Nation bakes as serious heat wave hits early

On Tuesday 251 new daily high temperature records were set, boosting to 1,015 the number of records set during the previous week. Many more records were expected to be set Wednesday.

The consequences range from comical-- a bacon-fried driveway in Oklahoma -- to catastrophic, as wildfires consuming parts of the Rocky Mountains are fueled by oppressive heat and gusty winds.

It's impressive given that records usually aren't broken until July and August.

And if forecasts hold, more records could fall in the coming days.

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