Intense heat and thunderstorms on the way for Arizona

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Look for sunny and near-normal temperatures across the deserts of the state today, with slightly lighter winds statewide compared to yesterday. In the Valley, temperatures will climb to 105 degrees this afternoon. We’ll be slightly warmer at 107 degrees tomorrow afternoon.

A major weather pattern change is in store for Arizona by the end of this week. High pressure currently situated to our east will shift west, bringing our hottest temperatures of the year so far and ushering in our first monsoon moisture of the season as well.

An Excessive Heat Watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for Thursday and Friday for the deserts of the state, including the Phoenix Metro area. High temperatures are likely to climb to near 114 degrees on Thursday and 116 degrees on Friday. Both days are First Alert Weather Days.

As high pressure shifts closer to Arizona, this also produces a southeasterly flow, which will tap into moisture over Northern Mexico and Texas and bring it into New Mexico and Arizona. This will produce daily storm chances in the higher elevations of mainly Eastern Arizona starting Thursday and continuing through at least the weekend. Rain amounts are unlikely to be very significant, and dry lightning could lead to new fire starts.

Storm chances are slim from Thursday into the weekend, but gusty, outflow winds could bring some blowing dust. We’ll keep you posted. Temperatures look to stay near 113 degrees over the coming weekend.

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