Monsoon

A Phoenix coffee and wine shop owner says soaring electric bills from Arizona Public Service are threatening her business's future. Koral Casillas, co-owner of Strip Mall and Monsoon Market on 7th Street, said her August APS bill hit $1,500, equal to about 33% of her monthly rent, and her most recent bill rose further to $1,700. She said other small business owners in the same plaza are seeing similar spikes, and residential customers face comparable increases.

The rising costs have drawn attention to a race for two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utility rates. Republican incumbent Kevin Thompson defended APS's ability to recover service costs, while Democratic challengers Clara Pratte and Jonathan Hill criticized the commission's recent record of approving repeated rate hikes. A proposed APS increase of nearly 14% could take effect after the November election. Casillas is expanding her menu and running a gift card promotion to offset costs, while urging residents to support local businesses.

Metro Phoenix is heading into another stretch of extreme heat, with highs reaching as high as 116 degrees and overnight lows staying above 90 through Saturday. A brief break came Monday, Aug. 24, when a category 4 haboob and scattered thunderstorms the night before brought some cloud cover and cooler temperatures below 110, but high pressure is expected to settle over the region through the week, cutting off rain chances until the weekend.

The stretch could extend extreme heat warnings to 13 consecutive days since Aug. 17, with several daily heat records at risk of falling between Aug. 24 and Aug. 29. Wednesday, Aug. 26 is forecast to be the hottest day at 116 degrees. Extreme heat warnings cover most of central, southern and western Arizona, with new areas including parts of Yavapai County and the Grand Canyon below 4,000 feet added midweek. Reduced air quality and ozone pollution alerts are also in effect. Forecasters expect high pressure to weaken by Friday, potentially bringing monsoon storms back and pushing highs below 110 by the weekend.