Death Valley Temperature Reaches 130 Degrees, Hottest Day on Site in 107 Years
Death Valley's Furnace Creek, located in the deserts of Southern California, had a thermometer reading 130 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. It's the hottest days recorded on Earth for over 100 years.
According to the National Weather Service, the last time Death Valley hit as high as 130 degrees was in 1913. If held true, this could be the third hottest August temperature on the site.
The Death Valley hitting 130 degrees could also be the hottest temperature ever reliably recorded in the world, said CBS News in a report.
The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was also in Death Valley, at 130 degrees Fahrenheit in 1913. Some experts believe, though, that it is likely that the temperatures recorded that summer was likely an observer error.
When the 2013 reading was analyzed by Weather Underground historian Christopher Burt, he found that the observations in the region simply do not square with the Death Valley reading.
The area has a unique landscape and meteorology, making the daily readings from the sites in the area almost always lockstep with each other.
But when the 1913 record was set, other sites were around 8 degrees above normal. The Death Valley readings at the time were 18 degrees higher than normal.
The last time Death Valley came close to 130 degrees was in 2013, when it saw a 129-degree reading. Some believe this is the real highest, "reliably" recorded, temperature on Earth.
Extreme Heat to Persist
The reading comes amid a scorching heat wave that has been going on in California and the southwest parts of U.S.
Los Angeles Times reports multiple daily heat records that were set on Saturday.
The NWS reported a high temperature of 112 in Woodland Hills, breaking the 1977 record of 108. UCLA also broke its 2003 record of 90 degrees with a new 92 degree high. Downtown Los Angeles likewise hit 98 degrees, the same as its 1994 heat record.
Some other areas that broke heat records were Idyllwild and Indio, said a Desert Sun report.
While some other areas in California did not break heat records, it did not save them from being scorched amid the heat wave.
Most of Southern California is under an extreme level of heat through 10 p.m. Thursday.
Hot and humid conditions will come for the rest of the week, hovering between 113 to 117 degrees, in Coachella Valley.
Extreme Heat Caused Blazes
The extreme weather has caused wildfires to spark from different areas in California. But it isn't just because of heat; it can also be from thunderstorms.
The Ralph Fire, for one, burned down 10 acres of land before slowing down and getting contained by forest service officials. It was reported in the evening of Saturday.
The cause of the Ralph Fire has not yet been identified but lightning-induced fires have a history of being a concern in the area in this time of year.
Another fire in Loyalton even raised a rare 'firenado' warning due to the extreme weather conditions.
"The humidity will make it feel hotter than it is," National Weather Service meteorologist Brandt Maxwell said.
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