Tourists Flock to Death Valley as Temperature Could Go Above 130 Degrees

In fact, it might be the potential for a record that's drawing some there
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 15, 2023 6:00 AM CDT
Tourists Flock to Death Valley Despite Potential Temps of Above 130 Degrees
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)

Temperature records could be broken this weekend in Death Valley amid a brutal heat wave sweeping much of the nation, but that apparently hasn't scared off the tourists. The Guardian reports people are still visiting the national park in California, which bills itself as the lowest, hottest, and driest place on the planet, and ABC News reports they're rolling in specifically because of the potential of the famous Furnace Creek Visitor Center thermometer climbing above 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The highest temperature ever recorded at Death Valley was in 1913: 134 degrees Fahrenheit.

Even when there's a breeze, one recent visitor observed, "you would think that maybe that would give you some slight relief from the heat, but it just really does feel like an air blow dryer just going back in your face." A park ranger puts it this way: "It does feel like the sun has gone through your skin and is getting into your bones." Visitors are advised to avoid hiking trails after 10am in temperatures like this, and other national parks across the country were featuring similar warnings ahead of the hot weekend. Multiple people have died of heat stroke in the park; last year, a 67-year-old man died while walking from his car to a gas station in 123-degree heat. (More Death Valley National Park stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X