Key Facts Of The Day 5/4

• Chronic flooding lands 400-year-old colonial Jamestown on a list of the country’s most endangered historical places.
• As of Wednesday, there are currently 12 large active wildfires that have burned 279,172 across AZ, FL, NC, NM, and TN. As of Wednesday, 22,530 wildfires have burned 1,137,556 acres across the country.
• Forecasters say La Niña has a 59% chance of continuing through the summer, and up to a 55% chance of persisting through the fall.

Storms and Flooding

• Powerful tornadoes and very large hail could threaten Oklahoma and Texas on Wednesday.
  • An enhanced severe threat outlook – Level 3 of 5 – covers northwest Texas into Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City.
  • A slight risk – Level 2 of 5 – surrounds that zone and includes other populous places like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Lubbock and Ft. Worth, Texas.
• Tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued Tuesday evening across southwestern Pennsylvania as multiple storms passed through the area, knocking out power and downing trees.
  • One death was reported in Upper St. Clair, where a tree came crashing down onto vehicles at the intersection of McMurray and Bethel Church roads.
  • As of Wednesday morning, Duquesne Light reported 1,788 customers affected by outages across the Pittsburgh area, down from the more than 8,000 who were without power on Tuesday night.
  • As of Wednesday morning, West Penn Power reported that 1,884 of its Allegheny County customers were still affected, as well as 11,443 in Westmoreland County, 4,076 in Washington County, 302 in Indiana County, 60 in Fayette County, and 11 in Butler County.
• Chronic flooding lands 400-year-old colonial Jamestown on a list of the country’s most endangered historical places.
  • The location is on a low-lying tidewater island menaced by the river on one side, a swamp on the other, and what the archaeologists believe are increasingly frequent deluges of rain caused by climate change.
  • The rising water levels can alter or destroy archeological artifacts. 
  • Jamestown holds historical significance as a place where Native Americans have lived for centuries, the first permanent English settlement, and where the first enslaved Africans arrived.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 12 large active wildfires that have burned 279,172 across AZ, FL, NC, NM, and TN. As of Wednesday, 22,530 wildfires have burned 1,137,556 acres across the country.
• As of Wednesday, the Tunnel Fire in Arizona has burned 19,075 and is 95% contained. 
• As of Wednesday, the Cooks Peak Fire in New Mexico has burned 59,359 acres and is 89% contained.
• As of Wednesday, the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico has burned 147,909 acres and is 20% contained.
  • Fire engines and crews worked Tuesday on the edge of town, and bulldozers cleared more fire lines on the outskirts.
  • Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday night that the number of homes under mandatory evacuation had jumped from 6,000 to about 15,500.
  • Forecasters warned that gusts of up to 50 MPH would fan the blaze, making for extremely dangerous conditions and tough work for firefighters that is expected to last through the weekend.
  • Authorities said the flames were a couple of miles from Las Vegas, which serves as an economic hub for most of northeastern New Mexico and home to ranchers and farmers.
  • The blaze has charred 228 square miles of mountainsides and meadows, destroying at least 172 homes in its path and forcing the evacuation of the state’s psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas.
  • Schools in the community also canceled classes at least through Wednesday.
• Nearly 3,500 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to fires burning across the country.

Extreme Heat

• The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) asks power plants to postpone planned outages to meet the demand of extreme heat anticipated this weekend.
• As Southern California braces for unprecedented drought restrictions, long-range forecasts are predicting a summer that will be fraught with record-breaking temperatures, dry landscapes, and above-average potential for significant wildfires.
  • Forecasters say La Niña has a 59% chance of continuing through the summer, and up to a 55% chance of persisting through the fall. 
    • La Niña typically brings dry winters to Southern California and the Southwest.
  • Experts say this summer could be a repeat of last year when fires burned more than 2.5 million acres across California. Already this year, California has seen 1,402 fires that have together burned 6,507 acres.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis commits more than $30 million to manatee conservation efforts.
  • Some of the funding will go to supplemental feeding programs since poor water quality and algae blooms have depleted seagrass beds that are prime foraging areas and have left manatees starving.

New Reports And Data

• A May 2022 study found that urbanization is linked to poor ecological knowledge and less environmental action.
• A May 2022 study found that children’s products labeled water- or stain-resistant may contain PFAS.
• A May 2022 study found that an anti-idling campaign at elementary schools was effective in reducing idling time by 38%, which reduced air pollution around the school.