Maricopa temperatures are running nearly 15 degrees warmer than this week last year. 

Yes, it’s not your imagination. 

Sean Benedict, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, confirmed that Maricopa heat is running just behind Sky Harbor International Airport where the temperature is expected to break the all-time record of 81 today. 

Since NWS has no historic records for Maricopa, the weather-tracking agency can only go by recent numbers, Benedict said. 

“It looks like last year’s temperatures were in the mid 60s,” Benedict said. “The 60s would be a little bit more normal for Maricopa. We are definitely much warmer.” 

The cause: higher pressure aloft over the state, maintaining a warmer-than-normal weather environment. 

A “rex block pattern” is holding warmer temperatures in place, Benedict explained. That drives the jet stream to the north, causing cooler temperatures north of Arizona. 

So, Maricopa’s high temps are hovering in the mid to high 70s through Sunday, according to NWS forecasts. More normal weather patterns should pick up after that and run in the 60s as is normal, the forecaster said.