At least 3 people have died in wildfires driven by gusty winds in Southern California, where up to 100,000 people were at one point under mandatory evacuation orders, authorities said Saturday, per NBC News.
High temperatures and fast-acting dry spells in the South reported last week have boiled over into a "flash drought" blasting 56 million people with dry heat, AP reports.
What's happening: Parts of Georgia, Texas, Alabama and South Carolina are currently in extreme drought zones, while most of the South is in an abnormally dry or moderate to severe drought. Farmers are concerned "that cattle, cotton and corn are suffering after a summer of record highs and very little rain," per AP.
