California’s Death Valley may tie daily record of 129F on Sunday
By Brian K Sullivan
Furnace Creek, California, home of the visitor center at Death Valley National Park, will reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, and temperatures will climb even further as the week goes on, according to Jenn Varian, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Saturday is expected to hit 127F and Sunday 129F, which would tie a record for the date. The all-time high in Death Valley is 134F set on July 10, 1913.
Park visitors watch the sunset on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. July is the hottest month at the park with an average high of 116 degrees (46.5 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
A sign stands warning of extreme heat Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. July is the hottest month at the park with an average high of 116 degrees (46.5 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
People enjoy a sunset at Zabriskie Point on Saturday, July 8, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. July is the hottest month at the park with an average high of 116 degrees (46.5 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Hikers turn back to their vehicles in Golden Canyon on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. July is the hottest month at the park with an average high of 116 degrees (46.5 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
A man walks on a pathway Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. July is the hottest month at the park with an average high of 116 degrees (46.5 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
A sign warns people of extreme heat in multiple languages on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. July is the hottest month at the park with an average high of 116 degrees (46.5 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
In this April 11,2010 photo showing tourist walking along a ridge at Death Valley National Park, Calif. California’s Death Valley has racked up another extreme accolade, it’s now deemed the world’s hottest place. Long known as the lowest, driest and hottest spot in the United States, Death Valley this week was named as the hottest place on the globe by the World Meteorological Organization. (AP Photo/Brian Melley)
FILE – This March 10, 2005 file photo shows tourists walking down to the edge of the Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation in the United States, 282 ft (86m) below sea level, at Death Valley National Park, Calif. California’s Death Valley has racked up another extreme accolade _ it’s now deemed the world’s hottest place. Long known as the lowest, driest and hottest spot in the United States, Death Valley this week was named as the hottest place on the globe by the World Meteorological Organization. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE – In this July 23, 2007 file photo, Tim Kjenstad, of Henderson, Nev., runs in Kiehl’s Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, Calif. The race start line was at Badwater, Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere at 280 feet below sea level. The race finished after 135 miles at the Mount Whitney Portals at 8,360 feet. Death Valley National Park is putting the brakes on ultramarathons and other extreme sports events that involve running and cycling until rangers can determine how safe it is to hold those competitions in a place that records the hottest temperatures on Earth. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
FILE – This April 23, 2006 file photo shows hikers climbing up from Death Valley to Keane Wonder mine in the Death Valley National Park, Calif. Located about two hours west of Las Vegas along the California-Nevada state line, Death Valley is unique. Part of the Mojave Desert, it is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, 282 feet below sea level at the salt flats of Badwater. (AP Photo/Rita Beamish, File)
Michael Major rides his bike at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center thermometer Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. The thermometer is not official but is a popular photo spot. Death Valley recorded a scorching 130 degrees (54.4 degrees Celsius) Sunday, which if the sensors and other conditions check out, would be the hottest Earth has been in more than 89 years and the third-warmest ever measured. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Katie Moore holds a bag of ice on her head Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Death Valley recorded a scorching 130 degrees (54.4 degrees Celsius) Sunday, which if the sensors and other conditions check out, would be the hottest Earth has been in more than 89 years and the third-warmest ever measured. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Steve Krofchik cools off with a bottle of ice water on his head Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Death Valley recorded a scorching 130 degrees (54.4 degrees Celsius) Sunday, which if the sensors and other conditions check out, would be the hottest Earth has been in more than 89 years and the third-warmest ever measured. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Ranger Jennette Jurado takes a temperature reading of the ground Sunday, July 11, 2021, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53 Celsius) on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s reading at Furnace Creek. The high temperature was actually lower than the previous day, when the location reached 130 F (54 C). (AP Photo/John Locher)
A sign warns of extreme heat danger as people walk on salt flats in Badwater Basin, Sunday, July 11, 2021, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53 Celsius) on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s reading at Furnace Creek. The shockingly high temperature was actually lower than the previous day, when the location reached 130 F (54 C). (AP Photo/John Locher)
FILE – People visit a thermometer on July 11, 2021, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. A special United Nations panel is putting the finishing touches on a major science report that’s supposed to tell people the “so what?” about climate change. The report will highlight how global warming disrupts people’s lives, their natural environment and Earth itself. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
People visit visit salt flats in Badwater Basin, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Death Valley National Park, Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People visit visit salt flats in Badwater Basin, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Death Valley National Park, Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People pose for photos on the salt flats in Badwater Basin, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Death Valley National Park, Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man takes a selfie at a thermometer at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. The thermometer is not official but is a popular photo spot. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People visit a thermometer at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. The thermometer is not official but is a popular photo spot. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People visit Zabriskie Point as the sun sets, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man walks on a pathway Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. July is the hottest month at the park with an average high of 116 degrees (46.5 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Petter Jaques, of Brazil, sits in a chair on the salt flats at Badwater Basin, Sunday, July 16, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Death Valley’s brutal temperatures come amid a blistering stretch of hot weather that has put roughly one-third of Americans under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person stands on the salt flats at Badwater Basin, Sunday, July 16, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. Death Valley’s brutal temperatures come amid a blistering stretch of hot weather that has put roughly one-third of Americans under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A sign stands warning hikers of extreme heat at the start of the Golden Canyon trail on July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. A 71-year-old Los Angeles-area man died at the trailhead on Tuesday, July 18, as temperatures reached 121 degrees (49 Celsius) or higher and rangers suspect heat was a factor, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Tourists hike the Golden Canyon trail on July 11, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. A 71-year-old Los Angeles-area man died at the trailhead on Tuesday, July 18, as temperatures reached 121 degrees (49 Celsius) or higher and rangers suspect heat was a factor, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE – A woman poses by a thermometer, Sunday, July 16, 2023, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. In the past 30 days, nearly 5,000 heat and rainfall records have been broken or tied in the United States and more than 10,000 records set globally, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Since 2000, the U.S. is setting about twice as many heat records as cold. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE – A hiker passes a sign warning of extreme heat at the start of the Golden Canyon trail, in Death Valley National Park, Calif., July 11, 2023. Parts of California, Nevada and Arizona are expected to bake this week as the first heat wave of the season arrives with triple-digit temperatures forecast for areas including Phoenix, which last summer saw a record 31 straight days of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius). (AP Photo/Ty ONeil, File)
Firecracker-hot forecast: Temperatures over 100 degrees this week in Southern California
Temperatures have hit 130F twice, once on July 9, 2021 and August 16, 2020, according to weather service records.
Meanwhile, through this coming Monday more than 145 daily records may be broken or tied across the US West. Excessive heat warnings and watches are spread across the region taking in most of California, as well as parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
The hot, dry air is also raising the wildfire risk and bringing critical conditions to southern Idaho. A larger area, including parts of Northern California, is facing an elevated threat, the US Storm Prediction Center said.
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