High Plains Burning Up as Record Heat Wave Bakes Area

A blistering heat wave has set in across the drought-scorched Plains, with all-time record high temperatures set in Kansas and Oklahoma during the past few days. The hot, dry weather there has sparked deadly wildfires, and it contrasts sharply with the deluge that recently struck the Gulf Coast, as well as the cooler-than-average spring in the Midwest and Northeast, where 19% of the Great Lakes are still covered in ice

In Wichita, Kansas, the temperature hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit on May 4, which broke the record for the earliest 100 degree or higher temperature on record there, beating the old record of May 9. Records in Wichita date back to 1888. Wichita has had its driest start to the year since the Dust Bowl in 1936, with just 2.01 inches of rain falling between January 1 and April 30. Read more...