Key Facts Of The Day 3/14

Storms and Flooding

• A winter storm will continue to deliver strong winds and blistering freezing temperatures as it exits the eastern region Sunday after dumping heavy snow across parts of New England.

  • More than 30 million people across mid-Atlantic and New England regions were under wind advisories early Sunday.

  • In the South, more than 26 million were under a freeze warning as temperatures plummeted.

  • The storm dumped at least 8 inches of snow in parts of eastern Kentucky, southeastern Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and upstate New York Saturday.

  • The severe weather in Florida prompted Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency in Clay, Highlands, Marion and Putnam counties, where a cold front had brought “multiple severe weather hazards” across the northeastern and central parts of the state.

  • A freeze warning is in effect through Sunday morning for portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina.

  • Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.

• Damaging winds, large hail, isolated tornadoes possible for East Texas late Monday.

• A 46-year-old New Jersey man was killed after crashing on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in New York during Saturday’s winter storm.

• Record low temperatures are forecast for parts of Florida after the state was hit Saturday with treacherous thunderstorms and two tornadoes.

  • The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado, with winds of 110 MPH, touched down Saturday morning in Ocala, Florida.

    • The 200-yard-wide tornado traveled a path of approximately 25 miles from Dunnellon to Ocala in over 28 minutes.

  • A weaker tornado in Fort Myers Beach was confirmed after a waterspout came ashore.

• The federal government’s flood-insurance program paid more than $2 billion in flood claims last year with most of the damage resulting from Hurricane Ida hitting Louisiana, New York and New Jersey.

  • Last year marked the seventh consecutive year that the National Flood Insurance Program claims payments have exceeded $1 billion.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 13 large active wildfires that have burned 57,357 acres across CA, FL, KS, NM, OK, and SD. As of Friday, 11,663 wildfires have burned 287,468 acres across the country.

• As of Sunday, three sweeping wildfires that started last week in the Florida Panhandle have burned more than 34,000 acres and are threatening surrounding communities amid dry and windy weather.

  • As of Sunday, two of three wildfires making up the Chipola Complex Fire in Florida’s panhandle are 95% contained.

  • As of Sunday, the Bertha Swamp Road fire, the third wildfire comprising the Chipola Complex and the largest in the state, remained at 60% containment after burning 33,131 acres.

• Angry over blackouts, wildfires caused by utilities and rising electricity bills, a small but growing number of Californians in rural areas and in the suburbs of San Francisco are going off the grid.

  • Some homeowners who have built new, off-grid homes say they have even saved money because their systems were cheaper than securing a new utility connection.

  • The appeal of off-grid homes has grown in part because utilities have become less reliable.

  • As natural disasters linked to climate change have increased, there have been more extended blackouts in California, Texas, Louisiana and other states.

  • One family who lost their jobs during the pandemic is building their own home that generates its own power.

Extreme Heat

• After California recorded its driest January and February in more than 100 years of records in the Sierra Nevada, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration announced this week that it is spending an additional $22.5 million to respond to the immediate drought emergency.

  • The funding will go to the Department of Water Resources, State Water Resources Control Board, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

  • More than a third of the money – $8.25 million – will be used to increase outreach efforts to educate Californians on water conservation measures and practices.

• Recent rainfall helped moderate drought conditions across Florida from expanding.

• Getting a fishing boat or a pontoon on the Missouri River System in North Dakota this summer could be tricky due to low water levels amid prolonged drought.

  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts spring runoff to be well below normal for the upper Missouri River Basin. Runoff in February was less than expected, and the agency expects the trend to continue in coming months.

New Reports And Data

• A March 2022 study found that over the next 30 years, 1.4 million street trees will be killed by invasive insects, costing over 900 million dollars to replace.

• A March 2022 study found that volatile compounds in the smoke from wildfires can be absorbed by grapes and produce an unpleasant taste known as ‘smoke taint’ in wines made from affected grapes.

• A March 2022 study found that as a result of global warming in the 21st century, the Greenland ice sheet may contribute several meters to sea-level rise in the centuries to come.