Heat wave grips US West amid fear of a new, hotter normal

An unusually early and long-lasting heat wave has brought more triple-digit temperatures to a large swath of the U.S. West

PHOENIX -- An unusually early and long-lasting heat wave brought more triple-digit temperatures Wednesday to a large swath of the U.S. West, raising concerns that such extreme weather could become the new normal amid a decades-long drought. Phoenix, which is seeing some of the highest temperatures this week, tied a record for the second day in a row when it reached 115 degrees (46 Celsius) Wednesday and was expected to hit 117 (47 Celsius) each of the next two days, the National Weather Service said. Scientists who study drought and climate change say that people living in the American West can expect to see more of the same in the coming years. “Heat waves are getting worse in the West because the soil is so dry” from the region's megadrought, said Park Williams, a University of California, Los Angeles, climate and fire scientist who has calculated that soil in the western half of the nation is the driest it has been since 1895. “We could have two, three, four, five of these heat waves before the end of the summer.”