Posted on 08/04/2017 9:29:25 AM PDT by rktman
There’s hot, and then there’s Death Valley hot.
While Southern California and much of the West cooked in July under a pair of heat waves that killed livestock, knocked out power and encouraged wildfires, nowhere was the heat more brutally enduring than in Death Valley.
According to the National Weather Service, Death Valley National Park broke its 100-year-old record for the hottest month ever in July, when the average temperature was 107.4 degrees, eclipsing the 1917 record of 107.2 degrees.
Though 107 degrees doesn’t sound that bad, keep in mind the average includes nighttime temperatures.
The average overnight temperature in Death Valley last month was 95 degrees.
The average daytime high was 119.6 degrees, said meteorologist Alex Boothe.
“It looks like there were a couple of days below 115,” he said — a consolation of some sort.
The hottest day of the month was July 7, when it reached 127 degrees. It also reached that temperature twice in June.
The world record for heat was reached in Death Valley on June 10, 1913 when it reached 134 degrees.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Absolutely no one around on that lonesome road 190 and no sign of civilization anywhere until you could see down into the adjacent valley to the west.
Last time I visited Death Valley, I picked up one of the official maps at the visitor's center. The mileage along the road up Panamint Valley (the valley to the west of Death Valley) was listed as "zzz".
I had to open the hood and let it sit there for a while to cool down. I always brought water with me when driving in the desert, so once the radiator cooled down, I refilled it with water and got the heck out of there!
These days, there are strategically placed tanks labeled "radiator water" along the drive up and out of Death Valley.
Haven't needed them yet, knock on wood.
Bottom line here is: 100 years and NO EVIDENCE OF GLOBAL WARMING!
If only Trump had not stopped the Paris Agreement!
It’s quite disorienting at night as well since there are quite a few twists and turns up around the top and all you have are your headlights from a rental car.
Ronald Reagan :0)
My sister in Minneapolis, Minnesota area says it has been cooler and less humid.
The jet stream must have made a turn towards California.
It has been very sticky for several days.
Meanwhile the ski season will end in California this Saturday, tomorrow when Mammoth Mountain closes its last run of the season......fall, winter, spring and summer seasons this year.
“Has the heat melted all the snow in California yet?”
No, Mammoth Mountain ( which isn’t all that far from Death Valley) is still operating today. Here’s their snow report:
#21 I don’t know how they do it.
They stop every so often and cool off under the shade of the trees : )
Trees? There are no trees in Death Valley.
I was misinformed
All I have to say is that here in Indianapolis, I went outside for lunch today. Had a work lunch for some colleagues. It was a beautiful day...almost a tad on the chilly side. On the 4th of August, at 2:00 pm, it’s 66 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Not too bad.
The valley received its English name in 1849 during the California Gold Rush. It was called Death Valley by prospectors and others who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields, after 13 pioneers perished from one early expedition of wagon trains. During the 1850s, gold and silver were extracted in the valley. In the 1880s, borax was discovered and extracted by mule-drawn wagons.
On the afternoon of July 10, 1913, the United States Weather Bureau recorded a high temperature of 134 °F (56.7 °C) at Greenland Ranch (now Furnace Creek) in Death Valley. This temperature stands as the highest ambient air temperature ever recorded at the surface of the Earth.
"According the groundskeeper, he picked up trash during the day and burned it at the end of the shift, leaving a warm burn barrel to increase the night time temperatures.
But, beyond that, apparently, the tennis court nearby is more of the issue in this particular case.
It’s quite disorienting at night as well since there are quite a few twists and turns up around the top and all you have are your headlights from a rental car.
Indeed. I've driven it. I live in the valley to the west of Panamint Valley; driving through Death Valley adds a whole 30 miles to the trip from Vegas.
One holiday weekend, driving through Death Valley saved me nine hours on the trip home due to traffic problems on I-15 (as reported by a co-worker who drove home via I-15).
1918 :population-number of jet planes-number of dirty trucks/cars?
Greenland-why do you think it got that name?
Death Valley was hotter 100 years ago.
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