There’s lots of hullabaloo over the supposedly tied all time temperature record of 117°F in Las Vegas on June 29th, and the potential for a new all-time temperature record in Death Valley, which would negate the all time world record of 134F set on July 10th, 1913, since the previous world record in Libya of 136.4°F (58°C) was recently said to be unreliable. More on Death Valley in the next post, but for now let’s look at Las Vegas.
I don’t know where NBC news got 117°F where they say:
The high temperature officially hit 117 degrees at Las Vegas-McCarran International Airport — equaling the airport’s record
Even Drudge reported this.
Did NBC make this up? It wouldn’t be the first time they made up a news report to make it more spectacular. The official report from NWS Las Vegas for June 29th says 115°F:
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
212 AM PDT SUN JUN 30 2013
...................................
...THE LAS VEGAS NV CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JUNE 29 2013...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1937 TO 2013
WEATHER ITEM OBSERVED TIME RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
VALUE (LST) VALUE VALUE FROM YEAR
NORMAL
..................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
YESTERDAY
MAXIMUM 115R 452 PM 115 1994 103 12 105
MINIMUM 89 529 AM 60 1941 79 10 82
AVERAGE 102 90 12 94
The 117°F is not mentioned in the Record Event Report either: 115°F is.
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
150 AM PDT SAT JUN 29 2013
...SUMMARY OF RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES BROKEN ON 28 JUNE 2013...
IN LAS VEGAS THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE OFFICIAL CLIMATE STATION AT
MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REACHED 115 DEGREES. THIS TIED THE
DAILY RECORD FOR JUNE 28TH SET IN 1994. THIS MARKS THE FIRST TIME
LAS VEGAS HAS REACHED 115 AT MCCARRAN SINCE JULY 6, 2007 AND IN THE
MONTH OF JUNE SINCE JUNE 30, 1994.IN LAS VEGAS AT NORTH LAS VEGAS AIRPORT THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REACHED
113 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD DAILY RECORD OF 108 DEGREES SET ON
JUNE 28TH 2003. THIS MARKS THE FIRST TIME NORTH LAS VEGAS AIRPORT
HAS REACHED 113 SINCE JULY 7, 2007.
So, that 115°F is fairly unremarkable as temperatures go, having been reached twice before. According to the NWS Las Vegas, summary the all time high of 117°F has been reached twice before:
Highest Maximum Temperatures Recorded in Las Vegas – 117 degrees
July 19, 2005
July 24, 1942
Source: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/vef/climate/LasVegasClimateBook/Highest%20and%20Lowest%20Maximum%20Temperatures%20Ever%20Recorded.pdf
Interesting to note that NWS Las Vegas has followed the lead of the Surface Stations project, and on their main web page today, provided photos of each weather station…well almost, they don’t have photos of the Ellis AFB weather station, just the tarmac. 5 out of six isn’t bad though, I’ll give them props for effort.
Their caption reads:
Although there are 6 official weather stations in the Las Vegas Valley, our long-term climate station is at McCarran Airport. Most weather stations are located at airports since the aviation community relies heavily on weather data for flights.
UPDATE: The new record report (preliminary, pending certification) for June 30th, today does show that the temperature reached 117F:
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
450 PM PDT SUN JUN 30 2013
...LAS VEGAS TIES THE JACKPOT OF ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES...
...ALL-TIME JUNE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT LAS VEGAS...
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE SO FAR TODAY AT MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
IN LAS VEGAS HAS REACHED 117 DEGREES. THIS TIES THE ALL-TIME RECORD
HIGH FOR LAS VEGAS FOR ANY MONTH FIRST SET ON JULY 24, 1942 AND TIED
ON JULY 19, 2005.
THIS ALSO SETS THE ALL-TIME JUNE RECORD HIGH FOR LAS VEGAS. THE
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 116 DEGREES ON JUNE 15, 1940.
THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND IS SUBJECT TO A FINAL
REVIEW AND CERTIFICATION BY THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER.
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@Steven Mosher:
That the temperature has set a daily record is enough to show that it is unusually hot. However daily temperature records are set in both the hot and cold directions on a fairely regular basis.
To claim the record daily high as evidence of #weatherweirding or whatever the lastest bizarre hashtag is, would require some actual statistical analysis.
Steve Mosher:
Can you provide any examples whatsoever that can vaguely support your bizarre anti-skeptic strawman? —that skeptics don’t think any weather is remarkable. You insulted a million weather-bugs. Steve, some of us just aren’t the sensationalist type.
Certainly this heat wave is not exciting. Maybe a few more degrees would be something to rave about, aye? Actually, I find all kinds of weather remarkable, I like to talk about weather, but exaggerating about it for money and propaganda is now a disgusting political habit. It’s political machination, pure and simple. And your statement exposes your political bent.
