Yuma, El Centro hit 111 degrees for first time in 2026
Yuma and El Centro both reached 111 degrees for the first time in 2026, a seasonal marker that put heat safety, cooling and outdoor work back at the center of daily life.
The first 111-degree readings of the year landed hard in Yuma County and Imperial County, signaling that the kind of heat that reshapes schedules, work breaks and utility bills had arrived. For residents in Yuma and El Centro, the milestone was more than a weather number, because it marked the point when hydration, shade and cooling plans stop being optional and become part of the day.
El Centro reached 111 degrees first on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 3:56 p.m. Yuma followed on Sunday, June 14, 2026, at 3:51 p.m. The two readings capped a contest KYMA launched on April 27, when Chief Weather Forecaster Melissa Zaremba asked viewers to guess when the Desert Southwest would hit its first 111-degree temperature of the summer. The station offered a $500 Visa gift card to the closest guesser and said the contest was sponsored by One Hour Air Conditioning and Heating.
The timing fit the region’s long climate record. National Weather Service data show Yuma’s period of record runs from 1878 to 2025, while El Centro’s runs from 1926 to 2025. Based on 1991-2020 normals, Yuma’s average first 110-degree day is June 11 and El Centro’s is June 14. Yuma also averages 21 days a year at 110 degrees or higher, while El Centro averages 25. In Yuma, the earliest first 110-degree day on record was May 8, 1989, and the latest was Oct. 7, 2024.
That history matters because the first 111-degree day tends to change what people do with the rest of the season. Yuma County’s public health guidance says to avoid overexertion outdoors, especially between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., and to use cooling centers and water sites during extreme heat. The county’s heat materials note that 4,325 people in Arizona visited hospitals or emergency rooms in 2022 because of heat-related illness.
State health officials say the danger is not abstract. The Arizona Department of Health Services says about 4,298 people visit Arizona emergency rooms each year for heat-related illnesses, and more than 4,320 people died from excessive heat exposure in Arizona from 2013 to 2024. In a place where summer heat arrives early and stays late, the first 111-degree day is the point when daily routines, outdoor work and public safety all move into high-heat mode.
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