Death Valley has almost set a new heat record: Over 100°F for nearly 100 hours in a row. 100° is nothing unusual for temperatures in Death Valley, but it usually cools a bit at night, although sometimes not very much.
From Aug. 8 to 11, temperatures recorded at the park’s Furnace Creek weather station did not fall below 100 degrees Fahrenheit — tying the park’s record for second-longest streak of high-heat nights.
Abby Wines, management analyst at Death Valley National Park, said that Death Valley’s hottest moments come about 5 pm, when there’s a combination of sunlight and ground-heat radiation. During the stretch, temperatures went as high as 122°. Six out of 10 of Death Valley’s hottest summers have been in the past 10 years, which Wines said is “a sign of climate change.”
