Phoenix Weekend Forecast: Valley Gets Excessive Heat Warning

PHOENIX, AZ – It's not your imagination. It's hot and getting hotter. Record-high hotter.

There is an Excessive Heat Warning in effect for much of the Valley as the temperature is expected to reach 108 degrees on Sunday. Forecasters are looking at the possibility of a repeat of last summer, which ended up as the warmest summer in Phoenix history.

There were 110 days where the temperature reached 100 degrees or higher. Of those days, the temperature hit 110 or higher 19 times.

The National Weather Service's Phoenix office says that this is going to be the warmest weekend of the year. (Get Phoenix Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. Or, find your local Patch here and subscribe).

As a result, the Maricopa Association of Governments is opening heat-relief stations across the valley. You can go here to look at a map of where the stations are located.

The county also offers some tips on what people can do to help and ways to avoid heat-reulated illness:

What you can do to help:

• Donations of snacks, sun protection aids like hats, sun screen, sun glasses, light-weight clothing, and bottled water are needed.
• Educate your friends and neighbors about the dangers of extreme heat.
• Have water bottles available in your car for emergencies.
• Follow the tips below to avoid heat-related illness.

Tips to avoid heat-related illness:

• Increase fluid intake regardless of activity level. Staying hydrated is extremely important.
• Limit exercise or outdoor activity between the hours of 11am and 3pm.
• When outdoors, wear a sunscreen with a minimum SPF 15 and re-apply often. Wear a hat, lightweight clothing and sunglasses.
• Rest frequently in shady or cool areas to give the body's temperature a chance to recover and cool down.
• Never leave infants, children or pets inside a parked vehicle.
• Respectfully check on elderly neighbors to make sure their air conditioning is working and in use. Take advantage of free air-conditioning by visiting locations like shopping malls, the library or other heat refuge locations provided on the map.

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Image via National Weather Service.