Longtime Phoenix residents know that sweltering Julys are to be expected, but no one could have predicted the brutal heat wave that has enveloped the country's fifth largest city this summer.
Phoenix this month shattered its record for consecutive days in which the temperature reached at least 110 degrees (43 Celsius), standing at 26 days and counting as of Tuesday, when the forecast called for a high of 118 (48 C). The record was likely to grow Wednesday, with a high of 119 degrees (48 C) expected.
