PHOENIX—People across the Southwest were preparing Monday for another threat of triple-digit temperatures that left two dead over the weekend.
The mercury made a quick ascent Sunday to hit 118, breaking a record of 115 set nearly 50 years ago, according to the National Weather Service. Portions of Arizona and southeast California were expected to keep getting scorched Monday with a high pressure ridge lifting out of Mexico.
Going out early in the morning didn’t save a 28-year-old woman who became unresponsive while mountain biking with friends in north Phoenix. She had set out with two friends around 6 a.m., carrying water, but became exhausted about three hours later, then could not breathe.
Firefighters rescued the unidentified woman, who was an avid hiker and a personal trainer, and she later died at a hospital, fire Capt. Larry Subervi said. She had no known medical issues, and her condition appeared to be heat-related, authorities said.
Her death came a day after a 25-year-old Phoenix man died of heat exposure while hiking in neighboring Pinal County.
Phoenix didn’t reach 120 this weekend as forecasters said was possible, but Yuma, in the southwestern corner of the state, did. Plus, weather service meteorologist Andrew Deemer said he had “no doubt there are places in the Valley that hit 120 or so.”
On social media, residents commiserated by posting photos of boiling temperature readings on car thermometers and cellphones.
