PHOENIX — Friday morning in the Valley was a scorcher!
Phoenix tied the all-time record warm low of 97 degrees, set originally on July 19, 2023.
Heat this extreme is becoming more common as our climate changes, and one of the biggest factors is the rapid expansion of our urban heat island.
While Sky Harbor sits at the center of our urban heat island, it’s not just Sky Harbor’s heat that is to blame.
Chief Meteorologist Amber Sullins spoke with researchers at ASU who have identified another reason why overnight temperatures in Phoenix keep getting hotter year after year. They have found that heat is being transported overnight from the west and northwest parts of the Valley into Phoenix.
The process is called thermal advection. It is literally the movement of heat from one place to another.
Specifically, here in the Valley, we are now seeing a transport of heat from the west and northwest side of the Valley to Phoenix and parts of the East Valley in the overnight hours.
Those areas west and northwest of Phoenix used to be covered in agricultural fields and open deserts, but now they are filled with houses, buildings, and streets that trap heat during the day.
Then, as winds shift out of the west and northwest overnight, that heat flows into Phoenix, raising the temperature at Sky Harbor and in other areas downwind.
Watch the full interview here with ASU researcher Matei Gorgescu in the video player below.
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