Why arizona so hot

Summers are getting muggier as the dewpoint temperature rises. Arizona already averages more than 50 dangerous heat days a year, the second highest in the nation. By , Arizona is projected to see almost 80 such days a year. The Southwest is already the most arid part of the U. Without the cool ocean air flowing in, the valley stays hot.

This causes higher air pressure to build up, and this also keeps the clouds away. Arizona is also located downwind of the mountains. When it rains, the precipitations rises up, and then cools and condenses into clouds.

Those rain clouds then bring precipitation up the side of the mountains and then down, and it when it goes down it compacts and heats up. This makes the air drier than it was when it was upwind of the mountains. An Urban Heat Island , or UHI, is an area that experiences consistently higher temperatures than surrounding areas because of buildings that retain heat, and a lot of concrete and asphalt in the area.

They are hotter than rural areas, contain a higher population, and demand more energy for utilities like air conditioning. A great example of a heat island is Phoenix, AZ. The previous record of days was set back in The streak means temperatures on more than half the days this year so far have reached at least For more stories that matter, subscribe to azcentral.

Climate change sped up by human-made emissions has led to a trend of increasing temperatures and contributed to extended drought throughout the Southwest. You can see that trend of warming across the whole Southwest, and we expect that to continue. In the summer, the pressure systems move around, Selover said. In the summer, that jet stream that hits Arizona from the west for much of the year moves up into Canada, and a huge column of warm air, or a high pressure system, pulls moisture up from Mexico into the state, fueling the monsoon and often cooling temperatures.

Temperatures, too, will continue to trend upward if people don't drastically cut planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions. When we measure heat and we measure temperature, we're measuring how much molecules are moving around. And as for why Arizona gets the brunt of it, Huntley said we can blame that on where we sit along the equator.

That spot gets the most heat and heat rises. ABC15 stepped outside on one of the Arizona Science Center's decks for a quick reading with our temperature radar gun. It was roughly degrees.