You’ve let the cat out of the bag, now we know you are anti-skeptic, and that you see yourself as separate from us. Thanks for clearing that up.
Despite 20-30 years of “alarmist propaganda,people continue to vote with their feet and move to major cities in SW desert areas.
Remember, one hot day in one place. And there is a scramble for points! Didn’t someone mention weather and climate are somewhat different! Even one hot summer does not equate to climate.
@DesertYote 2:52 pm re: Rasey 1:56 pm
To be fair, one has to realize that the local temps can vary a great deal in an area like south eastern Nevada.
Yes, of course. I just thought it worthwhile to bring up the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) into the discussion and see if any of them are showing record temps in their short existence.
I’m sitting here in Inyokern CA, two valleys from Death. It’s kind of oppressively hot outside at 111F. The old swamp cooler is maintaining 82F at 70% RH. Looking at Mesowest I see a couple local results at 114 and 117, but these two sites are always a little high. This heatwave isn’t remarkable for us but I would say it’s more usual to have our first real one in early to mid July. For most of June we were enjoying relatively cool temps in the mid to high 90’s – here’s to July!
Correction to Rasey 1:56 pm..
I meant “USCRN”, not “USHCN”.
I live in Las Vegas. Intellisense and the Weather Channel reported a high of 114 deg. F yesterday. I have a fairly high end thermometer. It recorded 112.2 deg. ~3:45 PM yesterday. It is typically 2 deg. F below McCarran.
A number of other sources I checked, including Weather Source (who claim to have the most accurate historical database), show our record high to be 118 deg. F, set on July 26, 1931. I’m not sure why they all disagree with NWS.
Anyway, here’s what I collected and put together relevant to the above:
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/2544/ymfr.jpg
It did, for the first time in 23 years, officially reach 119°F yesterday in Phoenix. It hits 115° or 116° a few times every year. 119° doesn’t feel any different.
Interesting story: Back on June 25, 1990, takeoffs at the Phoenix airport were stopped for an hour or two when the temperature reached 122°. Apparently precalculated tables of take-off parameters for the aircraft didn’t go beyond 120°. OK, maybe not so interesting.
I’ve lived in the Phoenix metro area my entire life. The summer days are no hotter than they were 50 years ago. The summer nights are an entirely different story.
Yesterday the high here in Sarasota Florida was 90. This was so remarkable that the weatherwoman had to repeat it, as in “90………….90!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ” The thing is that the average high is 89. I don’t know, but when the average high is 89 a high of 90 doesn’t really need the extra emphasis. The record high was 96.
Sarasota is place where the temperature doesn’t vary that much from year to year, but even so, making a point of a one degree variation from the normal seems a bit much. On the same station I have seen a weatherman remark on how much warmer than normal it is, when it was only two degrees about the normal high, that is bit of overkill in my book.
@ur momisugly Steve Mosher: If someone of sound mind compared me to Seth Boringstern I would seriously consider psychiatric help.
Ah, post-normal temperatures. So that’s what’s “driving” global warming.
Finally we have an answer.
Well most of it has happened before, stating that fact doesn’t make us wrong.
McCarran wasn’t there in 1940.
Guess we need tarmac around in order to reach these highs nowadays, unlike back almost 75 years ago?Twitter that! LOL!
Here are Oregon’s all time records…:
http://coolweather.net/statetemperature/oregon_temperature.htm
note no records set to speak of in the 1980’s,90’s,2000’s…
“you haven’t figured it out yet. No temperature no matter how high will ever be regarded as “remarkable”. There is an unstated skeptical position that nothing remarkable can ever happen. It’s all happened before. Even if it reached 130F in Las Vegas, that record would still be attacked, because nothing remarkable can ever happen. It’s all happened before is a null hypothesis that will never be rejected, ever.”
Mosher, you have not yet figured it out:
people are yanking your chain with the “unprecedented” claims.
Once, in 1991, my total at a store came up to $19.91. Remarkable Then, in 1992, I had a purchase that was $1992.00!!!!!
Here is science, Steve:
Specify a priori what the indicators of your theory are, then wait for the data to come in. Then see if your theory is sustained.
So, Steve: please give us the official prediction of what global weirding will do.
To take remarkable, unusual occurrences, unpredicted, as support of a theory is called – google this — Moving The Goalposts.
No one ever claimed that LV would tip the record book in one year out of several by a half degree – what they have said is we ALL will have CLEARLY HIGHER temps, the Arctic would be gone, polar bears would be gone, there would be millions of climate refugees, and on and on.
A record high in one town does not support ALL OF THAT.
We scientifically minded people are mindful of this because we paid attention in middle school science class.
Hank, assuming you’re in the “suburbs”, what kind of correlation do you think exists between McCarran and the strip? ( see my post above at 1:35 pm ). Anyway, I’m just wondering how it would be possible for McCarran to create any UHI above and beyond the 100% concrete and asphalt jungle up on the Northern strip. It might be interesting to also compare to the lower strip with huge man-made lakes and golf courses.
