Scientific
American: Over the past week, more than 2000 temperature
records were matched or broken as a heat wave struck much of
the US, and the month of June saw more than 3200 records
topped, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski attributed the
heat wave in part to the lack of snow in the central plains
area this past winter. Instead of the Sun melting snow, it
heated the ground, which in turn heated the air. From Chicago
to the East Coast, the heat wave fueled a violent wind storm,
or
derecho,
which killed at least 22 people and left some 5 million
people without power, according to
an
article in the
Washington Post. Along with the historic wildfires and
record droughts in the West, the news media have started to
connect the series of extreme weather events with global
warming,
writes
Stephen Lacey for ThinkProgress.
