June 2014 was the hottest June since records began in 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 2014 also set a global heat record, says Jake Crouch, a climate scientist with NOAA. Though the high temperatures have been measured on every continent, not every region on each continent has felt the same effects. In North America, for example, the East Coast has had a relatively cool start to 2014. But the West is sweltering and continues to suffer through drought, wildfires and water resource problems. There may be relief in sight, however, at least for that struggling region: the weather pattern known as El Niño is building in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño tends to bring storms and increased rainfall to the West Coast of the US. The Climate Prediction Center pegs the chances of El Niño occurring at 80 percent, Crouch says. But Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado says the intensity of this year’s El Niño remains uncert
