weather historian

Flashback Friday: Death Valley Hits 134.4°F 1913

Posted on July 10, 2020

Death Valley Record Image — Photo Credit: Ken Lund
History & Headlines
Wikimedia

This was going to be a post on the highest recorded heat level, listed in the Guinness (Book) of World Records. Supposedly, one-hundred and seven years ago, today, Death Valley got up to 134.4℉. I read Wikipedia, I read Guinness and I read History & Headlines. If it made it into Guinness, someone must have thought it was legitimate. Well, after taking a dive into Weather Underground‘s investigation of this record (this is a very long read), posted by weather historian Christopher Burt on October 24, 2016, I’m not so sure this event ever happened.

I have contacted Guinness for a challenge. We shall see how this plays out. ~Vic

This entry was posted in History, Thoughts and tagged 1913, 2016, amazing weather, christopher burt, death valley, flashback, flashback friday, Flashback Fridays, greenland ranch, guinness book of world records, heat record, history and headlines, investigation, july 10, ken lund, october 24, oscar denton, recorded heat, weather historian, weather record, wikimedia, wikimedia commons.