Heatwave

Researchers warn the high-pressure conditions could disrupt marine life and ecosystems if it continuesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxFor more than a century, shoreline stations operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have measured water temperatures along the California coast. This year, they are flashing a warning sign.Over the last three months, several stations have repeatedly posted record-breaking daily high temperatures – with the La Jolla station registering temperatures a full 10F above historical average at one point last month. Continue reading...

Experts say brutal temperatures in west threaten to melt sparse snowpack – and warn hot, dry conditions here to stayA stunning heatwave that shattered records in the US west is threatening to rapidly melt the sparse snowpack and ramp up wildfire risks in the seasons ahead.March has already been historically hot, but the early onset of summer weather across the region may be here to stay. There’s little reprieve in forecasts, which show more heat records may fall this spring. Continue reading...

Unseasonably warm and even dangerous temperatures this week were up to 30F above average for the time of yearThe record-breaking heatwave scorching the US west this week would have been “virtually impossible” if not for the climate crisis, a team of scientists has determined.Millions of Americans from the Pacific coast to the Rockies baked under unseasonably warm and even dangerous temperatures this week, with temperatures up to 30F (17C) above average for the time of year. Continue reading...