According to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center's State of the Climate: National Overview June 2012 Report the last 12 months have been the warmest on record for the mainland United States. Although alarming, this does not come as a surprise to most people with the extremely high temperatures experienced over the last several weeks. But what is going on? To help you understand this crazy weather, you may want to check out CPL resources on climate change and in particular:

Waking the giant: how a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes by Bill McGuire