July: U.S. West Hit with Extreme Heat, Drought, Unrelenting Wildfires

July turned out to be an exceptional month of triple threats for the western U.S., with record heat, drought and raging wildfires. The nation as a whole had a hot July — with extreme rainfall in areas already saturated while sparing others that needed it most. 

Here’s a climate snapshot of the month of July and the year to date, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information: 

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