, which is weather-speak for “seriously, stay inside.” Over 7 million Texans are currently under heat alerts as this potentially historic heatwave unfolds. Heat-related illnesses claimed 645 lives in Maricopa County alone in 2023, and experts fear this year’s toll could be even higher.
The culprit? A massive ridge of high pressure that’s basically acting like a lid on a pot, trapping all that hot air over the Southwest. This heat dome is ranking among the strongest on record at upper levels. It’s not just sitting pretty over Arizona either – it’s spreading its misery eastward like some atmospheric plague.
High pressure dome traps heat like a pot lid, spreading atmospheric misery eastward
Texas, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota – they’re all getting torched. The Deep South won’t escape either, with notably warmer conditions expected to persist through summer. California’s Central Valley, home to millions, is next in line for the triple-digit treatment.
Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, and Needles might see their all-time hottest temperatures challenged. We’re talking 115°F to 125°F in some spots.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Strong winds are turning the region into a tinderbox, creating what the experts call “critical fire weather” conditions. Translation: everything’s ready to burn. Drought concerns are mounting as the heat sucks moisture from everything it touches.
Monday through Wednesday will be the peak of this particular hellscape, with Weather Underground predicting Phoenix could hit 120°F on Tuesday. That’s not a temperature – that’s a cooking setting.
The heat wave shows no signs of quitting, expected to persist through late May. Summer hasn’t even officially started, and the Southwest is already breaking records left and right. This extreme weather pattern highlights why clean energy transition is increasingly urgent, as fossil fuels continue driving climate-related disasters.
References
- https://www.jackery.com/blogs/emergency/when-will-the-heat-wave-end
- https://aristotleair.com/arizona-heat-wave-2025/
- https://www.hvac.com/expert-advice/summer-weather-2025/
- https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-forecasts/record-breaking-southwestern-us-heat-wave-to-expand-eastward-this-week/1559415
- https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/all-time-extreme-heat-expected-southwest-us
