A small desert community in Southern California recorded the highest March temperature ever recorded in the United States. The 108-degree day on the North Shore, California, came amid a record-breaking winter heat wave in the Southwest that will extend throughout the week.
NORTH SHORE, CALIFORNIA — The temperature in a small desert community in Southern California reached 108 degrees on Wednesday, matching the highest March temperature on record in the United States.
It came in the middle of a Record winter heat wave In the southwest, which will extend into the weekend and could produce higher temperatures.
The record – first reached by Rio Grande City, Texas, in 1954 and now shared by the North Shore, California – could be broken in a number of cities and towns by the end of the week. Temperatures in California’s aptly named Thermal Zone are expected to reach 110 degrees on Friday.
Triple-digit temperatures also came earlier than ever in Phoenix when the Arizona capital reached 101 degrees on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was set nearly 40 years ago, on March 26, 1988, the only other time temperatures in Phoenix rose into the hundreds during the month of March, according to the National Weather Service.
Brian Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said this was one of the most significant March heat waves in recorded history.
“We broke a lot of records yesterday, and even today we have broken a fair number of records so far,” he said.
On Wednesday, several cities experienced the hottest March day in nearly 40 years, according to the National Weather Service.
The temperature in Las Vegas reached 99 degrees, breaking the hottest March day on record, which reached 93 degrees in 2022.
Downtown Los Angeles reached 94 degrees, surpassing its previous daily high of 87 degrees in 1997.
The temperature at the desert destination in Palm Springs, California, reached 104 degrees, equivalent to the hottest March day on record since 1966.
Temperatures will remain 20 to 30 degrees above normal for March for the rest of the week in the Southwest before dropping slightly over the weekend. Many other cities in the region are expected to witness the first day with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius, according to the National Meteorological Service.