A small desert town in Southern California experienced scorching 108-degree temperatures on Wednesday, matching the hottest March reading ever documented across the United States.
North Shore, California now shares this extreme weather milestone with Rio Grande City, Texas, which first established the record back in 1954. The blistering heat is occurring during an unprecedented winter heat wave sweeping the Southwest region, with forecasters warning temperatures could climb even higher through the weekend.
Weather experts predict the nearby community of Thermal, California could see temperatures soar to 110 degrees by Friday, potentially setting a new national March record.
Phoenix, Arizona also made weather history Wednesday when thermometers climbed to 101 degrees – the earliest triple-digit reading ever recorded in the desert city. The National Weather Service reports this surpassed the previous early-season record of March 26, 1988, marking only the second time Phoenix has seen 100-degree weather during March.
National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis described the current conditions as extraordinary. “We’ve broken so many records yesterday and even today we’ve broken quite a few so far,” Lewis stated. He characterized this as among the most remarkable March heat waves ever documented.
Multiple Southwest cities experienced their warmest March day in nearly four decades on Wednesday, according to weather officials.
Las Vegas shattered its March temperature record by reaching 99 degrees, far exceeding the previous high of 93 degrees set in 2022.
Los Angeles recorded 94 degrees downtown, surpassing the former daily record of 87 degrees from 1997.
Palm Springs, California hit 104 degrees, equaling its hottest March temperature originally recorded in 1966.
The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures will remain 20 to 30 degrees higher than typical March averages throughout the Southwest for the remainder of the week before moderating slightly during the weekend. Many additional regional cities are expected to record their earliest 100-degree days in history.
