Hundreds stranded in Death Valley after Hilary’s flash floods

Around 400 people were stranded in the hottest place on Earth in the aftermath of intense rainfall and flash flooding caused by Tropical Storm Hilary.

California’s Death Valley received a year’s worth of rain on Sunday, according to a release from the National Parks Service (NPS), flooding the roads and trapping hundreds. The 400 people trapped in the national park are a combination of residents, travelers and employees, who are sheltering at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Panamint Springs until the roads become passable.

Hilary is the first tropical storm to make landfall in California in over 84 years and has led to record-breaking rainfall across Southern California. Furnace Creek in Death Valley saw 2.2 inches of rain on Sunday alone. Usually, this location receives less than two inches every year.

“Once verified, this would be the single rainiest day in Furnace Creek history beating the record of 1.7 inches set August 5, 2022,” the NPS stated in its release.

The unprecedented rainfall led to flash flooding in the park. Despite being warned to stay indoors, people still attempted to visit the park, which resulted in flat tires from driving through the floodwaters.

Power was also lost across the park due to the storm, but was restored by 1:30 p.m. local time on Monday.

Intense rainfall and flooding were seen elsewhere across the state, with Palm Springs receiving the most rainfall over the course of an hour in the desert town’s history.

Death Valley is the hottest place on the planet, with summer temperatures often tipping the scale at 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. The world-record highest air temperature ever was recorded at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913, at a whopping 134 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tropical Storm Hilary has had a major impact on the temperature of this park, however, with temperatures of 99 degrees Fahrenheit measured on Saturday, 82 degrees on Sunday, and 78 degrees on Monday. This is the lowest daytime temperature that the park has seen during the month of August since 1982.

“It is highly uncommon,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines previously told Newsweek. “Normally, this time of year nighttime lows are in the upper 80s and daytime highs are like 116.”

The people trapped in the park will have to stay put until roads are opened, but there is unclear how long that will take.

“The National Park Service (NPS) and California Highway Patrol are searching today for any stranded people in more remote areas of the park, and NPS teams are assessing on the ground impacts throughout the park,” the NPS release said. “Caltrans and NPS are working to clear an exit route on CA-190 from Stovepipe Wells to Death Valley Junction so visitors and employees can safely exit the park.”

“It is not known when the first sections of the park will reopen.”

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