The recent surge in news interest was most likely stimulated by several reports released this week, as June 2012 brings more record-setting temperatures across the United States.

Image Credit: ClimateWatch Magazine, July 9, 2012. Image Caption: The average temperature for the contiguous United States during June was 2°F above the twentieth-century average. Scorching temperatures during the second half of the month broke or tied over 170 all-time temperature records in cities across America. June temperatures also contributed to a record-warm first half of the year and the warmest 12-month period the nation has experienced since recordkeeping began in 1895.

The map above shows where in the United States June 2012 temperatures were different from the 1981–2010 average. Shades of red indicate temperatures up to 8° Fahrenheit warmer than average, and shades of blue indicate temperatures up to 5° Fahrenheit cooler than average—the darker the color, the larger the temperature difference.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report on U.S. Climate States for June has just been released to the public. View this report.

Also, several reports in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society have just been released to the public. 

•    State of the Climate National Overview: June 2012

•    State of the Climate in 2011 report, which provides a detailed peer-reviewed update on global climate indicators and notable weather events from last year.

•    "Explaining Extreme Events of 2011 from a Climate Perspective” provides a more in-depth analysis about possible linkages between climate change and some of the more prominent extreme weather and climate events experienced last year. For more visuals about the 2011 annual climate report go to: State of the Climate in 2011: Highlights

Television networks are widely broadcasting data pulled from the NOAA and American Meteorological Society reports.  Here are links to some of these TV climate features.

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS - 7/10/2012

"The new normal?"

CBS EVENING NEWS - 7/10/2012

"NOAA links extreme weather to climate change"

PBS NEWSHOUR - 7/10/2012

"Extreme Weather Records 'Like a Baseball Player on Steroids'"

ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT - 7/10/2012

"Global Warming Accelerating, Say Scientists"

Al Jazeera – 7/11/2012

Not to be left out, Cable channels, newspapers, online media, and newswire services are also running stories based on the recent climate data reports. Links to some of these media reports are provided below.

WEATHER CHANNEL - 7/10/2012

"Are Wild Weather and Climate Change Linked?"

NYTimes: "Global Warming Makes Heat Waves More Likely, Study Finds"

And there was an article this morning in the NY Times.

Reuters (via HuffPost): "Climate Change, Extreme Weather Linked In Studies Examining Texas Drought And U.K. Heat" 

CNN.com: "Extreme weather: Get ready to see more of it, scientists say"

LATimes Opinion: "Can somebody, please, help George Will understand climate?"

MSNBC.com: "2011 Texas drought was 20 times more likely due to warming, study says"

AP (via Boston Globe): "Not all weather woes are tied to climate change"

Financial Times (via CNBC): "Freak Weather Linked to Global Warming"

UK Guardian: "Scientists attribute extreme weather to man-made climate change"

UK Independent: "Study forecasts global increase in freak weather"

AFP: "Climate change boosts odds of extreme weather: study"

UPI: "Study links climate to human activity."

USA Today: "Study links global warming to 2011 Texas heat wave"

Bloomberg/Business Week: "Warm 2011 Weather Shows Climate Change Despite La Nina"

ClimateCentral.com: "New Reports Show Impact of Manmade Global Warming"

Weather Underground: "Extreme events of 2011: climate change a major factor in some, but not all"

World Resources Institute: "More Extreme Weather: Say Hello To Our Changing Climate"

New Scientist: "Climate change boosted odds of Texas drought"

After viewing, reading, and reflecting on these news stories, I hope you will share some of your reactions and comments in the COMMENT area provided below.