July hottest month ever in Valley

July 2009 will be the Valley's all-time hottest month.

Think about that: For all the baking summers since the start of weather record-keeping here more than 110 years ago, the thermometer's mercury has never risen higher than during these 31 days.

The raw numbers are staggering: Nine nights when the temperature didn't fall below 90 degrees; 15 days with highs at 110 and hotter. And almost no rain (0.40 inches - less than half of normal) to cool things down.

July temperatures in Valley break records

May was one of hottest on record in Valley

Typically in July, the highs are around 107 with the lows falling to 83.

Gary Woodall, the new meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Phoenix office, comes from Texas, so he knows a little about summer heat. But what he's hearing from his crew is these extreme temperatures are more often seen in the early summer.

"Out of sync," Woodall said of a calendar that says July with conditions screaming June.

"It's too damn hot and hotter than hell," said Los Angeles transplant Kevin August, who's been living in Mesa for two years.

August uses a wheelchair and says it's tough to get around in the heat. "You can tell it's hotter than last summer," he said. "I just drink more water and stay out of the heat as much as I can."

Jim Greenway of Mesa, who has lived in Arizona for 30 years, said: "I'm just used to it, I guess. I don't necessarily like it, but it doesn't bother me. I hate the winter weather."

What's happening in the Valley is just one part of a pattern creating abnormal weather across the nation.

High pressure is dominating the West Coast, setting records from the Sonoran Desert to the Pacific Northwest. On Wednesday, the Seattle area reached triple-digit temperatures, almost unheard of there. Portland, Ore., is approaching its all-time marks for consecutive 90-degree days and hottest month ever.

Meanwhile, back East, low pressure has parked over the Great Lakes, ushering in cool Canadian air from the north. Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis and Milwaukee all are enjoying remarkably pleasant Julys.

But the hand of man also has played a role in the Valley's roasting. The effect known as the urban heat island - where buildings and roads trap the day's warmth and only grudgingly releases it at night - is responsible for July's overnight lows rising since the 1890s nearly a degree a decade.

Is there any relief on the horizon? According to the Weather Service's forecast, no.

High pressure is expected to build back up over the region, and by next Monday the Valley may again be under an excessive heat warning.