March 20, 2026
Map and headline: Scientific American, 3/20/2026
Andrea Thompson reports:
On Wednesday in North Shore, Calif., the temperature soared to a stunning 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius)—matching the hottest March temperature on record for the state. And then, on Thursday, Phoenix, Ariz., hit 105 degrees F (41 degrees C)—the earliest such recording by more than a month. And that same day, the temperature just outside Martinez Lake, Ariz., reached 110 degrees F (43 degrees C)—the highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. [Which was broken at 4 locations on 3/21/2026 when the temperatures reached 112 degrees.]
The heat wave that is engulfing much of the western U.S. right now is unprecedented. A high-pressure area—the strongest ever observed over the Southwest in March—ushered in the unseasonably scorching weather. This area, also known as a ridge because of the northward humps in the jet stream that the phenomenon is associated with, covers an enormous swath of the U.S. It will persist for days and is sending temperatures 20 to 30 degrees F (11 to 17 degrees C) above normal. It is “one of the more meteorologically exceptional events that I’ve seen in recent years in the American West, and that is saying something,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain on his YouTube channel.
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