Symptom: Dry, itchy skin. Photo by Fuse/Getty Images. What it might mean: It's probably winter itch, skin dryness that's a result of cold, dry air. Using a humidifier, avoiding super hot showers, and routinely slathering on a thick moisturizer will help keep skin supple.
But Death Valley is affected by several of the main causes of heat waves - the frequent presence of a high pressure system (helped by its below sea level elevation), downslope air movement from surrounding mountains, and radiation of heat from the surrounding cliffs.
  From Wikipedia... A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat w â¦ ave;[1] the term is relative to the usual weather in the area.