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Rule Dark Skies

Dark Skies Forecast for Death Valley, US Southwest

Furnace Creek, California, United States

Death Valley offers salt polygons, alluvial fans, dunes and eroded badlands, with winter bringing milder conditions and occasional cloud texture.

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Denver
pristinedarkskies weather icon
Next opportunity
Pristine Dark Skies (pristine)
Death Valley
Mon, Jul 27 · 04:00–05:07 · 1h window
Medium confidence
44%
🌛Moon Altitude-2.4-6.9°
☁️Total Cloud Coverage0-0.9%
pristinedarkskies weather icon
Pristine Dark Skies (pristine)
Death Valley
Tue, Jul 28 · 05:00–05:08
🌛Moon Altitude:7.2°
Medium
pristinedarkskies weather icon
Pristine Dark Skies (pristine)
Death Valley
Wed, Jul 29 · 22:36–23:00
🌛Moon Altitude:7.7°
Medium
pristinedarkskies weather icon
Good Dark Skies
Death Valley
Thu, Jul 30 · 22:35–23:00
🌛Moon Altitude:2.9°
Medium
pristinedarkskies weather icon
Pristine Dark Skies (pristine)
Death Valley
Sat, Aug 1 · 22:33–24:00
🌛Moon Altitude:-6.8-5.1°
Low
pristinedarkskies weather icon
Pristine Dark Skies (pristine)
Death Valley
Sun, Aug 2 · 22:31–24:00
🌛Moon Altitude:-11.4-0.3°
Low

How this forecast is evaluated

See which weather signals PhotoWeather uses to identify Dark Skies conditions across US Southwest. The requirements and hourly values below show how those signals apply at Death Valley.

Explore Dark Skies conditions across US Southwest →

Recorded match history

Completed PhotoWeather forecast matches recorded for this exact rule at Death Valley during the last 365 days.

Last 30 days
0
recorded matching windows
Last 90 days
1
recorded matching window · 61% average confidence
Last 365 days
178
recorded matching windows · 73% average confidence
Most frequent recorded start hour

09:00 local time, shared by 25 of 178 matches recorded in the last 365 days.

Most represented month

January, with 67 of 178 matches recorded in the last 365 days.

These figures use completed PhotoWeather MatchEvent records from the previous 365 days only. They describe recorded forecast matches, not observations, climatological probability, or a guarantee of future conditions.

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92-hour requirements breakdown

When available, the detailed table below covers only the stated 92-hour horizon (typically 72–168 hours, depending on available hourly data). Opportunity records above span the next 14 days, so this table does not explain that entire 14-day period.

What passed or failed, hour by hour
3matching hours in the next 92 hoursJump to next match
OR logic: one branch per group is enough
Meets requirement
Misses requirement
Time
America/Denver
Astronomical Night
Any
Total Cloud Coverage
≤ 20.0%
Visibility
≥ 12000.0m
Precipitation Chance
≤ 10.0%
Moon Illumination
OR1·B1
≤ 35.0%
Moon Altitude
OR1·B2
≤ 10.0°
Fri, Jul 24
23:0022%24134m0%86%25°
Sat, Jul 25
24:0020%24134m0%86%22°
01:003.9%24134m0%86%17°
02:001.9%24134m0%86%8.9°
03:001%24134m0%86%-0.04°
04:000%24135m0%86%-10°
05:000%24135m0%86%-21°
06:000%24134m0%86%-32°
07:000%24134m0%86%-43°
08:000%24134m0%86%-55°
09:000%24134m0%86%-67°
10:000%24134m0%86%-77°
11:000%24135m0%86%-81°
12:000%24135m0%86%-73°
13:000%24134m0%86%-62°
14:000%24135m0%86%-50°
15:000%24134m0%86%-38°
16:000%24134m0%86%-27°
17:005%24134m0%86%-16°
18:0019%24135m0%92%-5.8°
19:005.1%24134m0%92%3.7°
20:0070%24135m0%92%12°
21:0099%24135m0%92%19°
22:0095%24135m0%92%23°
23:0095%24135m0%92%25°
Sun, Jul 26
24:0075%24134m0%92%25°
01:004.8%24134m0%92%21°
02:0026%24135m0%92%15°
03:004.9%24135m0%92%7.4°
04:004.2%24134m0%92%-1.7°
05:005%24134m0%92%-12°
06:0047%24134m0%92%-22°
07:006.1%24134m0%92%-34°
08:005%24135m0%92%-45°
09:005%24135m0%92%-57°
10:004.1%24135m0%92%-68°
11:000%24135m0%92%-78°
12:004.8%24134m0%92%-80°
13:005%24134m0%92%-71°
14:005%24134m0%92%-60°
15:005%24135m0%92%-48°
16:005%24134m0%92%-37°
17:005%24135m0%92%-25°
18:005%24134m0%96%-14°
19:005%24135m0%96%-4.1°
20:005%24135m0%96%5.4°
21:005.3%24135m0%96%14°
22:005.4%24134m0%96%20°
23:0056%24134m0%96%25°
Mon, Jul 27
24:0052%24134m0%96%26°
01:0023%24135m0%96%25°
02:005%24135m0%96%21°
03:004.3%24135m0%96%15°
04:000.9%24134m0%96%6.9°
05:000%24135m0%96%-2.4°
06:000%24134m0%96%-13°
07:000%24135m0%96%-23°
08:000%24135m0%96%-35°
09:003.4%24134m0%96%-46°
10:001.5%24135m0%96%-58°
11:000%24134m0%96%-69°
12:000%24135m0%96%-78°
13:001.9%24134m0%96%-78°
14:003.9%24134m0%96%-69°
15:004.9%24134m0%96%-57°
16:004.9%24135m0%96%-46°
17:004.1%24135m0%96%-34°
18:004.1%24135m0%99%-23°
19:000%24134m0%99%-12°
20:000%24134m0%99%-1.3°
21:000%24135m0%99%8.2°
22:000%24134m0%99%16°
23:000%24135m0%99%23°
Tue, Jul 28
24:000%24134m0%99%27°
01:000%24134m0%99%28°
02:000%24135m0%99%27°
03:000%24135m0%99%22°
04:000%24135m0%99%16°
05:000%24135m0%99%7.2°
06:000%24135m0%99%-2.5°
07:000%24135m0%99%-13°
08:000%24135m0%99%-24°
09:000%24135m0%99%-36°
10:000%24135m0%99%-47°
11:000%24135m0%99%-59°
12:000%24135m0%99%-69°
13:001.1%24135m0%99%-77°
14:002.1%24135m0%99%-74°
15:003.2%24135m0%99%-65°
16:002.1%24135m0%99%-54°
17:001.1%24135m0%99%-42°
18:000%24135m0%100%-31°
How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity). For OR groups, only one branch is required, so some OR-branch predicates can be ✕ even in a matching hour.

How this forecast is made

Opportunities are threshold-based signals: PhotoWeather checks whether forecast conditions match the rules for a photography scenario. They are planning guidance, not guarantees. Forecasts can change as new model runs arrive, and confidence generally decreases farther into the forecast horizon, so recheck conditions before travelling.

The weather forecast foundation comes through Open-Meteo , which aggregates models from weather agencies. PhotoWeather applies condition-specific thresholds and derived calculations; not every condition uses every model or data input.

Forecast generated

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