# Summer Solstice at Badwater, Death Valley... Hot Stuff! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 20, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411 "2017-06-20T01:52:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/21 "2017-06-20T23:46:19Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > WE GOT IT! 130! 3:38 PDT > > [https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/badwater-ca/92384/weather-forecast/2154856](https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/badwater-ca/92384/weather-forecast/2154856) Just out of curiosity, where is the temperature measured? The NASA met station right by the bathrooms? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/22 "2017-06-21T01:38:30Z")
You’d have to ask Accuweather. I know there has been some controversy of the moving of the official thermometer closer to the asphalt parking area. The other issue is that the official Death Valley record was reached at Furnace Creek about 20 miles from Badwater. > **[NASA Puts Thermometer Station In Super Hot Spot In Death Valley That Gives...](https://emsnews.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/nasa-puts-thermometer-station-in-super-hot-spot-in-death-valley-that-gives-dishonest-readings/)** > > Comparing temperatures of the past and present is hazardous due to moving gages around and the growth of cities which are hotter than countryside.  Generally speaking, moving a temperature gage tha… [https://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/30/it-seems-noaa-has-de-modernized-the-official-death-valley-station-to-use-older-equipment-to-make-a-record-more-likely/](https://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/06/30/it-seems-noaa-has-de-modernized-the-official-death-valley-station-to-use-older-equipment-to-make-a-record-more-likely/) ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/23 "2017-06-21T02:03:35Z")
my hottest was between 105 and 109, don’t remember exactly, dry heat in the Nebraska panhandle. then I went inside to my nice AC. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/24 "2017-06-21T02:20:36Z")
Meanwhile, over at [The World’s Tallest Thermometer](http://www.worldstallestthermometer.com/) in Baker, they haven’t posted today’s temp yet. (It was 120 yesterday) ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/25 "2017-06-21T05:08:03Z")
In one apartment I lived in, it was 107 degrees indoors…at 2 in the morning. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/26 "2017-06-21T05:55:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I"m glad we picked this past February to visit Badwater and other Death Valley sites/sights. I did a Badwater trip in February, early 90’s on motorcycle. Nearly froze to death on the way home! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/27 "2017-06-21T14:17:07Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I did a Badwater trip in February, early 90’s on motorcycle. Nearly froze to death on the way home! :eek: Desert means dry. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/28 "2017-06-21T14:29:54Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > What’s the highest temperature you have experienced? The smart-ass answer to that is around 120 C … in a sauna. Not sure if I’ve ever been in 100 F weather outside though - I don’t usually travel to hot places in the summer and Finland’s temperature record is roughly 99 F. I’ll probably just have to wait a few years for the climate change to ramp it up to get my “100 F outside” experience. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/29 "2017-06-21T14:44:26Z")
I had to laugh at an email I got today from Holiday Houses (a vacation rental place in Australia). The subject line was “Looking for someplace warmer?” Yeah, I know it’s the beginning of winter down under, but it’s supposed to be around 104 today where I am. So, no, I’m definitely NOT looking for someplace warmer.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![quimper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7c8e57/32.png) [@quimper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quimper)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/30 "2017-06-21T15:00:51Z")
I’ve experienced 121F in the parking lot at the Hoover Dam (yeah, obviously asphalt influenced but so what.) Besides the heat, there’s a distinctly unsettling dry shrinking sensation on the corneas at around that temp somewhat akin to nostril hairs freezing in -20F weather. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/31 "2017-06-21T15:08:17Z")
So I’ve experienced a natural temperature range (no sauna, no freezers) of 168 degree F difference, from my record low of outdoors in -44 F (NO, it was NOT with wind chill) to my record high of outdoors in 124 F. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/32 "2017-06-22T12:09:01Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > What’s the highest temperature you have experienced? > > I was in Palm Springs, CA years ago when it hit 122. I was in the Palm Springs area during a July 2000 heatwave when the temperature hit about 120+ for a few days. Easily the hottest actual air temps I’ve ever experienced. But having lived in the Gulf Coast, I can say that there have been many days which were more uncomfortable than the ones I experienced in Palm Springs. The one thing that surprised me about ‘the dry heat’ is how I felt like I always needed water. I don’t know if I’ve ever drunk so much water in my entire life. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/33 "2017-06-22T14:43:06Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Every year around the Summer Solstice, Badwater (elevation - 278.9′) in Death Valley, California often reaches temperatures around 130 degrees. > > This year is no different. Tomorrow, Tuesday June 20, the forecast is for the temperature to reach 129 degrees around 5 pm. Tonight’s low is supposed to be 100 degrees so the temperature only has to rise 30 degrees during the day to hit the magic 130 number. > > The area around Badwater promises to be absolutely crawling with weather geeks from around the world hoping to be able to claim. “I was there”. > > What’s the highest temperature you have experienced? > > I was in Palm Springs, CA years ago when it hit 122. My record is only 112 in Phoenix a few years back. That didn’t feel as bad as temps in the low 90s visiting New Orleans in the summer twenty years ago. I just suffer in humidity. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/34 "2017-06-22T14:49:51Z")
Hottest: 115 F, Las Vegas, July 2010 Coldest: -30 F, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska 2012 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/35 "2017-06-22T14:58:23Z")
Oh, as for coldest, Jan. 20, 1985, when it hit -27F in Chicago on Super Bowl Sunday (with windchills down to -70F. I remember waiting for the bus with my mom that afternoon and evening to go visit her friends and watch the Dolphin-Niners Super Bowl. It seemed to take forever for the bus to come and we almost marched straight back home. It was insanely cold.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/36 "2017-06-22T18:46:53Z")
Word to the wise: when visiting the dunes in Death Valley in the summertime, make sure you don’t lose your sandals: [Woman suffers third-degree burns after walking barefoot in Death Valley](http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Death-Valley-heat-woman-burns-feet-desert-high-11234063.php) ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/37 "2017-06-22T18:56:52Z")
Probably about 101-103F, but I’m heading to Death Valley next weekend, so I’ll probably have an update. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/38 "2017-06-22T20:34:22Z")
Could be worse, could be 111.6F. How is that worse? That was the overnight _low_ in [Oman](https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/world-record-low-humidity-116f-036-humidity-iran) the other day. Personal low? As an adult -29F. As a kid it’s not clear. I know that temps got into the -35F range in the area we lived when I was a kid. But not sure what it would have been exactly in our town. So 140F range for sure. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/39 "2017-06-22T20:43:39Z")
Max? 110 ish F with high humidity. Min -30F – probably lower Brian ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411/40 "2017-06-22T20:49:24Z")
A paltry 105F in Georgia in 1980. I can’t find the exact humidity for that time period, but the average morning humidity in June is 89%. I remember that day well, actually. I was working in the stockroom of a big box retailer at the time and we spend most of the day in and out of semi-trailers unloading freight. We put a thermometer in on while we worked. It topped out at 155 degrees. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-solstice-at-badwater-death-valley-hot-stuff/789411.md?page=3)