Did Death Valley temps really reach 130 as viral pictures claim?

An intense heat wave melted away long-standing records across the western United States this past week, making it unbearably hot in cities from California through Nevada.

Death Valley was sizzling with temperatures coming dangerously close to the highest ever recorded on Earth.

An unprecedented heat wave shattered records right out of the gate in Las Vegas as the temperature soared into uncharted territory.

Since record-keeping began in 1937, the highest the mercury has ever risen in the city was 117, reached five times over the course of 86 years. On Sunday, the temperature touched the 120-degree mark, followed by highs above 117 degrees on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The extreme heat presented the rare opportunity to conduct a weather experiment, as the temperatures were high enough to melt crayons left outside in the sun.

Multiple cities across California also set new all-time record highs amid the heat wave, including Palmdale, Redding and Palm Springs, California.

Tourists flocked to Death Valley at the height of the heat wave to experience conditions rarely felt on the planet. Death Valley holds the world record for the highest temperature ever recorded at 134 degrees, and on July 7, the thermometer outside of the park's visitor center ticked above 130 degrees. But was it really that hot?

Pictures on social media showed people posing next to a thermometer displaying temperatures as high as 132 degrees. However, it wasn't actually that hot on Sunday. The nearby building and parking lot influence the thermometer, causing it to display temperatures a few degrees higher than the official readings.

Officially, the high temperature on July 7 was 129 degrees, followed by a week with afternoon highs in the upper 120s. However, to the tourists who journeyed to the park, whether the temperature was 129 or 132 made little difference, and they were looking for a spot to cool off after just a few minutes in the sun.

The core of the heat is forecast to shift eastward through the weekend, which will cause the temperature in Denver to spike.

The city's all-time record high of 105 degrees could be challenged each day through Sunday. Since recordkeeping began in 1872, this benchmark has been reached on only five occasions, most recently on June 28, 2018.

Click here for the full breakdown of the impending heat in the central U.S.