Heat and blazing sun – this is what Death Valley in the US state of California is known for. The maximum average temperature in July is just under 40 degrees Celsius.
With the heat wave that has now also reached California, the thermometer will rise to well over 40 degrees this year. The US weather service measured a temperature of 54.4 degrees on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, the thermometer in the Furnace Creek Visitors Center in Death Valley is said to have risen to 56.7 degrees!
Official confirmation is still pending for the latter measurement – if the number is correct, this could mean a temperature record, writes the «mirror».
The heat is said to last through the night
According to meteorologists, the heat should remain – and not only in the deserted Death Valley, but also in the densely populated areas in the west of the country.
According to forecasts, it is even possible that the heat could continue into the night in the coming days. As the «Spiegel» writes, meteorologist Sarah Rogowski is concerned about the National Weather. She says: “People are unable to cool off, it is much more difficult to get relief.”
Extinguishing water evaporates before it hits the ground
Another evil threatens the heat: Severe thunderstorms are said to occur in the region, which in turn can cause forest fires – a large one is currently raging near Lake Tahoe, on the border with the state of Nevada. Over a thousand firefighters are fighting the fire.
As the ARD reported on Sunday, the deletion process is extremely difficult. “Some of the extinguishing water thrown from the aircraft evaporates before it even reaches the ground,” says fire department spokeswoman Lisa Cox. The rising smoke and the hot air also formed a huge thundercloud, which produced its own lightning strikes.
Large-scale forest fires are also raging in the states of Oregon, Washington and Arizona. According to “Spiegel” an area of at least 580 square kilometers is affected in Oregon. The Oregon fire worries California as well. There the flames are in close proximity to a high-voltage road that supplies California.
Hottest June in 127 years
Only at the beginning of the month did a heat wave hit the north-west of the USA and western Canada with temperatures of almost 50 degrees. The heat had contributed to numerous deaths.
In the Canadian community of Lytton, around 260 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, 49.6 degrees had been measured – previously the record in Canada was 45 degrees. A few days later, the village was almost completely destroyed in an inferno.
According to the US climate agency NOAA, last month was the hottest June in the country since records began 127 years ago, with an average temperature of 22.6 degrees Celsius. Eight states – including California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah, which were hit by the heat wave again this weekend – also experienced their hottest June. (une / SDA)