Key Facts Of The Day 2/28

Storms and Flooding

• A level 4 atmospheric river is hitting the Pacific Northwest bringing the threat of avalanches and flooding, which will persist for days.

  • Flood watches are in place for over five million people across Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

  • Heavy snow has also prompted winter weather advisories across portions of Washington, Idaho, and Montana and avalanche warnings across the Cascades.

  • The atmospheric river is bringing heavy snow to the Cascades where an additional 4 to 6 inches is forecast through Monday morning.

  • With warming temperatures and excessive rain in place today across higher elevations, the threat of avalanches is “high” today.

    • Avalanches could become very large and run for very long distances, all the way down to valley bottoms with “wet and destructive debris.”

  • Snoqualmie Pass and Stevens Pass were closed in both directions Monday morning with no estimated time of reopening.

  • As heavy rain falls across freshly fallen snow and current snow pack, melting is expected to happen, which will worsen flood conditions.

  • Several rivers across Washington are forecast to reach moderate to major flood stage this week.

  • A Level 3 out of 4 “moderate” risk of excessive rain is in place Monday across portions of Washington and Oregon’s coastal mountains and the southern Washington Cascades.

• At least six people died on icy roads in three states from Wednesday to Friday, as a winter storm hit the U.S.

• More than 3,000 flights were canceled on Thursday and Friday as a sprawling winter storm system brought rain, snow and ice to states as widespread as Texas and Massachusetts.

• More than 10,000 customers were without power on Friday afternoon in Pennsylvania and Ohio due to the winter storm.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 6 large active wildfires that have burned 12,214 acres across CA, FL, MS, and OK. As of Friday, 7,087 wildfires have burned 149,774 acres across the country.

• Millions of dollars are coming to Colorado State University to study wildfire prevention, mitigation and recovery, after years of drought and record-setting wildfires across the state.

• Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will bury close to 72 miles of electrical lines in Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Marin and Mendocino counties, part of its $5.9 billion spending plan for this year to reduce the wildfire risks presented by its sprawling power grid.

Extreme Heat

• A report, from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), showed if the limit of warming beyond 1.5 degrees is breached, some changes will be irreversible for hundreds — if not thousands — of years. And some changes may be permanent, even if the planet cools back down.

  • The world is already 1.1 degrees Celsius warmer than before industrialization.

  • The world is on track to warm at least 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in five scenarios. Only the lowest emission scenario, in which carbon dioxide emissions decline to net zero around 2050, would eventually bring the planet below this key mark.

  • The pace of human-caused global warming is pushing many of the planet’s most critical systems — like rainforests, coral reefs and the Arctic — to the brink.

  • As many as 3.6 billion people live in places already highly vulnerable to climate hazards, some of which will increase beyond the ability to adapt once the planet hits the 1.5-degree mark.

  • At 2 degrees of warming — which scientists predict the planet will reach by midcentury — as many as three billion people around the world will experience “chronic water scarcity.”

    • Multiyear drought has drained reservoirs and triggered unprecedented water cuts for western U.S.

    • Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, plunged to record lows in recent months, threatening water supply for tens of millions of people.

  • The countries that emit the least planet-warming gases, mainly those in the Global South and island territories, tend to be the ones disproportionately harmed by climate hazards.

  • As climate change worsens, more Indigenous people will lose the land, water and biodiversity they depend on.

New Reports And Data

• A February 2022 report found that extreme weather events linked to climate change like floods and heatwaves are hitting humans and other species much harder than previous assessments indicated.

• A February 2022 study found that machine learning helps to identify climatic thresholds that shape the distribution of natural vegetation.

• A February 2022 study found that Swiss rivers are on track to overheat by the end of the century.