Hot take: Arizona weather ranks as the deadliest in the country

Arizona doesn't get devastating earthquakes. No tornadoes, tsunamis or hurricanes. We're safe from natural disasters that generate breaking news coverage.

But no one escapes the Arizona heat.

According to a recent study by the Florida personal injury law firm Anidjar & Levine, Arizona's weather is the deadliest in the country. The firm analyzed 10 years of weather-related injury and death data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Arizona has the most with 3.89 injuries and deaths per 100,000 residents, with Oklahoma ranking second at 3.40. Since 2015, Arizona has averaged 29.4 injuries and 251 deaths due to extreme weather.

What's the culprit? It's friggin' hot! Last year, 771 people in the state died due to excessive heat. In 2023, 645 people died from heat-related illness in Maricopa County alone.

Yes, it's always been hot in Arizona, but the danger is only worsening. The urban heat island effect and climate change have both contributed to rising temperatures and a summer that seems to last longer than ever. This past February was the hottest the state's ever endured. Phoenix had 136 extreme heat days in 1976 but that increased to 158 in 2023. The vast majority of the hottest summers in Phoenix history have come this century.

If you want the safest weather, Anidjar & Levine's analysis suggests you head to the Northeast. Massachusetts has the lowest rate of weather-related deaths and injuries, just 0.11 per 100,000 residents. Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York are close behind. People die from extreme winter weather, sure, but not nearly at the rate that Arizona heat kills them.

Here are the 10 states with the deadliest weather.

10. New Mexico: 1.88 injuries and deaths per 100,000 residents
9. Arkansas: 2.13
8. South Dakota: 2.23
7. Kentucky: 2.58
6. Nevada: 2.79
5. Missouri: 2.81
4. Mississippi: 2.89
3. Wyoming: 3.15
2. Oklahoma: 3.40
1. Arizona: 3.89