🔥 America’s Hot Spot Today: The 10 Hottest Places in the Lower 48

Monday, September 21, 2026 — Orbis Weather

Summer may be almost over on the calendar, but parts of the American Southwest are still baking.

The hottest weather in the Lower 48 today is concentrated across the deserts of California and Arizona, where temperatures are pushing toward or beyond the century mark. Death Valley remains in a class of its own, while the lower Colorado River Valley and Arizona deserts are also experiencing significant late-September heat.

NASA reported that unusually strong heat affected a broad portion of the central and southern United States in mid-September as high pressure produced a late-season heat dome.

🌡️ 10 Hottest Places Today

Based on available observations and National Weather Service forecasts through Monday afternoon, these are among the hottest locations in the Lower 48:

Temperatures are preliminary/forecast highs and may change as additional observations arrive Monday evening.

🥵 Death Valley Takes the Top Spot

No surprise here.

Death Valley, California, is once again America’s hot spot, with temperatures around 104°F (40°C) expected Monday.

The National Weather Service recorded a high of 106°F (41.1°C) in Death Valley on Sunday, September 20, exactly matching the location’s normal high for that date.

Even in late September, triple-digit temperatures are completely normal in one of the hottest places on Earth.

🌵 Arizona Is Still Cooking

Arizona occupies several positions near the top of today’s heat list.

The National Weather Service forecast temperatures ranging from roughly 93°F to 101°F (34°C to 38°C) across the lower deserts around Phoenix, southwest Maricopa County and neighboring desert areas Monday. Relative humidity could fall to around 18–23%, keeping conditions exceptionally hot and dry.

Phoenix itself is hovering near the century mark, while places closer to the Colorado River can climb even higher.

🌴 Palm Springs Stays Hot

Palm Springs remains another late-season heat magnet.

The city reached 99°F (37.2°C) Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. The normal September 21 high at Palm Springs International Airport is still an impressive 100°F (37.8°C).

That illustrates just how slowly summer releases its grip on California’s Coachella Valley.

🏜️ Meanwhile, Las Vegas Cools Slightly

Las Vegas isn’t quite competing with Death Valley today.

Temperatures in the Las Vegas Valley are expected to remain in the low 90s, with a small chance of showers or thunderstorms over parts of southern Nevada. Warmer conditions are expected to return later in the week.

🔥 Late-September Heat Isn’t Finished Yet

The broader weather pattern continues to favor warmth across portions of the southern United States.

The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center says an upper-level ridge over the south-central United States could support additional warm temperatures later this week, while cooler and wetter conditions dominate parts of the Northwest and unsettled weather spreads across other portions of the country.

For the desert Southwest, however, September remains very much an extension of summer.

🌡️ Today’s Hot Spot

🔥 Death Valley, California — approximately 104°F (40°C)

Even with astronomical fall about to arrive, America’s desert furnace hasn’t received the memo.

Orbis Weather will continue tracking America’s hottest and coldest locations as temperatures are reported across the Lower 48.