Key Facts Of The Day 5/26

Storms and Flooding

• A massive and slow-moving storm system will bring the risk of flooding downpours and locally violent thunderstorms to the Ohio and Tennessee valleys as well as the southern Appalachians on Thursday, prior to reaching the East Coast on Friday.
  • The main threats to lives and property will stem from high wind gusts and flash flooding from Thursday into Thursday night. 
  • The greatest risk of a few isolated tornadoes is likely to be from near I-20 to areas south of the interstate — essentially the central portions of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi on southward.
  • On Wednesday, the storm brought a general 3-6 inches of rain to the southern Plains with close to a foot falling on Cushing, Oklahoma.
  • On Tuesday, a line of severe thunderstorms produced dozens of incidents of severe weather ranging from tornadoes to high winds and large hail as it roared southeastward across Texas.
    • Midland, Texas, was pummeled with hail the size of large apples and rocked with hurricane-force wind gusts of 74 MPH.
    • Wind gusts in Sundown, Texas, reached 78 MPH.
• Norfolk, Virginia City Council wants more green and fewer walls in the downtown flood protection plan.
• Flooding is an ongoing worry in New Hampshire, causing more than half of all weather damage in the state, and there are concerns that climate change will exacerbate it.
  • Flooding can happen anywhere in New Hampshire at any time of the year with snowmelt, ice jams, and slow-moving thunderstorms being able to trigger flooding.
  • In recent decades, rainfall has increased, raising the danger of flooding.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 9 large active wildfires that have burned 570,817 across AZ, CO, NE, NM, and TX. As of Wednesday, 26,884 wildfires have burned 1,780,488 acres across the country.
• In Arizona, 1 fire has burned 4,000 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Colorado, 1 fire has burned 721 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Nebraska, 1 fire has burned 4,192 acres as of Wednesday.
• In New Mexico, 5 fires have burned 550,944 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 311,148 acres and is 42% contained as of Wednesday.
    • Firefighters rescued an abandoned newborn elk calf found amid the ashes of the fire.
  • The Black Fire has burned 160,952 acres and is 13% contained as of Wednesday.
    • The Black Fire became the third-largest wildfire in the history of New Mexico.
  • A warming trend began on Wednesday with temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s and relative humidity expected to remain low in the area, increasing critical fire weather conditions for the area.
• In Texas, 1 fire has burned 10,960 acres as of Wednesday.

Extreme Heat

• Even California counties that are not facing a water shortage will have to comply with new state regulations to conserve water.
  • The new regulation will ban watering grass in front or next to commercial, industrial or institutional properties starting June 10.
  • The regulation also will require water agencies to activate their level two response, which according to the California Water Boards may include: limiting outdoor irrigation to certain days or hours, increasing patrolling to identify water waste, enforcing water-use prohibition, and increasing communication about the importance of water conservation. 
  • Those who do not comply could be fined up to $500. 
• The recent rainfall has hardly made a dent in the drought conditions in Oklahoma.
  • Ranchers and farmers of wheat crops are the ones hurting the most.

New Reports And Data

• A May 2022 study found that climate change will make the U.S. Corn Belt unsuitable for cultivating corn by 2100 without significant agricultural adaptation. 
• A May 2022 study found that the top 10% most valuable homes in the western United States are 70% more likely to be in high wildfire hazard areas than median-value properties.
• A May 2022 study found that Belmont County, Ohio has concerning levels of air pollution from fracking, and correlations between local spikes and health impacts