2018 Second Warmest Year Ever Recorded In Arizona

By Casey Kuhn
Published: Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - 5:17pm

NOAA temperature map
NOAA
A 2018 NOAA map shows where average temperatures were higher than usual.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a 2018 climate assessment Wednesday, and the temperatures continue to climb.

The report shows that a lot of the Southwest, like Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona experienced drought through most of last year.

And, much of the U.S. was warmer than usual, especially west of the Rocky Mountains.

According to NOAA, 2018 was Arizona’s second warmest year ever recorded, one of a dozen states with similarly high temperature averages.

In Phoenix, 2018 was the seventh-warmest year on record, according to the National Weather Service.

Science Sustainability