As Western heat wave ends, scientists try to make sense of its length and intensity

The scorching spring heat dome that baked the West for well over a week has finally moved along, after setting more than 1,500 temperature records across 11 states, according to the research group Climate Central.
In its wake, climate scientists, irrigation managers and local officials are taking stock of a looming water crisis and trying to make sense of just how exceptional the heat wave turned out to be. Even before the high temperatures arrived, Western states were reporting some of their weakest snowpa