An intense marine heat wave off the California coast has developed in the Pacific from Washington to Baja Mexico, causing a significant increase in ocean temperatures reaching up to 7 degrees hotter than average. The extreme heatwave is causing starving birds to wash ashore and could increase the risk of thunderstorms and dry lightning that could worsen the wildfire season. Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have recorded 38 days since Jan. 1 when the surface temperature off their La Jolla pier in San Diego broke records dating back to 1916. The heat wave, which appears to be related to changes in wind patterns, could bring hotter, more humid temperatures to California this summer and potentially lead to increased thunderstorms, dry lightning, and tropical cyclones. Biologists are reporting an increase in the number of seabirds found dead or emaciated on beaches from Monterey Bay to the Mexican border.