"The heat wave that is engulfing much of the western U.S. right now is unprecedented. A high-pressure area—the strongest ever observed over the Southwest in March—ushered in the unseasonably scorching weather."
"Typically, any record high temperatures in March tend to be set toward the end of the month, when it's climatologically warmer. But this heat wave is so extreme that it has been besting some April records."
"This is a summerlike ridge occurring in March. It's really genuinely shocking. Ridges are always flanked by low-pressure areas, and the air at the surface flows from the high to low pressure."
A heat wave in the western U.S. has led to record-breaking temperatures, with North Shore, Calif. reaching 108°F and Phoenix, Ariz. hitting 105°F. The high-pressure area causing this extreme weather is the strongest observed in March, resulting in temperatures 20 to 30°F above normal. This event is notable for breaking records typically set later in the month, with some surpassing April records. Climate scientist Daniel Swain describes the situation as genuinely shocking and meteorologically exceptional.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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