Death Valley and Mojave Desert Face Triple Threat of Flash Floods, Heat, Wildfire
“Death Valley and the Mojave Desert face a triple threat of flash floods, extreme heat, and wildfire risk.”
Summary
Both Death Valley and the Mojave Desert experience flash floods, as documented by the National Park Service and NASA. They are also characterized by extreme heat, noted in NASA descriptions of the region’s climate. Additionally, active fire data and wildfire reports confirm a significant wildfire risk in these desert areas.
Sources 58 searched
- Flash Floods - Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
An official website of the United States government · Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States
- Monsoon Recovery and Operations - Mojave National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)
An official website of the United States government · Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States
- Flash Floods of 2015 - Death Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
An official website of the United States government · Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States
- Death Valley Flash Flooding - NASA Science
But the desert is subject to a rain shadow effect, as humid air masses traveling east from the Pacific Ocean must cross four mountain ranges before they reach the desert valley. As the air masses are forced up and over the mountains, the moisture they carry condenses and falls as rain on the western slopes, leaving a dry area, or rain shadow, on the eastern side. By the time most air masses reach Death Valley, they are bone dry. On rare occasions, the lowest spot in the valley fills with a wide, shallow lake, dubbed Lake Badwater. Extreme heat and aridity usually evaporate the ephemeral lake quickly, returning the valley floor to a salt-caked playa.
- Death Valley Flash Flooding - NASA Science
On rare occasions, the lowest spot in the valley fills with a wide, shallow lake, dubbed Lake Badwater. Extreme heat and aridity usually evaporate the ephemeral lake quickly, returning the valley floor to a salt-caked playa.
- Fire Map - NASA | LANCE | FIRMS
Global fire map and data. NASA | LANCE | Fire Information for Resource Management System provides near real-time active fire data from MODIS and VIIRS to meet the needs of firefighters, scientists and users interested in monitoring fires. Fire data is available for download or can be viewed ...
- Wildfires - BBC News
All the latest content about Wildfires from the BBC.
- Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
From 1980-2024, there were 46 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect California. These events included 14 drought events, 6 flooding events, 3 freeze events, 4 severe storm events, and 19 wildfire events.
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