Early Season Heat Slams the Southwest as Phoenix Trails Close and Death Valley Breaks 100 Degrees

It’s only mid-March, but parts of the Southwestern U.S. are already seeing a record-breaking heat wave. Over a 24-hour period, the Phoenix Fire Department saved at least six hikers from heat-related emergencies, and state officials closed several popular trails. Meanwhile, six hours north in Death Valley National Park, temperatures soared to 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in 2026.

Local news outlet Arizona’s Family reported that temperatures in the Phoenix, Arizona, area are the warmest ever recorded this early in the year, and will likely crest triple digits at multiple points during the week. Amid the scorching heat wave, a half-dozen Arizona hikers were rescued after suffering from heat-related illnesses.

On Monday, March 16, officials responded to three hikers who were in the blazing sun at Camelback Mountain, a popular 2,706-foot summit 20 minutes from downtown Phoenix. It’s also the highest peak in the metro area. Temperatures that day peaked at 93 degrees. The following day, according to Arizona’s Family, rescuers responded to three other emergency calls from other heat-exhausted hikers in outdoor areas around Phoenix.

Officials Close Hiking Trails in Phoenix

In advance of the staggering heat wave, local authorities closed several popular trails in the Phoenix area, including two trails leading to Camelback’s summit—Echo Canyon Trail and Cholla Trail—and the trail to the top of Piestewa Peak (2,610 feet), Phoenix’s second-highest summit. Authorities also closed several trails in Phoenix’s South Mountain Park and Preserve, such as Holbert Trail, Mormon Trail, and Hau’Pal Loop Trail.

These closures will begin on Thursday, March 19, and will last through the weekend, until at least Sunday, March 22, though they could continue if high temperatures don’t abate.

Death Valley Records 100 Degrees for the First Time in 2026

A few hundred miles northwest, in Death Valley National Park, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that on Tuesday, March 17, temperatures soared to 100 degrees for the first time this year. The desert valley, which straddles the California-Nevada border, is oft-touted as the hottest, driest place on Earth. It currently holds the world record for the highest land temperature ever documented: 134 degrees Fahrenheit.

Still, it’s not normally this hot in Death Valley in mid-March. The national park’s website says that the park’s average high in March is just 82 degrees. The record high, meanwhile, is 103 degrees, one that the park has already nearly broken halfway through the month.

According to The Weather Channel’s ten-day forecast, Death Valley’s temperature on March 18 could hit a high of 105 degrees, and highs over 100 degrees will likely continue for at least the next week. Summer may still be three months away on the calendar, but in some parts of the U.S., it’s clearly already arrived.