Current Phoenix Forecast
Phoenix Weather Radar
Welcome to your Phoenix, Arizona Weather Center, covering the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix is known for extreme summer heat, long stretches of triple-digit temperatures, monsoon thunderstorms, blowing dust, and occasional winter cold snaps. From dangerous heat waves to sudden flash flooding during the monsoon, weather across the metro can change quickly, so it helps to have the latest forecast and climate context in one place.
Phoenix Weather Records & Milestones
Phoenix reached its hottest official temperature on June 26, 1990, a benchmark that still defines the city’s extreme-heat history.
The official record low was set on January 7, 1913, during one of the strongest cold outbreaks ever observed in the Southwest.
Phoenix’s wettest year on record shows that even desert climates can produce remarkable annual rainfall totals under the right pattern.
The long Phoenix climate record provides more than a century of temperature and rainfall extremes for the central Arizona desert.
The Arizona monsoon brings seasonal wind shifts, higher humidity, lightning, damaging outflow winds, blowing dust, and localized flash flooding.
Recent Phoenix climate summaries continue to place modern years among the warmest in the historical record, reinforcing the city’s long-term heat trend.
Source: National Weather Service Phoenix forecast and climate record pages.
- Phoenix regularly endures long stretches of 100°F-plus heat, and the most dangerous weather threat is often prolonged extreme heat rather than a single storm event.
- During monsoon season, thunderstorms can produce strong outflow winds, haboobs, frequent lightning, and sudden heavy rainfall over dry washes and urban streets.
- While snowfall is essentially absent in Phoenix proper, strong winter systems can still produce freezes and unusually cold desert mornings.
- Heat safety, hydration, and flash-flood awareness are especially important across Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Glendale, and nearby Valley communities.
Phoenix-area communities most vulnerable to weather impacts include:
- Urban low spots and wash crossings during monsoon downpours.
- Open desert corridors where blowing dust can sharply reduce visibility on major highways.
- Heavily paved neighborhoods where heat retention keeps overnight temperatures dangerously high.
We provide real-time radar, forecast information, and severe weather resources to help you stay informed across the Phoenix metro. Whether the concern is excessive heat, a monsoon dust storm, or localized flooding, understanding Phoenix weather patterns and climate history helps you prepare.
Dust Storm and Monsoon Flooding Exposure for Phoenix Area
| Area | Dust-storm exposure | Flooding exposure | Main real-world consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glendale | High. West Valley storms and outflow winds can produce damaging gusts and blowing dust; recent storms prompted warnings covering Glendale and nearby West Valley cities. | High, especially near washes, low crossings, and drainage-limited neighborhoods. Intense monsoon rain can quickly pond roads and move through normally dry channels. | Street flooding, wash crossings, power/tree damage, and difficult driving in dust. |
| Downtown Phoenix | High. It is exposed to Valley-wide haboobs and often sees a dramatic dust wall arrive from south/southeast or west outflow boundaries. | Moderate to high. Dense pavement means rapid runoff and ponding at underpasses, intersections, freeway ramps, and surface streets. | Visibility collapse, traffic gridlock, localized urban flooding, and disruption to events/transit. |
| Phoenix airport / Sky Harbor area | Very high operational sensitivity. Dust does not necessarily occur more often there than elsewhere, but even brief near-zero visibility or strong gusts can trigger ground stops, diversions, and delays. | Moderate. Localized street/freeway flooding is possible, especially around low-lying road segments and drainage routes, but it is typically less of a residential wash-flood setting than parts of the West Valley. | Flight delays/diversions, dangerous driving on I‑10/SR‑143/Loop 202 approaches, and airport-access interruptions. |
Glendale, downtown Phoenix, and the Sky Harbor/airport area can all be hit by the same monsoon outflow and haboob, but their practical risk profiles differ. Glendale is generally the stronger flooding concern, downtown is the most urban-disruption-prone, and the airport area is the most sensitive to dust because a short visibility collapse can immediately disrupt flights and freeway travel.