Dear Tom,
Recently the high temp in Death Valley, Calif. has been over 120(degrees). When was the last time it was 130?
Bruce Becker, Northbrook, Ill.
Dear Bruce,
Death Valley, often called the nation’s furnace, has been broiling in recent weeks with high temperatures running in the upper 120s. The 134(degrees) reading recorded at the Greenland Ranch (178 feet below sea level) there on July 10, 1913 still stands as the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United States and, in fact, the entire Western Hemisphere. It is the second hottest temperature in the world, surpassed only by a 136(degrees) reading at El Azizia, Libya on Sept. 13, 1922.
Death Valley has experienced temps of 130(degrees) or higher on only two other occasions, both in July 1913. Following the 134(degrees) high on July 10, it reached 130(degrees) on July 12 and 131(degrees) on July 13. During the 10- day period from July 5-14, 1913, the high temperature at Death Valley was 125(degrees) or higher each day.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN News at noon and 9 p.m.
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