Why the heat wave hitting the Western U.S. is so intense

Records will break. A mid-June heat wave, lasting through the week's end, is baking much of the Western U.S. A hot weather pattern amplified by a sustained, climate change-exacerbated drying trend has fueled the intense heat, with temperatures reaching 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average in some regions. "This is an exceptional heat wave," said Jeff Weber, a research meteorologist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, an organization that facilitates and performs earth science. "There is some possibility for all-time record heat coming out of this." Daily high-temperature records have already been broken and more such records will almost certainly fall. Read more...More about Climate Change, Science, and Climate Environment