Heat wave continues in West

Associated Press

DEATH VALLEY, Calif.

Scorching heat blistered the Southwest on Saturday, where highs between 115 and 120 degrees were expected for parts of Arizona, Nevada and California through the weekend.

Forecasters said temperatures in sunbaked Las Vegas could match the record of 117 degrees Saturday. Phoenix hit 119 degrees by midafternoon, breaking the record for June 29 that was set in 1994. And large swaths of California sweltered under extreme heat warnings, which are expected to last into Tuesday night — and maybe even longer.

The forecast called for Death Valley to reach 128 degrees Saturday, but it was 3 degrees shy of that, according to unofficial reports from the National Weather Service. Death Valley’s record high of 134 degrees, set a century ago, stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

A couple of hours south in Baker, the temperature peaked at an unofficial 117 degrees in the road tripper’s oasis in the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15. The strip of gas stations and restaurants between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is known by travelers for the giant thermometer that often notes temperatures in the triple digits.