Summer weather made its last stand in Phoenix on Saturday, reaching a record-breaking 100 degrees late in the afternoon.
The temperature marked the second-latest calendar day with a triple-digit high, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service thermometer recorded the 100-degree high at 3:44 p.m., breaking the daily record and setting the new record for second-latest day of triple-digit heat. It also marked 143 days at or above 100 degrees in 2024, according to meteorologist Austin Jamison. The record is 145 days.
Earlier, the weather service had said there was an 80% chance Phoenix would at least tie the previous daily record high of 98 degrees set in 2001, according to Ted Whittock, meteorologist for the weather service in Phoenix. The normal temperature for Oct. 26 is 85 degrees.
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Whittock described the weather as “tranquil and unseasonably warm,” which he added was expected to linger for the rest of the weekend.
The latest 100-degree high on record was set on Oct. 27, 2016, but was not likely to be challenged this year as the forecast high on Sunday was expected to drop slightly to 97 degrees.
Monday will remain 2 to 6 degrees above normal, but the Phoenix area could expect a return to more normal fall-like temperatures after that.
Cooler air and a slight chance of rain on Monday night would drop high temperatures on Tuesday to the high 70s, which would become the mainstay throughout the rest of the workweek, according to Whittock.
