Posted on 07/08/2024 11:23:51 AM PDT by Red Badger
A long-running heat wave that has already shattered previous records across the U.S. persisted on Sunday, baking parts of the West with dangerous temperatures that caused the death of a motorcyclist in Death Valley and holding the East in its hot and humid grip.
An excessive heat warning — the National Weather Service's highest alert — was in effect for about 36 million people, or about 10% of the population, said NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson. Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest tied or broke previous heat records.
That was certainly the case over the weekend: Many areas in Northern California surpassed 110 degrees (43.3 C), with the city of Redding topping out at a record 119 (48.3 C). Phoenix set a new daily record Sunday for the warmest low temperature: it never got below 92 F (33.3 C).
A high temperature of 128 F (53.3 C) was recorded Sunday at Death Valley National Park in eastern California, where a visitor died from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized, officials said.
The two visitors were part of a group of six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said in a statement.
The person who died was not identified. The other motorcyclist was transported to a hospital in Las Vegas for “severe heat illness,” the statement said.
The other four members of the party were treated at the scene.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcbayarea.com ...
Gee, maybe it was named “Death Valley” for a reason.
If it ain’t recorded, it ain’t a record. So if it was 137 degrees in 1821, it doesn’t matter.
Motorcycle ping!........................
Well, it’s called “Death Valley” for a reason....🤷
Some people get off to torturous trips
Darwin award winner of the week.
Things you shouldn’t do when it’s over 110 degrees out... Ride a motorcycle through Death Valley. BTW - They didn’t call it death valley for nothing.
IT SHOOK UP THE WORLD!! Expect a 5 - 7 year period of extreme temperatures.
I was stationed south of Death Valley at 29 Palms USMCB in 1973.
Rode my motorcycle in 120° heat to Las Vegas to visit my grandmother and other relatives.
Burned a hole in a piston................
My guess it was an old person..................like me..........
Why in the world would they take the route through Death Valley, especially in the daytime hours?
But in town, stop and go at those temps are miserable.
EMT helicopters grounded due to high temperature.
Either ignorance or stupidity.................
“””Tracy Housley, a native of Manchester, England, said she decided to drive from her hotel in Las Vegas to Death Valley after hearing on the radio that temperatures could approach record levels.
“We just thought, let’s be there for that,” Housley said Sunday. “Let’s go for the experience.””””
Fixing stupid is still an impossible task.
They do have covered water barrels out there at intervals along the roads - they’re more typically used for overheating cars but if you’re biking in 100+ degree weather you’d better make use of them.
10 years ago this week I rode a motorcycle into Death Valley . It was reading 121 on the gauge on the bike.
It was like riding face first into a hair dryer.
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