Washington, July 11 (RHC)-- U.S. President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in Vermont, where authorities have closed off downtown areas of the capital Montpelier after two months’ worth of rain fell in less than 48 hours.  Vermont’s rivers are expected to crest today at about 20 feet above normal — the state’s worst flooding since 1927.

In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul said this week’s storms dumped up to eight inches of rain, causing flash flooding in parts of the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes regions.  Hochul called it a once-in-a-thousand-year weather event caused by climate change.

Gov. Kathy Hochul: “My friends, this is the new normal.  And we in government, working with our partners on the ground, have to work with our communities to build up resiliency, to be prepared for the worst, because the worst continues to happen.”

In Arizona, excessive heat warnings remain in effect, with forecasters warning Phoenix is poised to break its record of consecutive 110-plus-degree days.

In Florida, forecasters predict heat indexes in parts of the state are set to exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit, or 43 degrees Celsius, by the end of the week.  A marine heat wave has pushed ocean temperatures off Florida’s coast as high as 96 degrees — more than five degrees above normal.

On Monday, the World Meteorological Organization reported the first week of July was the hottest week ever recorded on Earth.