Beneath a stronger than normal upper level ridge of high pressure over Northwest Africa, a temperature of 121.3°F was recorded yesterday afternoon in Marrakech, Morocco, this reading surpasses the old 120.4°F (49.1°C) national high set at Agadir on July 30, 2009.

Hot temperatures in mid-July are of course a given throughout Saharan Africa and the Middle East but recent days have seen heights rocket and pressures soar to levels about as strong as they ever get, even by Saharan standards. When you’ve got stronger than normal upper ridging, correct positioning of the heat core and winds blowing from off the scalding desert interior with perhaps downsloping off mountains, then you’ve got the recipe for record-breaking temperatures.

In a recent post I stated the potential for highs reaching 122° in Morocco and 125° over parts of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq but what I didn’t know is that 120° was a Morocco record and there was a good chance at seeing this fall.

Temperatures have been soaring into the 120s over Saudi, Iraq, Kuwait and surrounding nations and with powerful high pressure holding strong over the coming days, more local, perhaps national records may fall.