Several inches of snow are expected to fall in one of the hottest places on Earth in the coming weeks – the first measurable amount of snowfall in more than a century.
Located in Inyo County, California, near the Nevada border, Death Valley has earned a reputation as the driest national park in the US.
With daily summer temperatures regularly exceeding 100 degrees, the valley has been nicknamed “a land of extremes” by the National Park Service.
The mountains surrounding the park are occasionally covered in powder, but snow on the valley floor is extremely rare.
The last time a measurable amount fell was in January 1922, when half an inch was measured at a weather station in Greenland Ranch, according to the National Weather Service.
Only traces have been recorded since then, most recently in 1974. But according to a forecast from the weather modeling service WXCharts, the park could see as much as four inches of snow on January 17 and 18.
Death Valley — considered the hottest and driest place on Earth — could see several inches of snow later this month, according to a forecast from weather modeling service WXCharts. Snow often covers the mountains in the park, but rarely the valley
Only trace amounts of snow have been recorded on the valley floor in recent years, most recently at Zabriskie Point on January 4 and 5, 1974.
On January 17 and 18, the park could see up to four inches of snow, covering the valley for the first time in more than a century. Pictured: the snow-capped Panamint Mountains
If the weather forecasts come true, this will not be the first weather anomaly in recent years. Last summer, Tropical Storm Hilary flooded the valley with rain on a single day in August, causing road damage and closing the entire park.
The NWS measured just over 2 inches of rain near Furnace Creek, breaking the previous record for Death Valley's rainiest day, set in August 2022.
In contrast, according to the NPS, the park's annual average precipitation is 6.5 inches.
As the prospect of snowfall looms, the NWS is warning of forecasts beyond a week, as long as the agency and its colleagues do not issue forecasts longer than seven days.
“This is because the forecast model output becomes more sensitive to large changes from one model to the next, and the forecast model output becomes less consistent as time goes on,” meteorologist Michael Musher told Dailymail.com.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says a seven-day forecast is accurate about 80 percent of the time. That figure jumps to 90 percent for a five-day forecast.
However, because a forecast lasts ten days or more, it is only correct about half the time.
And temperatures in Death Valley Park continue to rise. Readings at Furnace Creek have recorded or exceeded 130 degrees only three times since 1911, but two of those times were in 2020.
A daily weather map from January 29, 1922 shows the storm system that brought the last recorded amount of measurable snow (half an inch) to Death Valley
In March 2023, the Daylight Pass, a high-altitude mountain road, was dusted with powder
The National Weather Service has warned against using forecast models that go more than seven days ahead because results become less consistent later in time
Temperatures in the park have continued to rise, breaking records. The year 2021 broke the record for most days above 125 degrees, at 11 days
“As the climate changes and global temperatures warm, Death Valley will become hotter,” Giovanna Ponce, a public information officer at the park, told the LA Times.
Seven of the hottest summers on record in Death Valley have occurred in the past decade, and the scorching heat is becoming increasingly common as well.
According to NWS data, 2020 was a record year for most days above 100 degrees, with a whopping 169 days. The following year broke the record for most days above 125 degrees, at 11.
As global temperatures continue to rise, precipitation patterns in the park may change. The plants and animals that call Death Valley home could be forced to find new habitats or become extinct.
A 2019 study from the University of California, Berkeley found that about a third of Death Valley's bird species have declined over the past century due to heat stress linked to global warming.
“No one knows what the future will hold for Death Valley's climate,” the NPS website says.
To combat the effects of climate change, the NPS is working to find greener solutions for the park, as outlined in a 20-page “Climate Action Plan.”
These include energy saving solutions at buildings in the parks and guidelines for reducing transport emissions.