Death Valley Inundated by Rain in Rare Weather Event

The atmospheric river that dumped rain across California last week soaked an unlikely area in the process: Death Valley National Park. The region is known as the driest place in North America, with an average of about two inches of rain every year falling in the desert. But in the past year, the park has received nearly triple that amount. 

During last week’s storms alone, Death Valley saw 1.5 inches of rain, causing damage to certain park areas and putting a stop to any repairs underway from previous flooding. The weather gauge at Furnace Creek recorded 4.9 inches of rain over the past six months alone; a majority of that amount came from Hurricane Hilary in August, which dropped 2.2 inches in a single day, and the recent atmospheric river. The hurricane itself caused crumbling roads and shut down the whole park, and the latest rain added more obstacles to recovery. 

To find evidence of the mess, look no further than Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. Normally a dry salt flat, a massive lake formed in the basin after Hurricane Hilary. It was about 7 miles long and 4 miles wide and two feet deep at its largest, though by late January it had shrunk to about half that size and was just a few inches deep. Still, it hasn’t disappeared completely. 

“Most of us thought the lake would be gone by October,” park ranger Abby Wines said in a statement. “We were shocked to see it still here after almost six months. This week’s rain will extend how long the lake is here. It’s too shallow to kayak in, but it makes amazing reflections of the mountains.”

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Back in 2022, the park similarly received what’s believed to be a “once-in-1,000-year” amount of rain that caused even more damage than what officials are dealing with now. A National Weather Service meteorologist explained the meaning of the supposed storm frequency to the National Park Service, saying “a 1,000-year event doesn’t mean it happens once per 1,000 years, rather that there is a 0.1-percent chance of occurring in any given year.”

If nothing else, the deluges have at least provided some beautiful scenery with a rare reflective lake at Badwater Basin.