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The climate of Death Valley (California - United States of America)
Death Valley is a valley located at an altitude of 85.5 meters (280.5 ft) below sea level in Death Valley Park in the eastern part of the state of California. Because the valley is surrounded by mountains it is very hot and dry here. Death Valley has a warm desert climate (type Bwh according to the Köppen climate classification) and is among the hottest places on earth. During the summer daytime temperatures rise up to 45-50 degrees Celsius (113-122 degrees Fahrenheit) in the shade. These temperatures are hardly bearable if you do not have an air conditioned car. If you want to take pictures or take footage of this area bear in mind that the lens of your camera will become steamy as soon as you take it out of your car. Depending on humidity figures and the time of day your camera may need 10-25 minutes to acclimatize. When it is really hot your camera may even refuse to work. A very unique phenomenon which occurs at Racetrack Playa in Death Valley are the moving rocks. These so called Sailing Stones weigh up to hundreds of kilograms and move over the plains. Each rock follows its own path. There still is no scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Several hypotheses exist but the origins of stone movement are not confirmed.
Death Valley only gets 40-50 millimeters (1.3-1.5 inches) of annual precipitation, most of which falls during the winter. During the hot summers precipitation is uncommon. How strange it may seem during the winter snow may fall in Death Valley. In the colder months December, January and to a lesser degree November and February snowfall is not uncommon. During the winter subzero temperatures during the night are not uncommon either.

 

Climate information
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate records. They are an average for Death Valley:

average
 maximum
temperature (°C)

average
minimum

temperature (°C)
average
hours of sunshine

per
day
average days with precipitation
per month
average
mm
precipitation
per month
average
sea
temperature (°C)
January 18 3 7 5 n/a
February 23 8 8 4 n/a
March 27 12 9 5 n/a
April 31 16 11 3 n/a
May 37 21 12 2 n/a
June 43 27 13 1 n/a
July 47 30 13 1 n/a
August 45 29 12 1 n/a
September 40 24 11 1 n/a
October 33 16 10 2 n/a
November 24 9 7 2 n/a
December 18 2 6 4 n/a
= 0-5 mm ● = 6-30 mm ● = 31-60 mm ● = 61-100 mm ● = 101-200 mm ● = over 200 mm
= 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches

More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather, extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we offer useful extra climate information for each month of the year:
 

chance of
(very) hot

weather

chance of
(very) cool
weather
chance of
long-term

precipitation
chance of
hurricanes
(cyclones)
chance of
sunny days

UV-index

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
click here for the explanation of the symbols

Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.

 

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