Death Valley nears Earth’s highest-ever recorded temperature
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - Over 45 million people are under heat alerts into next week, including just about all of Washington, Oregon and California. Nearly 29 million of them are under Excessive Heat Warnings.
California's Death Valley - one of the hottest places on Earth - broke its own heat record for the day on Friday, with the mercury soaring to 127 F. It beat the old mark of 122 F last tied in 2013, the Associated Press reports.
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More extreme highs are in the near forecast, including 129 F for Sunday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, and then around 130 through Wednesday.
If the temperature hits above 130 degrees, it would set the record for the hottest temperature ever "reliably measured on earth," as reported by the Scientific American.
Palm Springs hit 124 degrees Friday, breaking the city’s all-time record high of 123 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 130 F have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley, the Associated Press reports.
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The worst was yet to come across much of the West, with triple-digit temperatures likely — between 15 and 30 degrees higher than average into next week, the National Weather Service said.
The heat combined with bone-dry air and gusty winds has made conditions ripe for rapidly spreading wildfires. Fire Weather Watches are widespread across California and the Pacific Northwest through the weekend.
The heat should slowly abate toward the middle and end of next week though temperatures are forecast to remain above normal through the rest of the extended forecast.
FOX Weather contributed to this report.