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Record highs possible in 17 US states as heat wave expands
A broad spring heat wave could set dozens of daily temperature records today across 17 states and raise wildfire risk as hot, dry and windy conditions spread eastward.
Mar 25th 2026 ยท United States
Insights
- Record high temperatures are possible today in 17 states across the western and central United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas and others.
- Forecasters say more than 60 daily records could fall today and over 200 additional daily records may be broken through Sunday.
- Phoenix could reach about 100 degrees today, roughly 4 degrees above the daily record, after several recent triple digit days.
- Tucson may see its hottest March 25 since 1896 if temperatures exceed 94 degrees, and Tulsa could record its hottest day since 1970.
- Temperatures in central states are forecast to be 30 to 40 degrees above average and the heat wave is expected to reach the East Coast by Friday.
- Fire weather alerts stretch from Montana to Texas with a critical fire threat through Thursday in parts of the Rocky Mountains and Southern Plains, aided by gusts up to 40 to 50 mph and relative humidity as low as 4 percent.