Tucson is literally hot on the trail of yet another scorching record: the most consecutive days on which temperatures soar to 100 degrees or higher.
We'll shatter the current record of 39 days if triple-digit highs persist through next Wednesday, which would mark 40 straight days of century-style swelter.
Forecasts indicate highs of 100 or above until then, but it's possible that a day of unexpectedly heavy monsoon activity could keep temperatures in the 90s.
"The only day we're worried about at the moment is Saturday. We're forecasting 100 for Saturday, but it could go a degree or two either way," said Carl Cerniglia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tucson.
Not everybody in Tucson is likely to be "worried" about failing to set another heat record - such as the one set June 30 when the city marked its first month in which every day topped out at 100 degrees or higher.
Here's how Cerniglia sees it: "If we make it past Saturday, we have a pretty good shot at breaking that 39-day record" set in 2005. "We made it this far. We might as well go all the way and finish it off."
Tucson has heated up to 100 degrees or higher for 33 straight days as of Wednesday.
Cerniglia said forecasts call for highs of 103 today and 101 on Friday.
After the "iffy" forecast of 100 degrees for Saturday, highs of 102 to 104 are expected for Sunday through Wednesday, Cerniglia said.
Chances of showers and thunderstorms are about 30 percent for the next few days, and that could have an impact on temperatures.
HOTTEST JUNE
It shouldn't come as a shock, but last month was the hottest June on record in Tucson.
With every day hitting 100 degrees or higher, June was a record-breaker on several levels.
The average temperature of 89.5 degrees put June as the hottest, breaking the old mark of 89.2 degrees in June 1994, the National Weather Service said.
Rounding out the hottest Junes here are: 88.6 degrees in 1990; 88.4 in 2006 and 88 in 2002.
As far as the average high temperature for June, last month came in third-hottest at 105.4, just shy of June 1990 at 105.7 and June 1994 at 105.5.
Source: National Weather Service
THE RECORD TO BREAK
Tucson's record for consecutive days topping out at 100 degrees or higher is 39 - set in 2005. The city baked in triple-digit weather from June 14 through July 22 that year.
Source: National Weather Service
Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192. On Twitter: @DouglasKreutz
