Heat fans head to Death Valley for possible 131-degree record

July 14, 2023

It’s the ultimate tourist hotspot.

Some people seek refuge from the heat, while others want to steam in it — including tourists flocking to Death Valley National Park for an expected mind-melting world heat record that could be set this weekend.

The park straddling California and Nevada is well known for its torrid temps, but sweat aficionados want to experience what’s in store at Furnace Creek, where the visitor center is located, Forbes reported.

The heat is expected to hit a high of 131 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday, setting a world record for the hottest temperature ever reliably recorded, the National Weather Service told the news outlet.

Even the low that night is projected to top the three-digit mark.

pictured are tourists at Death Valley National Park — Tourists are flocking to Death Valley National Park — the lowest, hottest and driest place on Earth — to experience what is expected to be a world record of 131 degrees on Sunday.

pictured is a heat-danger warning sign at Death Valley National Park — Visitors are advised not to venture outside after 10 a.m.

Earlier this week, German tourist Daniel Jusehus snapped a photo of the famed thermometer at the visitor center after challenging himself to a run in the sweltering heat.

“I was really noticing, you know, I didn’t feel so hot, but my body was working really hard to cool myself,” said the avid runner whose photo showed the thermometer reading 120 degrees – well below the expected record.

The hottest temperature recorded at Death Valley, which sits nearly 300 feet below sea level in the Mojave Desert, was 134 degrees in July 1913, according to the park service.

But scientists have come to doubt the accuracy of that reading, one of many records from the early 1900s that have come under intense scrutiny by the World Meteorological Organization, according to Forbes.

pictured is a big thermometer at Death Valley National Park — Tourists photograph the famed thermometer outside the visitor center, which is thankfully air-conditioned.

pictured is a reptile near the thermometer at Death Valley National Park — Not all visitors are affected much by the torrid temps at Death Valley.

In 2013, the group decertified what had been the world’s all-time hottest temperature – 136.4 degrees – set in Al Azizia, Libya, 90 years earlier after an evaluation found the measurement faulty, the outlet reported.

Christopher Burt, who worked on the WMO decertification team, called the 1913 Death Valley record “100% bogus,” saying an inexperienced temperature observer probably was at fault.

At Death Valley National Park, signs warn hikers not to venture out after 10 a.m. and while rangers make patrols, there’s no guarantee lost tourists will be reached in time.

pictured is a graphic mentioning 134-degree mark that has been called into question — The record of 134 degrees set in 2013 has has been called into question.

pictured is a warning sign about the extreme heat danger — Many signs warn visitors about the extreme heat.

Physical activity can make the heat even more unbearable at the park, where sunbaked rocks, sand and soil continue to radiate after sunset.

“It does feel like the sun has gone through your skin and is getting into your bones,” park Ranger Nichole Andler said.

Alessia Dempster, who was visiting from Edinburgh, Scotland, even lamented the effects of a breeze.

“It’s very hot. I mean, especially when there’s a breeze, 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,” she said.

Josh Miller, a tourist from Indianapolis who has visited 20 national parks so far, marveled at the unique experience in Death Valley.

“It’s hot, but the scenery is awesome,” he said. .

With Post Wires