Weather Extremes

For the week of June 15-21, there were 171 weather records tied or broken at National Weather Service reporting stations. Most of the extremes last week were high temperature records with 102. There were 28 low temperature extremes and seven rainfall records.

It was a very hot week in central and southern California, Arizona and parts of Texas and Utah. Temperatures soared to well above the 110 degree mark in the desert regions.

On June 17, Thermal, Calif., soared to a 114 degrees. It was 115 degrees at Needles, Calif. On the 18th, Palm Springs tied a record with 115 degrees. One day later, Palm Springs reported a sizzling 116 degrees; Thermal climbed to 118 degrees.

Coastal cities in California that normally enjoy cool temperatures at this time of year also observed extreme heat. On June 20, Oakland reported 97 degrees. San Francisco was near the century mark as well with a record 97 degrees. San Diego hit 96 degrees. On June 20, Burbank soared to 106 degrees.

Arizona also observed extreme heat last week. On the 20th, Yuma reported a temperature of 116 degrees. It was 118 degrees at Parker. Phoenix had a record-tying 115 degrees on June 21.

Record low temperatures were observed in the Pacific Northwest. On June 15, Seattle dipped to 46 degrees. Seattle tied a record on the 17th and 18th with a low of 48 degrees both days. Boundary Dam, Wash., dropped to 36 degrees on June 16. Plummer, Idaho, reported a record low of 35 degrees on that date. In Meacham, Ore., the mercury fell to 30 degrees on June 15 and June 19.

Record rainfall totals were scattered across the U.S. On June 16, Tulsa, Okla., had 2.20 inches of moisture. On June 19, 2.11 inches of rain fell in Springfield, Mo. Tampa, Fla., had 3.08 inches of rain on the 21st.