Key Facts Of The Day 08/04

Hurricanes

• As of Thursday morning, a flash flood warning was issued for the western suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, as the city is still recovering from last week’s destructive floods.
  • The warning followed torrential rainfall overnight.
  • Wind gusts reached up to 60 MPH and a flash flood warning impacting more than 1 million people was in effect for several hours.
  • Overnight, there were reports of stranded motorists, flooded roads, and flooded basements.
  • Creeks were also rising and had exceeded levels reached last week.
• Some Kentucky flood victims refuse to leave wrecked homes because they fear looters will take the little that’s left.
  • At least two counties have imposed curfews to prevent looting. 
    • In Breathitt County, the Kentucky National Guard members are now patrolling the battered region.
  • One resident said someone stole the gas from her husband’s Jeep, her van, and their 4-wheeler at their property in Breathitt County, which was damaged in the flood.
  • Some Kentucky flood victims are physically unable to leave.
    • Knott County has about 16,000 residents, many elderly and suffering from chronic illnesses like diabetes.
    • Floodwaters destroyed seventy bridges in Knott county, and most roads are either wrecked or covered with mud and debris.
    • The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has delivered more than 1,760 hot trays of food, 500 sandwiches, 39 cases of water, several cases of laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, diapers, several air conditioners, and generators to residents in hard-to-reach areas without power.
• On Tuesday, heavy rain caused flash flooding in central Mississippi, trapping some people in homes and offices.
  • The fire department crews used boats to get people out of homes in Canton.
• On Tuesday, severe storms knocked out power to as many as 75,000 customers across Minnesota, power poles were toppled, and winds gusted as high as 81 MPH in the state’s southern region.

Wildfires

• As of Thursday, there are currently 63 large active wildfires that have burned 1,640,278 across AK, AZ, CA, ID, MT, NE, NV, NM, OR, TX, UT, WA, and WY. As of Thursday, 39,910 wildfires have burned 5,802,433 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 27 fires have burned 1,038,942 acres as of Thursday.
• In Arizona, 3 fires have burned 3,191 acres as of Thursday.
• In California, 4 fires have burned 79,900 acres as of Thursday.
  • The McKinney Fire has burned 57,519 acres and is 10% contained as of Thursday.
    • Several thousand people remain under evacuation orders, 100 buildings ranging from homes to greenhouses have burned, and at least four bodies were found in the region.
    • The fire wiped out a scenic river town, home to about 200 residents.
      • The fire destroyed most homes, including those in a trailer park, the post office, the community hall, and other scattered businesses.
  • The Oak Fire has burned 19,244 acres and is 83% contained as of Thursday.
• In Idaho, 4 fires have burned 67,886 acres as of Thursday.
• In Montana, 6 fires have burned 22,781 acres as of Thursday.
• In Nebraska, 1 fire has burned 15,592 acres as of Thursday. 
• In Nevada, 2 fires have burned 2,389 acres as of Thursday.
• In New Mexico, 1 fire has burned 341,735 acres as of Thursday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 341,735 acres and is 98% contained as of Thursday.
• In Oregon, 4 fires have burned 11,842 acres as of Thursday.
• In Texas, 6 fires have burned 10,092 acres as of Thursday.
• In Utah, 1 fire has burned 11,701 acres as of Thursday.
• In Washington, 1 fire has burned 26,490 acres as of Thursday.
• In Wyoming, 2 fires have burned 7,507 acres as of Thursday.

Extreme Heat

• The medical examiner’s office in Washington state’s most populous county, which includes Seattle, reported six heat-related deaths following a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest last week.
  • In King County, sixty-one emergency department visits for heat-related illnesses were recorded between Tuesday and Friday.
  •  Emergency medical services in King County also responded to over 50 suspected heat-related illness reports between July 26 and July 31.
• At least 43 locations across the U.S. set or tied for their hottest July on record.
  • The record-breaking temperatures were concentrated in Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Oregon.
  • Also, in July, at least 79 localities recorded their warmest average overnight low temperatures for the month, including nine that tied their records.
  • San Antonio not only had its hottest July on record, with an average temperature of 89.8 degrees, which was 5 degrees above average for the month, but it also had its third straight month of record-breaking heat.
  • The Texas town of College Station broke its previous 2009 record for its hottest average temperatures in July, reporting an average temperature of 90.9 degrees.
  • Salt Lake City had an average monthly temperature of 87.3 degrees, 1.6 degrees hotter than its previous record for the month.
• July 2022 marks the second-hottest month on record in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • July’s average temperature reached 82.4 degrees, which was 3.4 degrees above normal for the month.
  • Overnight lows were the warmest on record.
  • Nine of Philly’s ten hottest months — all Julys — have occurred in the last 30 years.
  • Air conditioning is key in Philadelphia’s hot neighborhoods, but resources are limited.
    • U.S. Census Bureau data show more than 400,000 Pennsylvania housing units lack air conditioning. 
    • Temperatures in Philly’s hottest neighborhoods can be up to 22 degrees higher than in greener neighborhoods.
  • At least six people have died in Philadelphia from heat-related causes since July 23.
• Recent heat waves in Florida have caused the sand on some beaches to get so hot that nearly every turtle born was female. 
  • Instead of determining sex during fertilization, the sex of sea turtles and alligators depends on the temperature of developing eggs.
• A new analysis of Glen Canyon Dam shows plummeting water levels could leave Arizona, California, and Nevada less than their annual share of the river due to the drought and “antique plumbing.”
  • As of Monday, Lake Powell’s elevation is at 3,536 feet.
  • The analysis predicts that if Lake Powell drops another 106 feet, the Glen Canyon Dam’s infrastructure will begin to be unable to funnel water at levels expected by Arizona, California, and Nevada.
• For the first time in four decades, America’s fifth-longest river went dry in Albuquerque last week.
  • The habitat for the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow also dried up.
  • Experts warn that the drying this far north is a sign of an increasingly fragile water supply and that current conservation measures may not be enough to save the minnow and still provide water to nearby farms, backyards, and parks.
  • To keep more water in the Rio Grande, the state and irrigation districts offer to pay farmers to leave fields unplanted, but few have opted in.

New Reports And Data

• An August 2022 study found that risk management strategies based on past climate norms are no longer effective for a more extreme future.
• An August 2022 report shows how rising temperatures threaten some of the Earth’s most iconic sounds.
• A July 2022 study found that thousands of cold-water lakes across the Upper Midwest could be unsuitable for fish and other aquatic species if more isn’t done to address climate change and toxic runoff.