Key Facts Of The Day 5/23

Storms and Flooding

• As of Monday morning, nearly 12,000 people were still in the dark in Northern Virginia after strong storms hit the D.C. area Sunday night, leaving behind lots of damage.
  • The storms produced downpours, strong winds, and lightning. 
  • Trees fell across roadways, leaving debris scattered in streets. 
  • In Montgomery County, Maryland, a utility pole fell onto New Hampshire Avenue, dragging power lines to the ground and trapping a car in the damage.
  • The driver of a pickup truck got stuck in rapidly rising floodwaters and was rescued by boat on Brighton Dam Road in the Brookfield area of Montgomery County, Maryland.
• More than 100 million Americans experienced dangerous weather conditions this past weekend, as a cold front slammed Colorado and southern Wyoming with heavy snow.
  • Hundreds of thousands of Xcel Energy customers lost power and downed tree limbs littered Denver metro neighborhoods.
  • Multiple reporting locations in Wyoming’s portion of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests recorded more than a foot of snow on Friday.
  • Temperatures and snowfall set records in multiple Colorado area:
    • Floyd Hill: 24 inches
    • Rocky Mountain National Park: 23.8 inches
    • Cripple Creek: 20 inches
    • Woodland Park 18 inches
    • Ken Caryl: 17.7 inches
    • Genesee: 17 inches
    • Aurora: 5 inches
    • Boulder: 4.5 inches
    • Denver (downtown): 2.6 inches.
• On Friday afternoon, a strong tornado tore through Gaylord, Michigan causing widespread damage, two deaths, and 44 injuries.
  • The tornado tore through a mobile home park, where two residents in their 70s were later found dead.
  • The tornado then moved through Gaylord’s business district, turning cars upside down, sheering off roofs, and scattering wood from damaged buildings into the streets.
  • Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Otsego County.
  • Tornadoes in northern Michigan are relatively unusual; while about 15 typically strike the state each year, most happen farther south.
  • The National Weather Service said the tornado has been rated an EF3 with max winds of 140 MPH.

Wildfires

• As of Monday, there are currently 14 large active wildfires that have burned 536,604 across AR, CA, CO, NE, NH, NM, and TX. As of Monday, 26,486 wildfires have burned 1,730,311 acres across the country.
• In Arkansas, 1 fire has burned 117 acres as of Monday.
• In California, 1 fire has burned 682 acres as of Monday.
• In Colorado, 3 fires have burned 2,663 acres as of Monday.
• In Nebraska, 1 fire has burned 4,192 acres as of Monday.
• In New Hampshire, 1 fire has burned 106 acres as of Monday.
• In New Mexico, 6 fires have burned 517,588 acres as of Monday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 310,253 acres and is 40% contained as of Monday.
• In Texas, 1 fire has burned 11,256 acres as of Monday.
• On Friday, evacuation orders remained in place for residents near the wildfires in Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico.
• On Friday, dangerous fire weather fueled by gusty winds, high temperatures, and extremely low humidity hit the Southwest.

Extreme Heat

• Above-normal heat is forecast for most of the U.S. this summer.
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that above-normal temperatures are likely across almost all of the lower 48 states in June, July, and August, except for small areas in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains.
  • The Northeast, from Delaware to Maine, has the highest likelihood of being extra-hot, along with parts of the West.
  • The agency also forecast lower-than-normal precipitation for much of the West, which means it’s unlikely that the severe drought gripping the region will end.
• Tucson, Arizona may forgo 20% less water to help keep Lake Mead’s water level up.
  • Lake Mead’s surface has dropped more than 170 feet since 1983, and the lake is down to about 30% of capacity.
  • Tucson receives about 144,000 acre-feet of Central Arizona Project water annually but uses only about 100,000 and has been storing the surplus underground.
• On Friday, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and California Public Utilities Commission advised that for the next five summers, available electricity supplies might not be able to keep up with demand if heat waves hit, droughts make hydropower less available or wildfires reduce electricity transmission.
• Rising temperatures driven by climate change are negatively impacting human sleep patterns worldwide.
  • If temperatures continue to surge, the effects could slash between 50 and 58 hours of sleep per person each year by the end of the century.

New Reports And Data

• A May 2022 study found that climate change is leading to loss of sleep worldwide.
• A May 2022 study found that increasing urban greenery could have prevented at least 34,000 U.S. deaths over two decades.
• A May 2022 study found that underestimating battery autonomy is a major psychological barrier to buying an electric car.