California’s Death Valley temperature to hit a scorching 53 Celsius this week

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Runners pass a heat danger warning sign during the AdventurCORPS Badwater 135 ultra-marathon race on July 15, 2013 in Death Valley National Park, California. Temperatures in the hottest place in the US are expected to hit a scorching 53 Celsius this week. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:50am, 20 Jun 2017Updated: 7:50am, 20 Jun 2017

In Death Valley in eastern California and in the town of Needles near the Arizona border, temperatures are expected to reach 127 degrees Fahrenheit (53 Celsius) this week, National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Fisher said on Monday.

The extreme heat, brought on by a high-pressure system camped over the Four Corners region, has already boosted temperatures above normal across much of the Southwest, with the worst forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The heat wave was expected to push temperatures even higher by mid-week, taxing power grids and prompting airlines to warn that flights could be disrupted.

Lorie Alexander of Canada, 54, competes in the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley National Park, California July 15, 2013. Extreme heat warnings have been raised for Death Valley this week. Photo: Reuters

Fisher said the sweltering weather could break records in some areas but was part of a cyclical pattern and not brought on by climate change or any other unusual phenomenon.

“It’s not unprecedented at all, things oscillate around,” he said. “We’ve had a fairly cool spring, had ‘May Gray’ and ‘June Gloom’, this our first real warmth of the season.”

Temperatures were expected to drop by five to 10 degrees F (about 2.5 C to 5 C) later in the week but in the meantime the National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings and advisories across the Southwest. Even in typically cooler San Francisco, residents baked in sultry 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 C).