California's
Death Valley has smashed its own record for the hottest month ever recorded anywhere.
Preliminary results suggest the month's average temperature was 108.1F (42.28C).
This edges out the previous record, set in the valley at the same time last year, when the average was 107.4F (41.89C).
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"It eclipsed the record by quite a bit," said Todd Lericos, a meteorologist who leads the Las Vegas National Weather Service, noting the new average will need to be reviewed before entering official record books.
The temperatures are measured at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, a desert in south eastern California that includes Badwater Basin – the lowest point in North America.
The location also holds the world record for highest temperature ever recorded – 134F (56.67C) – set on July 10, 1913.
The valley got its morbid name from a group of pioneers who got lost there in 1849-1850 and thought it would be the end, according to the National Park Service. Only one died, however, before they found their way out.