drought-like conditions in Death Valley and prevent much cloud formation from passing through the confines of the valley, where precipitation is often in the form of a virga. The depth and shape of Death Valley strongly influence its climate. The valley is a long, narrow basin that descends below sea level and is walled by high, steep mountain ranges. The clear, dry air and sparse plant cover allow sunlight to heat the desert surface. Summer nights provide little relief: overnight lows may dip just into the range. Moving masses of super-heated air blow through the valley, creating extremely high ambient temperatures. The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was , on July 10, 1913, at Greenland Ranch (now Furnace Creek), which, as of 2022, is the highest atmospheric temperature ever recorded on the Earth's surface. (A report of a temperature of in Libya in 1922 was later determined to be inaccurate.) During the heat wave that peaked with that record, five consecutive days reached or higher. Some modern meteorologists now dispute the accuracy of the 1913 temperature measurement. On June 30, 2013, a verified temperature of was recorded and is tied with Mitribah, Kuwait, for the hottest reliably measured air temperature ever recorded on earth. A temperature of was recorded at the Furnace Creek weather station on August 16, 2020, but has not yet been officially verified. The valley again recorded that temperature on July 9, 2021. The valley's lowest temperature, recorded at Greenland Ranch on January 2, 1913, was . The highest surface temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was , on July 15, 1972, at Furnace Creek, which is the highest ground surface temperature ever recorded on earth, as well as the only recorded surface temperature of above . The greatest number of consecutive days with a maximum temperature of at least was 154, in the summer of 2001. The summer of 1996 had 40 days over , and 105 days over . The summer of 1917 had 52 days when the temperature reached or above, 43 of them consecutive. The highest overnight or low temperature recorded in Death Valley is , recorded on July 5, 1918. However this value is disputed; a record high low of on July 12, 2012, is considered reliable. This is one of the highest values ever recorded. Also on July 12, 2012, the mean 24-hour temperature recorded at Death Valley