Monday, July 17, 2023

A Real Death Valley Story

Death Valley is living up to its name in spades. With place names like Furnace Creek and Badwater Basin,
a traveler should get the idea to avoid the lowest point in North America.  Furnace Creek, an unincorporated settlement officially recorded 128℉ on Sunday.  That is just under the all time record recorded in 1913 at 134℉.  But that record is disputed by some who think 130 is the highest reliably recorded.  Temperatures above 130 have only been recorded worldwide a few times. Furnace Creek is home to the National Park's Visitor Center where tourists enjoy posing next to the large digital thermometer for pictures. The unofficial thmometer registered 132 at one point. [photo credit Getty Images]  High temperatures extend across the southwest and southeast in a heat wave bringing discomfort to millions. Phoenix hit 114℉ on the same day, just one day of an extended period of hot weather expected to break a record for the most consecutive days (18) of 110 or higher. 

Meteorologists expect 2023 to go down in the books as the hottest year on Earth since records began in the 19th century. June was the hottest on record.  Scientists think that global warming is responsible for the increasingly severe, and in some instances deadly heat waves on three continents.