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Hot Arizona summer: 2023 was the 20th warmest summer for the state, 7th warmest for Maricopa County

Data compiled by the National Weather Service shows that 2023 ranked as the 7th warmest and 2nd driest summer for Maricopa County.

PHOENIX — Summer 2023 was the 20th hottest and the 10th driest summer in Arizona in 129 years, according to data from the National Weather Service. 

Weather data from June, July and August was compiled by NWS Phoenix to show just how warm this past summer. Phoenix broke multiple heat records this summer alone and in Maricopa County, summer 2023 was the 7th hottest summer in 129 years. 

Not all of Arizona experienced such a heatwave, however. In the northern parts of the state, as well as the southwest, the weather ranks in the top 33% of warmest summers. Most of southeastern Arizona ranked in the top 10% of warmest summer temperatures. 

The average temperature across the state this summer was 79.4 degrees. In Maricopa County, the average temperature was 90 degrees — the third warmest average temperature across the state, beaten only by La Paz and Yuma counties, both of which were less than one degree warmer. 

Arizona also saw the state's 10th driest summer in 2023, with just 2.47 inches of percipitation on average from June to August. The driest summer on record was in 2020. Maricopa County had the second driest summer — the driest summer the county has had since 2020.

Rainfall this summer varied even more widely than temperature. Much of the southeastern counties in the state ranked as the 2nd or 3rd driest summers on record, but many western counties ended the summer with near normal amounts of rainfall. 

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Heat Beat

Here are several videos about Arizona's extreme heat and how you can stay safe during the state's summer months.

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