PHOENIX (AP) – People across the Southwest were preparing Monday for another threat of triple-digit temperatures that left two dead over the weekend.
The mercury made a quick ascent Sunday to hit 118, breaking a record of 115 set nearly 50 years ago, according to the National Weather Service. Portions of Arizona and southeast California were expected to keep getting scorched Monday with a high pressure ridge lifting out of Mexico.
Going out early in the morning didn’t save a 28-year-old woman who became unresponsive while mountain biking with friends in north Phoenix. She had set out with two friends around 6 a.m., carrying water, but became exhausted about three hours later, then could not breathe.
Firefighters rescued the unidentified woman, who was an avid hiker and a personal trainer, and she later died at a hospital, fire Capt. Larry Subervi said. She had no known medical issues, and her condition appeared to be heat-related, authorities said.
Her death came a day after a 25-year-old Phoenix man died of heat exposure while hiking in neighboring Pinal County.