A motorcyclist traveling with a pack of fellow riders died from heat exposure Saturday in Death Valley as large swaths of the US continue to grapple with triple-digit temperatures or close to it.
The unidentified motorcyclist died from the punishing hot weather while the group of six were riding through Death Valley National Park, officials said. A second motorcyclist was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital for “severe heat illness” while the four others were treated at the scene.
The temperature at the vast park was 128 degrees on Saturday. Because of that scorcher, a helicopter was unable to fly to reach the motorcyclists and transport them to hospitals.
“While this is a very exciting time to experience potential world record setting temperatures in Death Valley, we encourage visitors to choose their activities carefully, avoiding prolonged periods of time outside of an air-conditioned vehicle or building when temperatures are this high,” park Superintendent Mike Reynolds said.
An excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service covered about 10% of the US population — or 36 million people — Sunday, said NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson.
Dozens of locations across the West and Pacific Northwest tied or broke previous heat records.
The city of Redding in California shattered a high-temperature record of 119 while Phoenix set a new daily record on Sunday for the warmest low temperature of 92 degrees.
In Salem, Oregon, the temperature on Sunday hit 103 degrees, breaking a record while unbearable humidity tormented millions on the East Coast even if it didn’t reach triple digits.
And in Las Vegas, a record 120 degrees baked Sin City. To show how hot it was, the National Weather Service in Vegas tweeted out a photo of melting crayons that were left out in the sun.
In Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year and another 160 deaths suspected of being connected to the hot weather.
That count also doesn’t include a 10-year-old boy who died last week after suffering a “heat-related medical event” while hiking with his family at South Mountain Park and Preserve, according to police.
And with summer just starting, the sweltering weather is not going away.
Furnace Creek, California, in Death Valley could reach as high as 130 degrees this week. The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in Death Valley in 1913, though some experts don’t believe that measurement was accurate and argue it was 130 degrees in 2021 there.
Uncommon heat advisories were even issued around Lake Tahoe despite its high elevation.
“How hot are we talking? Well, high temperatures across (western Nevada and northeastern California) won’t get below 100 degrees (37.8 C) until next weekend,” a weather service notice said. “And unfortunately, there won’t be much relief overnight either.”
Some weren’t fazed by the ongoing heat wave.
Death Valley visitor Chris Kinsel planned Sunday on going to the park’s visitor center to have his photo taken next to the digital sign that shows the current temperature.
“Death Valley during the summer has always been a bucket list thing for me. For most of my life, I’ve wanted to come out here in summertime,” Kinsel said.
Meanwhile, mother of eight Natasha Ivory took four of her children to a water park in Mount Charleston outside of Las Vegas where the temperature was 120 degrees.
“They’re having a ball,” Ivory told Fox5 Vegas. “I’m going to get wet too. It’s too hot not to.”
With Post wires
