We're in the middle of the monsoon season here in the high desert. We get a brief, intense, often highly localized, period of rain each day. Been hot, too--high 95 or 96, low 70. Temperature stayed into the eighties as late as 10 p.m., also very unusual for here.

Last week we were in Seattle and Vancouver. Temperatures were in the eighties there--unusual. Yesterday I heard that the high in Seattle was 96--and 104 in Vancouver. Incredible!