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PHOENIX (AP) — The Latest on the heat wave in the U.S. Southwest (all times local):
12:45 p.m.
The Salt River Project power utility says it has broken its record for delivering power to its Phoenix-area customers during a heat wave in the U.S. Southwest.
The not-for-profit public power utility delivers electricity and water to some 2 million customers in Phoenix and the rest of central Arizona.
It says that between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday it delivered an estimated peak demand of 7,252 megawatts to retail customers. That topped the utility's previous system peak of 7,219 megawatts on June 20, 2017. One megawatt is enough to power about 225 average homes.
The utility said Wednesday the increased demand is the result of this week's extreme temperatures, which on Tuesday reached 116 degrees (46 Celsius) in Phoenix, a tie with city's record high set in 2014.
8 a.m.
Desert areas of the U.S. Southwest are bracing for another day of extreme heat.
The National Weather Service office in Phoenix says highs in southern Arizona and southeast California will range from 113 degrees (45 Celsius) to 118 degrees (48 Celsius) on Wednesday, with a little relief expected Thursday for some in Arizona.
Las Vegas authorities say the city could see the hottest weather this year. Fire officials say conditions will be dangerous. Las Vegas reached a high of 112 (44 Celsius) on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service said a new high of 127 degrees (52.7 Celsius) was set at California's Death Valley on Tuesday.
Tucson recorded 112 degrees (44 Celsius) on Tuesday, its hottest July temperature since 1995 and city's fourth hottest July day on record.
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