Key Facts Of The Day 6/15

Hurricanes

• Half a million customers in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley remain in the dark after violent thunderstorms knocked out power Monday night.
  • The National Weather Service received nearly 600 reports of severe weather Monday as violent thunderstorms erupted in the Midwest and charged southeastward through the Ohio Valley into southwest Virginia and western North Carolina.
  • The storms unleashed winds up to 98 MPH, downing hundreds of trees.
  • On Monday evening, the storms began along Interstate 94 between Madison and Milwaukee, dropping hen-egg-size hail before shifting over Lake Michigan.
  • Another severe storm blossomed west of Chicago, becoming a supercell or rotating thunderstorm that prompted the issuance of tornado warnings across the area.
    • Some damage was reported, including the entire roof of a third-floor apartment removed in Maywood, in addition to a partial wall collapse on North Fremont Street in Chicago.
    • The Weather Service confirmed one weak tornado touched down in Rosselle but that most of the damage in the area was from straight-line winds.
  • Farther east, storms consolidated and the most severe blasted through northeast Indiana, southern Michigan, and the majority of Ohio.
    • Winds gusted to 98 MPH at the airport in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and 75 MPH in Putnam County, Ohio.
• On Monday, flooding across Montana and Wyoming broke records due to a combination of late-season snowmelt and an atmospheric river.
  • The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana, about 8 miles north of Yellowstone’s northern gateway, peaked at 13.88 feet, above the previous 11.5-foot record set in 1918.
  • The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River near Belfry, Montana, farther east, likewise peaked at 12.93 feet, exceeding its 1981 record by nearly 3 feet.
  • Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte issued an emergency order declaring a statewide disaster, highlighting flooding in Carbon, Park, and Stillwater counties.
  • The rising Yellowstone River has triggered evacuation orders around the state as it floods its banks — wiping out power in some communities like Red Lodge, Gardiner, and Fishtail.
  • Damage from the flooding cut off access yesterday to Gardiner, where many of Yellowstone’s workers live.
    • Motels lowered their rates to accommodate those who were left stranded.
    • No one’s sure when they’ll be able to leave, or when supplies can be delivered to gas stations, restaurants, or the town’s only grocery store.
    • In many areas, the water is unsafe to drink, and many remain without power.
  • The towns of Silver Gate and Cooke City in Montana are flooded, and all of the bridges have been decimated.
  • Yellowstone National Park is closed to visitors indefinitely in the wake of record-shattering floods caused by a combination of heavy rains and late snowmelt.
    • The floods also triggered rockslides and mudslides and washed out roads and bridges.
  • At least one home was captured on video collapsing into a river in southern Montana as the ground on which it sat was eroded.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 38 large active wildfires that have burned 1,217,213 across AK, AZ, CA, and NM. As of Wednesday, 29,966wildfires have burned 2,790,609 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 23 fires have burned 461,291 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Arizona, 6 fires have burned 31,742 acres as of Wednesday.
  • Roughly 2,500 homes have been evacuated because of two wildfires burning on the outskirts of Flagstaff.
  • One home and a secondary structure burned.
  • In northern Arizona, Coconino County declared an emergency because of the wildfire.
• In California, 3 fires have burned 2,274 acres as of Wednesday.
• In New Mexico, 6 fires have burned 721,906 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 325,340 acres and is 70% contained as of Wednesday.
  • The Black Fire has burned 313,688 acres and is 44% contained as of Wednesday.

Extreme Heat

• On Tuesday, a staggering 120 million Americans are covered by alerts for extreme heat.
  • Record heat swelled from Nebraska to South Carolina. 
  • A stifling heat dome is parked over the Tennessee Valley, bringing exceptional heat and humidity while severe thunderstorms erupt along its northern fringe.
  • The heat, intensified by human-caused climate change, could well fuel more destructive storms.
  • Stifling humidity is making these air temperatures feel 10 to 15 degrees higher.
  • On Monday, multiple cities set new daily record temperatures: Lincoln, Nebraska (103 degrees), Columbia, South Carolina (103 degrees), Austin, Texas (102 degrees), St. Louis, Missouri (100 degrees), Charlotte, North Carolina (98 degrees), Nashville, Tennessee (97 degrees), and Louisville and Paducah, Kentucky (both 97 degrees).
  • North Platte, Nebraska, hit 108 degrees, which is the highest temperature ever recorded there during the month of June.
  • While Chicago cleans up from Monday night’s storms, it faces “dangerous heat and humidity” Tuesday and Wednesday which could feel as hot as 110 degrees.
  • The heat will ease in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Wednesday but will threaten records from Detroit to Atlanta.
  • A new insurgence of heat will return to the Plains by the weekend.
• Despite the record-breaking heat in Texas, the grid is holding up in large part due to strong performances from wind and solar, which generated 27 gigawatts of electricity during Sunday’s peak demand – close to 40% of the total needed.

New Reports And Data

• A June 2022 study found that airports situated in colder climates accumulated more pollutants like PM2.5 in the fall and winter.
• A June 2022 study found that abiding by climate-friendly policies actually changes the way people think about what they do.
• A June 2022 study found that climate warming played a predominant role in shaping microbial biodiversity, with a significant negative effect.