Phoenix, Denver, Amarillo and Nashville Among Dozens of Cities Shattering March Heat Records as Historic Warmth Spreads from the Southwest to Tennessee
UNITED STATES — The footprint of historic March heat expanded dramatically over the past week, intensifying across the Plains and stretching as far east as Tennessee, with dozens of cities tying or setting new monthly high temperature records between March 17 and March 21.
Data compiled from select reporting stations shows a broad swath of record-breaking warmth extending from the West Coast and Desert Southwest through the Rockies, Plains, and into parts of the Midwest and Mid-South.
Triple-Digit Records in the Southwest
The most extreme temperatures were concentrated across the Desert Southwest, where multiple cities surpassed 100°F — extraordinary for March.
Notable records include:
- Yuma, AZ: 109°F
- Palm Springs, CA: 108°F
- El Centro, CA: 107°F
- Phoenix, AZ: 105°F
- Tucson, AZ: 102°F
- Needles, CA: 106°F
These readings represent record March highs and underscore how far above seasonal averages temperatures climbed.
Plains Cities Push Toward or Past 100°F
The historic heat intensified across Texas and the southern High Plains, where several cities either tied or set new March records:
- Borger, TX: 100°F
- Childress, TX: 101°F
- San Angelo, TX: 100°F
- Amarillo, TX: 98°F
- Lubbock, TX: 98°F
- Midland-Odessa, TX: 98°F
Farther north across Kansas and Nebraska, numerous cities reached the 90s:
- Wichita, KS: 93°F
- Salina, KS: 97°F
- Topeka, KS: 95°F
- Kansas City, MO: 93°F
- Grand Island, NE: 98°F
- Omaha, NE: 96°F
Colorado and the Rockies Join the Record List
Even typically cooler Rocky Mountain communities experienced exceptional warmth:
- Denver, CO: 86°F
- Pueblo, CO: 93°F
- Colorado Springs, CO: 86°F
- Grand Junction, CO: 87°F
- Cheyenne, WY: 83°F
- Casper, WY: 83°F
Many of these readings tied or broke March monthly records, a significant feat given long-term climatology in these higher-elevation regions.
Heat Reaches the Midwest and Tennessee
The warm surge extended well into the Midwest and parts of the Mid-South:
- Des Moines, IA: 91°F
- Cedar Rapids, IA: 89°F
- Waterloo, IA: 87°F
- Sioux Falls, SD: 89°F
- Rapid City, SD: 87°F
- Fort Smith, AR: 94°F
- Nashville, TN: 89°F
- Oak Ridge, TN: 87°F
- Paducah, KY: 85°F
The eastward expansion into Tennessee highlights the breadth of the heat dome that dominated the central United States.
West Coast and Great Basin Also Impacted
California and Nevada also saw widespread record highs:
- Redding, CA: 93°F
- Ukiah, CA: 94°F
- Sacramento, CA: 88°F
- Fresno, CA: 93°F
- Reno, NV: 88°F
- Las Vegas, NV: 97°F
- Kingman, AZ: 96°F
- Flagstaff, AZ: 84°F
Even typically milder coastal areas like Long Beach, CA (99°F) and Burbank, CA (99°F) reached near-record territory.
A Multi-State March Milestone
While not every location in the country experienced record heat, the geographic scope of tied or broken March high-temperature records was remarkable.
From California and Arizona through Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and into Tennessee, this event represents one of the most expansive early-spring heat episodes in recent memory.
With data still considered preliminary in some locations, the final tally of record-breaking cities may grow.
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