How hot will this year’s summer get? Experts weigh in on record-breaking heat

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Record-breaking heat has made its way to southern Arizona and experts are warning this could be just the beginning of what is shaping up to be a hot summer.

According to Kenneth Drozd with Tucson’s National Weather Service, it’s really hard for meteorologists to tell how hot a particular summer will be.

However, Drozd said it’s important to have a plan, take extra precautions like staying hydrated, and know a safe cool place to take shelter if the heat becomes too unbearable.

“We are entering our warmer time of the year,” Drozd said.

Right now, the NWS predicts above-normal temperatures for May, June, and July.

He said it’s possible to see more of these record-breaking days this year but those records will become harder to beat as temperatures increase.

“We had our share of some record-breaking temperatures,” Drozd tells 13 News. “Obviously, the summer of 20-20 was really warm and combined with not much of a monsoon in terms of not getting much rainfall. We certainly had a lot of records that year.”

As for this year’s monsoon, Drozd said it’s still too early to predict how active the season will be. He adds if the monsoon is delayed it could have an impact on summer temperatures.

“If we don’t have enough rain in July then we tend to get warmer,” Drodz said. “Similar to what happened in 2020. If you don’t get the moisture and rain up here you don’t get the cloud coverage. You have more sunny days and hotter days. You could see more records if that is the case.”

Drozd said the Heat-Risk Forecast Map is an important resource all Arizonans need to know about. The map shows five categories of heat risk for your community with Green being no risk and Magenta being the worst.

“It gives you an idea of the temperature for that time of year. As to how much of a heat risk there is for you.,” Drodz said. “You can determine if you are a higher-risk individual. If you have certain vulnerabilities to the heat then you want to watch out for those moderate to high-risk heat days.

Drozd recommends getting your air conditioning units checked now so that when the hotter months do arrive you aren’t stuck in the heat.

If you do have to be outside for any reason, it’s best to go out during the coolest time of the day which is usually the morning.

He says having a small portable fan, a water bottle handy, and wearing loose cool clothing are just some other tips to help avoid heat-related sickness or even death.

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