Why is Death Valley so hot?

[Joel Wright]

Why exactly do you think Death Valley is the hottest place in the world? It's fairly far north in latitude. Name some reasons why conditions here are so harsh.

BTW, there's a golf course in Furnace Creek which is in Death Valley. It's 214 feet below sea level. I can't believe how green they can keep it here...check it out....
http://www.furnacecreekresort.com/gallerie...es/img_r7_g.htm

 

[mikegeukes]

The rain shadow effect from the Sierra Nevadas, when air encounters the Sierras, on the windward side, it is force to rise, orographic uplift, moisture is condensed out and when air descends on the back side or leeward side of the mountains, air is compressed which leads to warming of the air, and the moisture is evaporated, helping to make Death Valley a desert. To some degree the influence of the nearby subtropical high, which is around 30 deg N latitude Death Valley is around 35-36 deg N latitude. which promotes subsidence in the atmosphere, leads to air being compressed and is warm and less relative humidiites. Also being below sea level can lead to further heating. Be interesting to see a sounding from Death Valley, to what the lapse rates would be with all the stong surface heating.

Mike

 

[Richard Halter]

What Mike Said

 

[Jeff Wear]

Be interesting to see a sounding from Death Valley, to what the lapse rates would be with all the stong surface heating.

There is a RAOB site at Desert Rock NV, which is about 35 mi east of Death Valley.

If you extrapolate the temperature trace on the Desert Rock NV sounding dry adiabatically down to 1020mb you'd probably have a good idea of what a sounding from Death Valley would look like. Sure enough, that would have worked today - the high at Desert Rock at 3200 feet above sea level was 102F, while the high at Death Valley at 194 feet below sea level was 118F.

Here is Sunday afternoon's sounding for Desert Rock NV....note how the lapse rates are pretty much dry adiabatic from the surface up to about 630mb.

[Broken External Image]:http://home.earthlink.net/~jckssjeff/DRA04071900.gif