There’s hot, and then there’s Death Valley hot.

While Southern California and much of the West cooked in July under a pair of heat waves that killed livestock, knocked out power and encouraged wildfires, nowhere was the heat more brutally enduring than in Death Valley.

According to the National Weather Service, Death Valley National Park broke its 100-year-old record for the hottest month ever in July, when the average temperature was 107.4 degrees, eclipsing the 1917 record of 107.2 degrees.

We broke a record this July--the hottest month ever for Death Valley! 🔥🌡️ https://t.co/vBDMd2q1j7 — Death Valley NP (@DeathValleyNPS) August 2, 2017


Though 107 degrees doesn’t sound that bad, keep in mind the average includes nighttime temperatures.

The average overnight temperature in Death Valley last month was 95 degrees.

The average daytime high was 119.6 degrees, said meteorologist Alex Boothe.

“It looks like there were a couple of days below 115,” he said — a consolation of some sort.


The hottest day of the month was July 7, when it reached 127 degrees. It also reached that temperature twice in June.

The world record for heat was reached in Death Valley on June 10, 1913, when it reached 134 degrees.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.


ALSO

Lightning has already struck 2,100 times in Southern California this week. More is coming

What’s behind Southern California’s summer rain and thunderstorms?

Congress takes aim at the Clean Air Act, putting the limits of California’s power to the test