Key Facts Of The Day 2/25

Storms and Flooding

• A significant winter storm was expected to create dangerous travel conditions and raise the risk of power outages in much of the Northeast on Friday.

  • By Thursday evening, snow had made its way into parts of Illinois, including Chicago, and Iowa, where road conditions were deteriorating quickly.

  • The storm could bring six inches to more than a foot of snow from central New York to central New England before tapering off at night.

  • Freezing rain could bring a quarter of an inch of ice to roads from Pennsylvania through southern New England.

  • Heavy rain is forecast throughout parts of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, which have been lashed with heavy rains over the past three days. Portions of Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia were under flood watches Thursday.

  • Record-breaking low temperatures are possible along portions of the West Coast.

  • But across the Southeast and southern Mid-Atlantic area, several places could see above-average heat from Thursday into Friday morning.

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 92% contained as of Thursday.

• No burning allowed in Riley County, Kansas as fire danger increases with drought.

• Microgrids are critical to battle outages caused by wildfires.

  • The Los Angeles Times has reported that the state’s three investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric sparked 2,000 fires between 2014 and 2017, all because of defective equipment.

  • The town of Camarillo is creating hybrid solar microgrids that will serve its city hall, police station, library, and wastewater treatment plant.

Extreme Heat

• A recent study suggests that mental health for already struggling people could be made worse by heat waves because the extreme temperatures can disrupt sleep and increase discomfort during the daytime.

  • The study also suggests that existential dread over global warming may play a role.

  • People in areas that aren’t as adapted to heat and where people are less likely to own air conditioners like the Northeast, Northwest, and Midwest showed higher rates of mental health emergency department visits during heat waves.

  • The researchers suggest that public health officials should focus on mental health interventions alongside planning for physical health emergencies caused by heat.

• Oregon OSHA is currently taking public comment on newly proposed rules for worker safety when it comes to working in extreme heat and wildfire smoke.

  • Kate Sussman of the NW Workers Project didn’t like that there is an exception for employers to decide on deadlines regardless of conditions.

  • Others said it should be up to the workers, not just the employers, to know when a break or a drink is needed.

  • Much of the public input was directed at not making distinctions between categories for workloads, such as resting, light, moderate, etc. They claim that all workers deserve access to water and shade in dangerous temperatures.

• There is only mild drought relief in the corn belt as planting season approaches.

  • As planting season approaches, farmers are concerned about planting crops with the soil moisture levels the way they are.

• Despite sprinkles of rain and some pea-sized hail in the Bay Area earlier this week, about 69% of California is in severe drought or worse.

  • The large swaths of severe drought across the state include areas that are home to some of California’s most crucial water supply.

    • The Central Valley region, where much of the state’s agriculture industry is based, is generally experiencing more severe drought than last year.

  • Continued drought has strained the state’s water resources in the past year, causing many Bay Area water agencies, including Marin Municipal Water District and San Jose Water Company, to require restrictions on water use.

  • The federal government also announced this week that California’s farms likely won’t receive any water from the state’s biggest reservoirs in 2022.

New Reports And Data

• A February 2022 study found that rising temperatures are causing Earth’s coldest forests to shift northward, raising concerns about biodiversity, an increased risk of wildfires and mounting impacts of climate change on northern communities.

• A February 2022 study found that historic and current pine needles can be used to trace the presence and concentrations of over 70 different types of PFAS in North Carolina from 1961 to the present.

• A February 2022 study found that tall trees in Central Amazonia are impacted by periods of high maximum temperatures, which can cause them to shed their leaves and branches.