John Langelaar and Lindsay Lewis
1 hour ago
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — To experience some truly scorching temperatures, head to Death Valley, California, about three hours outside of Las Vegas, where several daily records have been set over the past week, but no major ones.
Death Valley’s highest recorded temperature is 134 degrees, recorded on July 10, 1913. This record has yet to be broken, but temperatures are still so high that some visitors call it “perfect.”
Adrian Preda brought his two sons to Death Valley from Anaheim, hoping to give them a taste of the stifling heat.
“Have you found the only person in Death Valley who thinks this is tolerable?” 8 News Now host John Langeler asked, to which Preda replied, “Not only is it tolerable, it’s amazing.”
To the young dropouts it felt more like punishment than adventure.
The thing about summer in Death Valley is that the warmer it gets, the more people want to see it, and on Monday, when the temperature was a comfortable 71 degrees, the Furnace Creek Visitor Center was packed all day.
Park ranger Janet Jurado told 8 News Now they’re used to the disturbances, and it comes amid a year of stormy weather in the park that has included destructive flooding, unexpected lakes and predictable heat.
“In Death Valley, we always keep our guard up,” Jurado said. “When the temperatures approach 130 degrees, we know that’s part of the harsh nature of Death Valley.”
But that’s why people come from as far away as Austria.
“The extremes of this place are part of what makes it so special,” Jurado said.
