The 2012 Heat Wave: "Almost Like Science Fiction"
Today is World Meteorological Day, and there's no better time to take a serious look at our meteorological surroundings than right now, here in North America. All across the continent, records have been smashed: from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic, a heat wave like nothing we've ever seen before is hitting the U.S. and Canada, while out west, Oregon has gotten a new record for snowfall. Just what is going on here? This past Wednesday broke records all across the Midwest and Northeast. Some stats: Chicago has broken high temperature records for nine days in a row--though today is likely to end that streak. The temperature in Chicago this week has been sometimes 30 degrees higher than the average--more similar to June weather than March. Many Canadian cities including Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Quebec City, St. John, Windsor, Hamilton, and London, all broke high-temperature records on Wednesday. St. John's high of...