California Superblooms: When and Where to See Them

Death Valley might be one of the harshest, hottest and most unlivable places on Earth. But right now, if you take a drive down the Death Valley Scenic Byway, you’ll see it’s bursting with life.

Beautiful wildflowers in full bloom: Vibrant yellow, orange and purple flowers line the valley floor. They have transformed one of the driest landscapes in North America into a sea of color.

It’s a rare treat. Superblooms like this one typically happen only once every decade, when rainfall, temperatures and timing align just right.

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Why Is Death Valley In Full Bloom?

For these flowers to bloom, this incredibly brutal environment needs to be forgiving when it comes to rain and wind.

Rainfall needs to be consistent throughout the fall, winter and spring. This allows the seeds to sprout.

From September through November, Death Valley received a record 2.41 inches of rain, making it their wettest fall on record. It was also their wettest November on record with 1.7 inches of rain.

The ample rain came from the onslaught of atmospheric rivers that have slammed the West during the fall and winter seasons.

Winds across the desert can be quite harsh, often gusting 40 to 50 mph as they funnel between the mountains and across the valley floor.

Many times, these windstorms come without any rainfall. The dry, gusty winds dehydrate the plants and rob them of the much-needed moisture they need to survive. This often ends up killing the plants before they have a chance to bloom.

This year, the winds were accompanied by rain often enough to give the blooms a fighting chance.

Once-In-A-Decade Blooms

While Death Valley typically sees annual blooms to some degree, superblooms like the one we are seeing this year are a rare treat.

This typically only occurs once in a decade, with the previous superblooms occurring in 2016, 2005, and 1998, according to the National Park Service.

During years when conditions aren’t ideal and blooms are few and far between, the seeds lie dormant on the valley floor, waiting for the ideal time to sprout — even if it takes 10 years or more.

The NPS urges everyone to only take pictures, not flowers. They need to remain in order to spread seeds for future blooms.

Where To See The Blooms

Death Valley isn’t the only park where you will be able to enjoy the blooms. With much of California being inundated with rainfall during much of the fall and winter months, many of the desert parks will be blooming with life.

California State Parks has issued a timeline and list of where to enjoy the blooms this year.

If you have some time and want to try and make it out to Death Valley to see the beautiful blooms, the NPS has a rough timeline for when and where to see them.

Through mid-April: Lower elevations and foothills

Through early May: 3,000 to 5,000 feet elevation, upper desert slopes, canyons, higher valleys

Through mid-July: 5,000 to 11,000 feet elevation on mountain slopes

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.