Heating up in the Southwest
It is heating up in the Southwest this weekend! It has been hot over the past few days and it is only going to continue to get hotter over the course of the next couple days.
From Death Valley:
- From the National Park Service. Dante’s Peek
- From the National Park Service. Looking into Salt Beds.
These are some of the projected highs:
This part of the nation is no stranger to the heat but it doesn’t typically come this early in the season. Most of these highs are well above average for this time of year. Some of them even as much as 20 degrees above normal.
One of the hot spots will be Yuma, AZ. Notice how it only gets hotter into the next couple days with the warmest days early next week. Here is the extended forecast for the Yuma area.
FRIDAYApr 20 |
 |
Sunny | Hi:101°F Lo:67°F |
Day: Sunny and hot. Highs near 101. South wind around 5 mph in the morning becoming light in the afternoon.Night: Clear. Lows 64 to 69. Southwest wind around 5 mph in the evening becoming south after midnight. |
SATURDAYApr 21 |
|
Sunny | Hi:103°F Lo:68°F |
Day: Sunny and hot. Highs near 103. Light wind in the morning becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.Night: Clear. Lows 66 to 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph. |
SUNDAYApr 22 |
|
Sunny | Hi:102°F Lo:67°F |
Day: Sunny and hot. Highs near 102. South wind 5 to 10 mph.Night: Clear. Lows in the mid to upper 60s. |
MONDAYApr 23 |
|
Mostly Sunny | Hi:99°F Lo:58°F |
Day: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 90s.Night: Mostly clear. Lows 55 to 60. Highs in the lower 90s. |
TUESDAYApr 24 |
|
Mostly Clear | Hi:91°F Lo:58°F |
Day: Mostly clear. Lows 55 to 60. Highs in the lower 90s. |
WEDNESDAYApr 25 |
 |
Partly Sunny | Hi:85°F | Day: Partly sunny. Not as warm. Highs in the mid 80s. |
The hot weather hasn't stopped NASA from getting their work done!
On April 17, 2012, NASA conducted a test of the Orion crew vehicle’s entry, descent and landing parachutes high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the vehicle’s orbital flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1. The primary objectives were to determine how the entire system would respond if one of the three main parachutes inflated too quickly and to validate the drogue parachute design by testing at a high dynamic pressure that closely mimicked the environments expected for Exploration Flight Test-1.
Check out NASA – Testing the Orion Crew Vehicle’s Parachutes.
Stay cool in the southwest and check back for more updates!