Key Facts Of The Day 2/9

Storms and Flooding

• Multiple Alberta clipper storms will move across the Midwest, Great Lakes and interior Northeast through the rest of this week.

  • While only a general 1-3 inches of snow are expected, travel could still become treacherous in the path of the clippers.

  • Some lake-effect snow will enhance totals in some areas as most of the Great Lakes remain largely unfrozen.

  • Behind this clipper, snow will continue to fall in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and western Lower Peninsula of Michigan as wind flows off Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.

• Dozens of schools in Puerto Rico closed on Monday following torrential rains that caused widespread flooding and several landslides across the U.S. Caribbean territory over the weekend.

  • The severe weather also knocked over several trees and forced authorities to close various main roads, with more than a dozen people remaining in shelters after their homes flooded.

  • Flooding along coastal areas was worsened by large waves of up to 13 feet hitting the island’s north coast on Saturday and Sunday.

• Hundreds in Nashville, Tennessee to get notice their home is officially considered in a flood plain.

  • This week, roughly 1,000 property owners in Nashville will learn they need to buy flood insurance if they don’t already have it. According to FEMA, anyone in a high-risk flood area with a mortgage from any regulated or insured lender has to be covered.

• Retired marines helping a Kentucky community devastated by December storms.

  • The Richmond Marine Corps League set up a donation drive with donations coming from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and local help from the Richmond Fire Department, Police Department, and other local stores and individuals.

• Leaders with the American Red Cross said bad winter weather has had a negative impact on their blood donations, and supply, since the beginning of the year.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 12 large active wildfires that have burned 2,621 acres across AL, FL. and OK. As of Friday, 2,388 wildfires have burned 40,822 acres across the country.

• Dry conditions prompt warning and concerns about potential for wildfire ignition in North Bay, California.

• Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) faces 33 criminal charges in Sonoma County, California’s Kincade Fire.

  • PG&E admits that its powerline sparked the 2019 Kincade Fire which destroyed more than 100 homes and injured multiple firefighters.

  • PG&E is also charged with environmental crimes for omission of air contaminants due to the wildfire smoke.

Extreme Heat

• Multiple National Weather Service offices in California have opted to issue excessive heat watches ahead of climbing temperatures beginning Wednesday, an unusual measure that may be a first of its kind for February.

  • Dangerously hot conditions that could have temperatures reach 90 degrees prompt a rare February heat alert in Los Angeles.

    • The National Weather Service warns that Super Bowl visitors from other states may be at risk for heat-related illnesses.

    • Los Angeles could host the hottest Super Bowl on record.

  • The heat is occurring on the heels of California’s second-driest January on record. Dry conditions tend to intensify hot weather as a land surface stripped of its moisture heats up more readily.

  • The hot weather fits into a larger pattern of human-induced climate warming.

• The Bay Area temperatures are also increasing amid California’s winter heat wave.

  • The temperatures are forecasted to be anywhere from 8 to 15 degrees above average for this time of year.

• San Diego, California is likely to be one of the hottest spots in the country Wednesday, Thursday and possibly Friday when Santa Ana winds and high pressure push temperatures up.

  • Forecasters project that San Diego International Airport, which has a seasonal high of 66 this time of year, will get to 81 on Wednesday, 79 on Thursday and 80 on Friday.

• Phoenix, Arizona is putting together a new heat response plan to help the homeless.

  • Phoenix city leaders are working to create a community-wide plan to help save people from extreme heat in the Valley that would mainly focus on the homeless camp downtown.

  • Director of Heat Response and Mitigation, David Hondula, is recommending that a city-wide response plan be fully implemented and operational by May 1, 2022.

  • Phoenix wants to add cool and shaded spaces and more signage to guide people to cooling centers and water. The plan also proposes backup power at locations that could serve as cooling centers if the power were to go out.

  • Later this month, a tented shelter with the ability to house up to 100 people is expected to open in Phoenix.

  • Other proposed ideas include handing out refillable water bottles and encouraging people to report heat-related cases and to stay on site until help arrives.

  • According to Maricopa County data, the county has seen a 400% increase in heat-related deaths since 2014. At its peak, there were 329 deaths reported in 2021, most being located within Phoenix’s jurisdiction.

New Reports And Data

• A February 2022 study found that Arctic warming causes temperature anomalies and cold damage thousands of kilometers away in East Asia, which leads to reduced vegetation growth, later blossoming, smaller harvests and reduced CO2 absorption by the forests in the region.

• A February 2022 study found that survivors of weather-related disasters may have accelerated aging.

• A February 2022 study found a way to grow seagrass in large tanks and then transplant it into the Indian River Lagoon to try to restore some of the lost seagrass beds and help Florida’s starving manatees.