Key Facts Of The Day 2/22

Storms and Flooding

• On Tuesday morning, parts of 41 states were under some kind of weather alert ahead of duel storm systems that will produce everything from snow and ice to flooding rain and isolated tornadoes.

• The first storm will affect the Midwest and Mississippi Valley to New England through Wednesday.

  • On Tuesday, this storm system will produce heavy snow and wind on the northern side across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, and severe thunderstorms and flooding rainfall on the southern side across the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Valleys to the Southeast.

  • By Tuesday night, a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain will move into parts of New England. All rain is expected for the I-95 corridor including for New York City.

  • Snow on Tuesday will be heaviest across parts of Minnesota as well northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. The snow, combined with wind gusts up to 30 MPH, will lead to dangerous travel conditions.

  • An ice storm warning was also in effect for parts of Central Michigan, where up to 0.4 inches of ice was possible.

  • The greatest risks for flooding will be across western Kentucky and northern Alabama. Nearly 100 river gauges were also expected to rise into minor to major flood stages, with the highest concentration along the Ohio River.

  • 11 million people are under the threat of severe thunderstorms across parts of the Southeast. The greatest risk will be damaging winds up to 75 MPH followed by isolated tornadoes.

• The second storm system will affect the West Coast to the Northeast, starting on Tuesday and lasting through Friday.

  • On Tuesday, the storm was out on the West Coast bringing light rain and snow.

  • On Wednesday, snow will fall over the Central Rockies as an icy mix breaks out across parts of the Southern Plains.

  • On Thursday, more heavy rain and strong thunderstorms will be possible across the South while snow and an icy mix spread across the Midwest and into the southern Great Lakes.

  • By Friday, the storm system reaches the East Coast bringing mostly snow to New England, from Boston and northward, and an icy mix and cold rain to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

• A recent study shows that electricity blackouts can be avoided across the nation by switching to 100% clean and renewable energy, such as solar, wind and water.

  • The study showed a switch to renewables would also lower energy requirements, reduce consumer costs, create millions of new jobs and improve people’s health.

  • The actual energy demand decreased significantly by simply shifting to renewable resources, which are more efficient.

    • For the entire United States, total end-use energy demand decreased by around 57%. Per capita household annual energy costs were around 63% less than a “business as usual” scenario.

    • In Texas, a complete green transition would reduce the annual average end-use power demand by 56%.

  • Interconnecting electrical grids from different geographic regions can also make the power system more reliable and reduce costs.

    • Costs per unit energy in Texas are 27% lower when interconnected with the Midwest grid than when isolated, as it currently is.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 15 large active wildfires that have burned 21,177 acres across CA, FL, KY, TX, MS, and OK. As of Friday, 5,544 wildfires have burned 116,401 acres across the country.

• In California, 1 fire has burned 4,136 acres as of Friday.

  • The Airport Fire burned 4,136 acres and was 55% contained as of Sunday.

• The annual forest fire area in the western United States increased by more than 1,100% from 1984 to 2020, the year of the worst wildfire season in California’s modern history.

• As drought lingers, larger and more destructive wildfires pose new threats to water supply.

  • Increasing forest fire activity is “unhinging” western U.S. stream flow from its historical predictability. In areas where more than a fifth of the forest had burned, stream flow increased by an average of 30% for six years after the fire.

    • Too much water comes with hazards, including increased erosion, flooding and debris flows.

  • Increasingly large and severe fires are searing through trees, shrubs and canopies that typically absorb moisture, leaving more water to run into streams.

  • Severe fires can “bake” the soil, making it more waxy and water-repellent and with less vegetation to hold topsoil in place, more flooding and erosion are occurring.

  • Runoff, particularly after severe fire, is also often accompanied by large sediment loads that can reduce water quality.

    • The town of Paradise,  which was devastated by the 2018 Camp fire, has been plagued by chemicals and contaminants that entered the water supply during and after the wildfire.

Extreme Heat

• The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing state safety rules for worker exposures to extreme heat and wildfire smoke.

  • The proposed heat illness prevention rule has a variety of worker protections, including access to shade and cool water, work/rest schedules, information and training, and other preventive actions and plans.

  • The proposed wildfire smoke rule includes exposure assessments, respiratory protection, and communication and training requirements.

• While junipers are considered one of the most drought-resistant trees in the Southwest, the region’s megadrought could be having some impact.

  • Browning junipers are worrying some people who think it’s another symptom of a drought-stressed region and perhaps foreshadows a die-off.

  • Hot, dry conditions also can make junipers more vulnerable to spider mites, which suck the juice from needles, making them spotty or brown and, if left unfettered, can slowly kill a tree in a few years.

• The California Department of Water Resources has launched a new website for the public to track local, regional and statewide water conditions.

• The drought situation in the United States is becoming a huge concern for global wheat supply in 2022.

  • Much of the nation west of the Mississippi Valley is either in drought or abnormally dry, and the latest long-range weather outlook shows very little relief as the critical spring months approach.

New Reports And Data

• A February 2022 study found that renewable energy could help prevent blackouts.

• A February 2022 study found that construction workers, in particular, are at high risk of inadvertently tracking a host of other toxic metals into their homes.

• A February 2022 study found a range of environmental contaminants in fracking wastewater.