acquired June 30, 2013
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acquired June 30, 2013
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The heat wave that gripped the
western United States this week may have set an all-time record in Death
Valley National Park, California. The air temperature
rose to 129.2 °Fahrenheit (54 °Celsius) at the Furnace Creek Visitor's
Center on June 30, 2013, possibly breaking the all-time record high June
temperature for the United States (set in Volcano, California, on June
23, 1902). A sharp bend in the jet stream trapped a strong ridge of high pressure over the western U.S., leading to an extreme heat wave and record temperatures.
The top image above shows the heat emanating from Death Valley on
June 30, 2013. The measurement is surface temperature—how hot the land
feels to the touch—as measured by the Thermal Infrared Sensor on the
Landsat 8 satellite. The accompanying natural color view from the
Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8 shows that the cooler areas are
either higher in elevation or covered with plants. In fact, plants
cooled Furnace Creek, the site of the record-high air temperature
observation. Mesquite Flat and other nearby valleys radiated more heat.
The image also illustrates why Death Valley is one of the hottest places on Earth.
The valley is low in elevation and sits between two high mountain
ranges. As the image shows, few plants grow in the valley, so the rocks
and soil absorb the summer heat. That heat radiates back to the
atmosphere at night, but doesn't get past the steep mountains. Instead,
the air cools only slightly before sinking back to the valley. As it
sinks, the change in pressure heats the air even more, generating hot
winds. This means that the late-June heat wave had an even greater
impact on Death Valley than surrounding regions.
References
- NASA Earth Observatory (2012, April 5) Where is the Hottest Place on Earth?
- National Park Service (2013, June 12) Death Valley National Park: Weather and Climate. Accessed July 3, 2013.
- Weather Underground (2013, July 2) Extreme Jet Stream Bringing U.S. Record Heat, Record Cold, and Flash Flooding. Dr. Jeff Master’s WunderBlog. Accessed July 3, 2013.
- Weather Underground (2013, July 2) Historic Heat Wave Responsible for Death Valley’s 129 F Gradually Weakening. Dr. Jeff Master’s WunderBlog. Accessed July 3, 2013.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using Landsat 8 data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
- Instrument:
- Landsat 8 - OLI
NASA: USA - California - Death Valley Claims A Heat Title Again - 16.07.13
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