Summer, Heat Wave | featured news

The summer heat waves over the past decade that killed thousands of people in Europe, scorched the Russian wheat crop, and sent Greenland's glaciers galloping to the sea are without parallel since at least 1400, according to a new study. The findings are based on a statistical analysis of summer seasonal temperatures inferred from tree rings, ice cores, lake sediments, and instrumental records.

Southern California wildfires are threatening dozens of homes after burning through more than 19 square miles of brush in the midst of a heat wave.

The relentless, weather-gone-crazy type of heat that has blistered the United States and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare that it can't be anything but man-made global warming, says a new statistical analysis from a top government scientist.

For folks without air conditioning, an electric fan may seem like a life-saver in a steaming summer like this one. But researchers who looked at existing studies say it's possible fans do more harm than good when the temperature soars above 95 degrees. That's because blowing hot air over your body might actually increase heat stress and your risk of heat-related illness -- even if you feel like the fan is cooling you down. Better ideas: get out of your hot house and into a cool mall or library for a few hours; take cool showers.

It's been a hot year. In fact, the first six months of 2012 accounted for the warmest January-through-June period on record for the contiguous U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday.

The summer heat just won't quit, with another scorcher forecast for the Midwest Friday. The sweltering temperatures may have claimed at least two lives so far, bringing back memories of the 1995 heat wave that killed hundreds. Much of the Midwest, and even parts of the East Coast are suffering.

The heat wave that has gripped Southern California will continue for at least one more day, as the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for large swaths of the region.

The dangerous heat wave blamed for as many as 13 deaths spread into the eastern United States on Wednesday, extending its reach across nearly half the U.S. population, officials said.

High temperatures and humidity were expected to bake a large swath of the country once again on Sunday and to send afternoon heat indexes in dozens of cities to dangerous levels.

The temperature setting is stuck on broil across a swath of the Midwest and South, with Dallas and Oklahoma City sweltering through 100-degree heat for at least 10 days in a row....