Record-breaking High Temps End June, More Heat to Come

June ended with temperatures in the western United States tying or breaking all-time nationwide records for heat in the sixth month.

In Death Valley National Park, a thermometer monitored by the National Weather Service reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday, which the Associated Press reports is a tie for the hottest June day recorded anywhere in the country. But a National Parks Service thermometer about 200 yards away from the NWS device reportedly read 129.9 F, which breaks the record for hottest day in June.

As the calendar turned to July, the heat shows no signs of relenting, with high temperatures anticipated throughout the week. At 1 a.m. Monday, temperatures in Las Vegas stood at 102 F, cooling slightly from the 117 degrees recorded earlier, which tied the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in the desert city.

The NWS reported Monday that "an expansive upper ridge anchored the Great Basin will bring more days of temperatures approaching or exceeding record highs across much of the Western U.S."

Even in parts of the Pacific Northwest, hundreds of miles away from the heat of the desert, three-digit temperatures are expected, the NWS said.

In Phoenix, forecasters from the NWS reportedly baked cookies on the dashboard of a car Saturday when the city felt its fourth hottest day in history with a temperature of 119 F.

"We were joking around that we should bake some cookies, because that sounds a lot better than frying an egg," meteorologist Charlotte Dewey told the Los Angeles Times. "More tasty, anyway."

Some airplanes in Phoenix were grounded due to the heat, which makes the air so dense that it prevents planes from getting the lift needed to fly, according to NBC news.  

The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Death Valley on July 10, 1913: a hellish 134 degrees Fahrenheit.