Western Heat

[Charles Kuster]

We completed another successful trip to Death Valley. We started off the first day (7/5/07) testing our thermometer with the one at the visitor center. It was almost always within a degree of the one at the visitor center. That day we recorded 129.4 near Mushroom Rock, 128.1 in Golden Canyon, and 125.0 at Devils Golf Course. I am not sure exactly how accurate these temps are, but they are probably pretty close. The official high was 127 degrees F.

The next day (7/6/07) ended up being quite a surprise. It was 120 degrees at 10:30 in the morning, but then the clouds arrived and the temperature leveled off. We decided to go hiking and later I took some temperatures and was surprised to find 129.0 at Devils Golf Course, 130.8 near Mushroom Rock, 127.2 up near Desolation Canyon and 127.8 in Golden Canyon. We went to the visitor center where the temp was "only" 123. However, the clouds cleared and the temp spiked to 127. Several more of these spikes occurred over the next hour or so and the official high ended up being 129 degrees F, a personal best for me! It was quite hot especially when we decided to take a short hike (25-30 min) in Golden Canyon when it was ~128.

The next day (7/7/07) was "cooler." The official high probably ended up being 127, but we left about a half an hour before the official high was read. Overall, it was a good and hot experience.

 

[bill mudd]

..........Im sure youll see 129degrees (7/4) guestimate

well I guess I win the high temp contest,hahah
actually that'll be the high there tomorrow, next week, and next month plus or minus a couple


suprised you didnt report any terrantullas or dust devils!

 

[Charles Kuster]

surprised you didn’t report any tarantulas or dust devils!

I knew I forgot something! Luckily we did not see any tarantulas, but there were several dust devils especially on the last day which was the windiest of the three days. We did observe several dust devils near Furnace Creek. We almost drove into one, but it was about 20 ft. away from the road. I am pretty sure one moved through Furnace Creek on 7/7/07, but we were about 3-4 miles away when it might have gone through. When we arrived I saw a few palm fronds on the ground.

 

[Marko Korosec]

I noticed T/Tds were in range 110-115/10-25 over there in LAS?! Thats incredible! Really cannot imagine having humidities below 5%...

Glad you had great trip, Charles...thanks for sharing your experience! And of course congrats on your record! I am curious about humidity in Death Valley...well I guess easily below 5%.

 

[Billy Griffin]

While certainly nothing close to the extremes of Death Valley area, I notice the first (of 2007) Excessive Heat Watch has now been posted for the Seattle ~ Portland areas (foothills of the Cascades). Looks like this upper ridge which has brought delightful weather over the past two weeks now will usher in much warmer air to the region.

An extended amount of this type heat, coupled with an extended dry period, could spell disaster in the way of forest fires and wildfires. After a very wet Fall and Winter, it's been a little dry up here as per normal rainfall amounts.

Looks like temps could easily top 100 degrees in and around Seattle tomorrow and Wednesday!

 

[Charles Kuster]

I am curious about humidity in Death Valley...well I guess easily below 5%.

As far as I know it is really rare for the humidity to surpass 20%. On the second day that we were there (7/6/07) the humidity reached 17% during the mid morning hours and they were pretty impressed with that. Later in the day it dropped to less than 5%. Most of the time when we were there it was between 4-7%. Sadly my thermometer does not even record humidity unless it is greater than 10%. It always read "LO" so we had to ask the rangers at the visitor center if we wanted to know what the humidity was.

 

[Billy Griffin]

Never thought I'd see the day where I'm glad I'm in Oklahoma this week - - - escaping from that miserable Seattle Sunbake! Highs near 100 degrees for the next two days in and around Seattle. Sunny and dry in Seattle. Rain in Oklahoma City. Oh, the irony!

While many of you might be thinking, "what's the big deal?" Keep in mind, a lot of people don't even have air conditioners in that part of the US. 100 degrees in Seattle is a once in a 5-10 year event, although it is becoming more frequent.