Key Facts Of The Day 07/05

Hurricanes

• On Tuesday, more than 60 million people are at the risk for severe storms from central Montana to the Mid-Atlantic. 
  • Storms, expected to get going during the afternoon hours, will be capable of all hazards, especially damaging winds and very large hail for cities like Omaha, Nebraska, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Washington.
  • Flash flooding will also be a concern for areas where multiple rounds of rain and storms train over the same areas.
  • A flood watch is up for 10 million people across northeastern Illinois, including Chicago, where rainfall rates with afternoon storms could be 2 to 3 inches per hour.
  • On Wednesday, severe storms will once again be possible for 35 million people across two separate areas, Montana and the Mid-Atlantic.
  • High heat and humidity will provide fuel for severe thunderstorms.
• On Sunday, Bonnie strengthened over East Pacific waters, just west of Nicaragua, and became the third hurricane of the season in the basin.
  • As of Tuesday morning, Bonnie had gained more strength with maximum sustained winds up to 115 MPH.
  • Bonnie was moving toward the west and away from the southwest coast of Mexico at 14 MPH.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 54 large active wildfires that have burned 2,692,500 acres across AK, AZ, CA, GA, NV, NM, NC, OR, TX, and WY. As of Tuesday, 34,478 wildfires have burned 4,582,301 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 42 fires have burned 1,948,236 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Arizona, 3 fires have burned 27,970 acres as of Tuesday.
• In California, 2 fires have burned 3.938 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Electra Fire has burned 3,034 acres and is 0% contained as of Tuesday.
    • As the fire quickly spread, 85 to 100 people celebrating the Fourth of July at a recreation area known as Vox Beach had to be evacuated to a nearby Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility.
• In Georgia, 1 fire has burned 2,213 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Nevada, 1 fire has burned 1,966 acres as of Tuesday.
• In New Mexico, 2 fires have burned 666,871 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Black Fire has burned 325,136 acres and is 70% contained as of Tuesday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 341,735 acres and is 93% contained as of Tuesday.
• In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 1,938 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Oregon, 1 fire has burned 40,274 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Texas, 1 fire has burned 2,026 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Wyoming, 1 fire has burned 102 acres as of Tuesday.

Extreme Heat

• As of Tuesday morning, nearly 60 million people remained under heat alerts across parts of the Central Plains, Midwest, and South. 
  • High temperatures in the 90s combined with high humidity will lead to dangerous heat index values of 105-115.
  • The high heat and humidity will provide fuel for the severe thunderstorms.
• Summer in the U.S. is becoming hotter, longer, and more dangerous.
  • The average summer temperature in the past five years has been 1.7 degrees warmer than it was from 1971 through 2000.
    • Some parts of the country have been much harder hit, with the West showing a 2.7 degrees increase.
  • Climate change is increasingly pushing summer to extremes, creating inhospitable conditions and endangering lives.
    • In the West and Southwest, the wildfire season is lengthening, and a historic drought is emptying reservoirs.
    • In other parts of the Southwest, communities are bracing for the prospect of flash floods as monsoon season arrives.
    • On the East Coast, hotter-than-usual temperatures are contributing to more severe flooding and heavy downpours.
  • As hot weather arrives, the nation’s electric grid is under growing strain, with regulators from the Midwest to the Southwest warning of rolling power outages this summer.
  • In the Northeast and parts of the Midwest, rising summertime temperatures and increasing rainfall have caused camp directors and summer youth program organizers to worry about heat stress, higher utility bills, and flooding.
• A Climate Central study found that in just more than half of the cities analyzed, high-heat days arrived at least a week earlier, on average, than 50 years ago and three-fourths of places had more “extremely hot” days.

New Reports And Data

• A July 2022 study found that pesticides and heavy metals in soil may have detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system.
• A June 2022 study found that on average high-heat days arrived at least a week earlier than 50 years ago.