Death Valley National Park is one of the hottest places on the face of the earth. This is not just an expression to describe how hot the area is, and instead is a literal description of the park, which holds many records related to heat. The hottest air temperature ever recorded on earth (although there is an argument that this record could possibly be held by an area in Afghanistan) is said to have occurred at Death Valley on July 10, 1913, when an official temperature of 134 degrees fahrenheit was recorded at Furnace Creek during a five day consecutive stretch over 129 degrees. Death Valley also holds records for the highest surface temperature recorded at 201 degrees on July 15, 1972 as well as the most consecutive days above 120 degrees from July 6-August 17 1917 (43 days.) Although it is no surprise to anyone who has visited Death Valley that these records have been set there, what continues to astonish people is that these records are being broken. Well as of the first of August, yet another record has been broken in Death Valley, that record being the hottest July ever recorded in US history.
According to the Death Valley National Park Facebook page “JULY 2017 was the hottest July in Death Valley! Our average daily temperature was 107.4 degrees this month, which broke the 1917 record of 107.2 degrees. Nightly lows averaged 95 degrees, which typically happens around 5 am.” These extreme high temperatures have become commonplace in the area, as extended times over 100 degrees and near heat records have been seen nearly every year over the past five years. This accompanies heat waves that are being seen all over the country, as areas like Oregon have also been experiencing record temperatures, as well as Southern California and Nevada. If the extreme heat is a result of climate change or just a natural pattern that the earth is following is up for debate, but what is a fact no matter what is that at this point in time the United States is experiencing heat like we have never seen before.
So many people will ask us if we still tour Death Valley National Park when it gets this hot. The answer is yes and no. Typically our Death Valley tours leave Fridays and Sundays from Las Vegas to spend the day in the park and return that evening. On most days, we will visit the area and simply make sure to provide enough time inside the air conditioned van to allow our guests to adequately cool off in between exploration stops. During days of extreme heat, we may cancel a trip in order to assure the safety of our partons, but generally this will not be the case as even on days when it is very hot our tours are structured in a way that will not cause an average person to become overheated. Make no mistake, it is hot in Death Valley and there are some aspects of the tours that are not as comfortable as others. For example, park rules forbid us from keeping the van running with the air conditioning on while our guests are out exploring, so there is going to be a few minutes when we return to the van when we have to let it cool off before getting in! That being said, however, our tours of Death Valley are available year round, allowing you to experience for yourself one of the hottest places on the face of the earth.