This post by Susie Madrak strikes a chord with me. She would mke an excellent addition to the SkS team.

It is tempting to taunt Deniers with this stuff after all the hype over the UKs cold December and previous winter.  However even the US is only 2% of the world surface, so I suppose it is wrong or at least unscientific  to fight back with their illegal 'tools of the trade'.  Perhaps the ratio of record highs to lows might have some validity with respect to regional climate.  It is however important as a warning to what we may be in store for in the future, and to sway the 'floating voter' on climate change.

Last year there was a massive heat dome over Russia for much of the summer. This year, there's one over North America. Has this ever occurred in two consecutive years before?

The 2676 figure could have been attained though delving through ever more comprehensive and obscure statistics.  However, if these are expressed as a ratio of hot to cold then the regional heatwave becomes more objective. 

I can't help feel as if Joe is going in for sensationist headlines though. 'Blood red reservoir?'

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/08/03/287308/heat-wave-blood-red-reservoir/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climateprogress%2FlCrX+%28Climate+Progress%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

To read a very informative analysis about how the US mainstream media has treated the weird spring and summer weather in North America, click here.

The takeaway paragraph from this article:

"In many ways, articles like Broder’s parallel the decades-long public debate over carcinogens: It’s just as difficult to say whether any one person’s cancer was caused by pollutants as whether one weather event was caused by climate change. And in both cases, statistical studies have a literally fatal drawback: By the time you’ve gathered enough data, it’s too late to prevent the consequences."