Extreme Heat Expected In Arizona And New Mexico

By Douglas McIntyre  •  May 17, 2024
Stephen Leonardi Pexels

This summer, expect tremendous strain on the electricity grids and hundreds of deaths due to what may be the record heat in Arizona and New Mexico. The NOAA has just released its Seasonal Temperature Outlook for June, July, and August.

Climate Safe City –Detroit?

The NOAA map shows each part of the country in color codes to indicate which areas are likely to have temperatures above or below normal. It then ranks those by the “percent chance” that the forecast is correct.

New Mexico and Arizona are not only expected to be above normal on the temperature scale. The odds of the forecast being correct have been put at 70% to 90%.

Over 100 Degrees

The summer temperature has recently been above 100 degrees F in much of New Mexico and Arizona. Last year, Phoenix had 54 days when the peak temperature was above 110 degrees F. Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, reported 645 heat-related deaths last summer

The strain on the electric grid in Phoenix last year was terrific. KJZZ reported, “SRP had projected peak electrical demand this summer would be about 7,747 megawatts, which is a 1.6% increase over last summer’s peak. Instead, SRP’s highest load, on July 18, was 8,163 megawatts — 7% above last year’s peak load.” (SRP is one of Phoenix’s two utilities). There were no brownouts or blackouts, but this summer will test that.

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