Axios

The National Weather Service is suffering yet another major data outage, this time coinciding with deadly flooding in the Midwest and a widespread heat wave affecting tens of millions of people.

Why it matters: The outage is part of a pattern of telecommunications breakdowns at the weather and climate forecasting agency. The problem is inhibiting life-saving warnings from going out in some cases.

Outdoor and even indoor workers in the states being hardest hit by a dangerous heat wave have few if any protections to keep them safe.

Why it matters: About 64.3 million people in the U.S. — including millions of Latino laborers — are under heat alerts, with a brutal wave hitting large swaths of the country.

Extreme wildfire events during the past two decades more than doubled in frequency and magnitude globally, with the six worst seasons occurring during the past seven years, a new study found.

Why it matters: Intense wildfires — as measured by satellites — are more difficult to fight, emit vast quantities of greenhouse gases and noxious smoke, and can cause disastrous consequences for communities.

A new digital mapping tool that highlights electric vehicle "charging deserts" found a surprise: Los Angeles is pocked with them.

Why it matters: If a monster EV market like L.A. can't get public charging right, the rest of America is probably not doing much better.

Midwest residents hit by historic flooding face the threats of further inundation into Tuesday, with officials in Minnesota particularly concerned that the Rapidan Dam in Mankato is in "imminent failure condition."

The big picture: At least one death has been reported in South Dakota and another in Iowa from days of flooding rains that have forced a town to evacuate and collapsed a bridge connecting Sioux City, Iowa, with North Sioux City, South Dakota.

Extreme weather events worsened by human-caused climate change continue to affect hundreds of millions of people around the world.

The big picture: Extreme heat has been seen everywhere from China to India, across the Middle East and into Europe and North America.

The climate change-enhanced heat wave responsible for breaking dozens of records across the U.S. and Canada in the past two weeks is taking aim at areas from the Southeast to the Plains.

Why it matters: The move will bring extreme heat to tens of millions of people who have not experienced it yet, with resulting health hazards.

Two events this week will help shape energy and climate policy — a Supreme Court ruling and the Biden-Trump debate that could be a pivotal campaign moment.

Why it matters: SCOTUS will likely curtail executive powers to regulate without explicit congressional instruction.

Golfing with llama caddies — who carry your clubs without complaining — is the hottest ticket in North Carolina.

Why it matters: Tourism and recreational activities involving llamas have been on an upswing.

Golfing with llama caddies — who carry your clubs uncomplainingly — is the hottest ticket in North Carolina.

Why it matters: Tourism and recreational activities involving llamas have been on an upswing.

Editor's note: Read the latest on the Midwest flooding here.

An expanding heat dome that's threatening much of the Lower 48 from the Central Plains eastward is also driving "major to historic" flooding in the Midwest, per the National Weather Service.

The big picture: Flood warnings and watches were in effect across the upper Midwest over the weekend for portions of Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa due to the extreme weather that's killed at least one person and resulted in hundreds of water rescues across the region.

At least 1,301 Muslim pilgrims have died during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia as the country experiences an extreme heat wave.

The big picture: That's according to Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, who told state media that 83% of those who died were not authorized to perform the Hajj and had "walked long distances under direct sunlight without adequate shelter or comfort."