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There’s never been a summer in Phoenix hotter than this one.
The average temperature of 95.1 degrees from July to August is the highest on record, according to the National Weather Service.
“Summer,” as we know it, still has a few days left, but the weather folks use the term to mean the months of June, July, and August.
The average maximum temperature over the three months, 106.4 degrees, was only the fifth-highest, but the average low temperature was the highest ever, at 83.7 degrees.
If it didn’t feel that much different from previous summers, you’re kind of right — summer 2012 was the 10th-hottest ever recorded, and summer 2011 was the fifth-hottest.
As you can see in the graphic above, the NWS attributes the record mostly due to urbanization, as the city doesn’t cool off at night as much as it used to back in the day.
Phoenicians, congratulations on your survival. Now that it’s “fall,” the Weather Channel says the high in Phoenix today is just 105 degrees.
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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