I’ve stayed over in Spring Valley, maybe 3 or 4 miles away and at night you might be wearing a coat but over on the strip you will definitely be carrying it. I wonder if anyone has day and night infrared-only photos of Las Vegas from the air, that would be pretty neat. I was gonna say Predator style heat images ( like the alien in the movies ) until I realized there are probably Predator drones up there right now doing exactly that!
Ah, here’s a video of someone filming in IR from a car, but he’s a bit farther South and West, probably about 5 or 6 miles from the strip. It’s a shame he doesn’t drive over to the Casinos.
No question the original figure of 115 F. was replaced with the false figure of 117 F. Typical alarmist lying.
In any case the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia (550 feet below sea level) has had uoinfficial temperatures of up to 145 F. Since the Danakil is deeper and narrower than Death Valley, is similarly surrounded by high mountains, and closer to the equator (14 N vs 36 N for Death Valley), it stands to reason that it will get even hotter.
@auto –
Phoenix IS the 5th largest city on the US in terms of city boundaries, having recently passed Philadelphia. Phoenix has just crossed the 1,600,000 mark while Philadelphia stands at 1,547,000. Only NY, LA, Chicago and Houston are larger municipalities, as compared to metro areas.
Blade:
Spring Valley is a bit higher in elevation than the Strip. The Airport, well where the weather station is located is about 5 miles south of Sahara ave. It depends on whether the temperature reading was from the clock on top of the Sahara or at Las Vegas Blvd south and St Louis ave. there were clocks at both locations and they did not agree most days. There are problems with the weather station at Mc Carren airport and it has only been at McCarren since 1948. Before that it was at Nellis Air Force Base, which was the airport for Las Vegas until the County bought the private air strip at the site on Las Vegas Blvd south where the executive terminal is now.
In Spring Valley you might well have been near the Flamingo Wash or even the Tropicana Wash. Any where there is an underground stream running through that valley it is many degrees cooler. Just north of the city on 95 the temperature used to drop dramatically between Cheyenne and Craig Road. I used to ride a bike and a motorcycle around the valley and lived there from the mid fifties until 2006. I watched the city grow and visited most every part of the county throughout those years.
If they say a record was set in the las Vegas Valley X year, if is only a paper record and any comparison over the years is like comparing the taste of different fruits in a fruit salad. At one time or another I visited all the weather stations in the valley, or was within eye site of them. They are not where they were.
McCarran International Airport is approximately 4.5 miles due South of the North strip. The Stevenson Screen located at McCarran, which is our “official” thermometer (as I understand it) is situated near the Southwest end of the main runway.
I’m located approximately 8 miles to the West of the airport and 445′ higher in elevation (the KLAS [airport] thermometer is at 2,180′, I’m at 2,625′). You’re right, my setting is in the suburbs. And you’re also right – the UHI effect downtown is quite noticeable on the strip!
Here’s a satellite view of where the KLAS Stevenson Screen is located at McCarran Airport:
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/6518/gsc.png
Howdy miked1947! Ya’ beat me to the post 😀
I was in Las Vegas recently and heard a speech by the director of its water board. Rainfall in that area has dropped in half in recent years. I learned in agricultural college that most years in arid areas are drought years. The average is brought up by a few rainy years. So neither this record, nor the current drought proves much of anything.
Then again, these may not be random, either. I have recently learned that the climate IS changing in many places to produce desertification, it IS due to man, and it has the potential to be catastrophic indeed. Catch is that carbon dioxide is not the source of the problem, and will in fact, reduce it. The source of the problem is agriculture–monocropping and sprinkler irrigation, and chemical practices that damage soil organisms, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers and others. Soil culture is being promoted among organic farming fans because it sequesters carbon dioxide.
Taking that in reverse, maybe the destruction of much of the world’s soil organisms is causing the rise in carbon dioxide. This would be a beneficial thing in itself as the higher CO2 levels enable plants to cope better with the droughts. At any rate, our industries and cars are blameless–except the chemical and agricultural industries. This group knows the planet’s overall temperature is not changing significantly. But the climate in desert areas IS changing.
Desertification can be reversed–Google permaculture for some wonderful websites and videos.
You can learn more about how it is being caused from a favorite book of this group: Iain Murray’s The [i]Really[/i] Inconvenient Truths: Seven Environmental Catastrophes Liberals Don’t Want You To Know About–Because They Helped Cause Them. Chapter Seven describes the Death of the Aral Sea. Similar processes are at work in the USA.
I grew up in Asmara Eritrea (part of Ethiopia at the time). I’ve been to the Northern part of the Danakil Depression to visit the the geothermal pools a number of times. It is definitely hot as Hades there.