Another analogy might be an illness response. If the planet is indeed an organism, then what we're experiencing might be equivalent to an immunity or autoimmune response. Sweating. Fighting off the bad guys. Vomiting and shaking perhaps. I won't say I like being that sick, but such episodes have been memorable experiences and not entirely bad.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/weather/bomb-cyclone-to-spike-arctic-temper...

I see 2015 is destined to be the hottest year since... last year. Thus breaking the record. And 2016 is predicted to be hotter again.

Are we getting near a tipping point?

I guess your mom is an early riser - 4am!? But that's an incrredible temp swing.

I'm not an expert on the Californian bushfire season, but having worked at a firefighter in Australia for 5 years i know the season generally runs from Dec-Feb. You can get the odd fire either side of that in a bad year (this year for example it started in Oct), but never in the middle of winter.

I've heard that climate change has impacted California a lot - but to have bushfires continuing through fall and winter? God help them when summer comes.

It hit at least 30C here today.

Here's one. I talked with my mom this morning. She's in Ohio. She said when she got up at 4am it was 65F or 18C, another record. When I talked with her at 10am or something, it was 55F or 12C. They were predicting the low tonight to hit 35F or 1C. A drop of 35F/17C in a matter of hours.

The areas that were hit by tornadoes yesterday got blizzards today.

We live in interesting meteorological times!

There also seems to have been a major wildfire in California. That seems pretty strange as well - a wildfire in Dec - in the northern hemisphere?

I know there's an El Nino and all, but simultaneous floods, heat waves, and fires in both the northern and southern hemispheres! What's going on?

153 homes were destroyed by the fire in my sister's town alone - there would only be about 300 houses in the whole town so it was quite devastating. She hasn't been able to get back in and said information is very hard to get but the reports are that the houses on her street were spared - at this stage.

Bushfires are like typhoons that are on fire and very much weather events as they are triggered by 40C days and roaring, dry north winds.

More on those US records: http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/12/26/christmas-day-record-warm-east-coast/7...

Beautiful pictures. The fires are impressive, but those beaches look absolutely fantastic.

Meanwhile in Australia, it's shaping up as a horror fire season with temps hitting 44C in the south - also records for Dec - and several bushfires already - the height of the bushfire season is not until mid-Jan thru Feb.

I doubt the planet has seen such widespread extreme weather like this in a very long time.

PS. My sister just sent me these photos from where she's living in southern Victoria, Australia. She has just been evacuated!