Tropical Storm Ophelia is bringing heavy rains, strong winds and coastal flooding Saturday from the Carolinas to the Jersey Shore.
The big picture: The storm made landfall early Saturday morning near Emerald Isle, N.C., with top sustained winds of 70 mph. It was steadily weakening Saturday afternoon, and forecast to become a tropical depression Saturday evening.
Large swaths of the Sun Belt were hit by their hottest meteorological summer — June through August — on record.
Why it matters: The odds and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly increasing as the climate warms in response to human emissions of greenhouse gases.
