Weather warning: It's not just you, it's weird out there

With a blistering heat wave, hurricanes and fires sweeping the country, you could be forgiven if you thought that maybe a little something funny was happening with the weather. 2011 has been dubbed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a year of extreme weather, and the previous 12 months have been the hottest since records started to be kept in 1895. Meanwhile, globally, nine of the top 10 hottest years of on record have occurred since 2000. "It's kind of a situation that warrants very serious thought," said Chris Field, founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology. While it's difficult for meteorologists to confirm one way or other whether such extreme weather is being caused by climate change, it seems clear that now is a good time to stock up on sunscreen, jerky and ammo.