Key Facts Of The Day 08/16

Hurricanes

• On Monday, heavy rain caused high water across multiple roadways in West Virginia and led to several water rescues.
  • Flash flooding was reported in areas of central and southeastern West Virginia.
  • A flood warning was in effect for portions of Kanawha, Fayette, and Greenbrier counties, while a flood watch was issued for several other counties.
  • In Kanawha County, emergency responders conducted 25 water rescues.
  • In Kanawha and Fayette Counties, the flash flood uprooted trees, engulfed cars and roads, washed out culverts, and damaged at least 100 homes.
• Climate change is increasing the risk of a California megaflood.
  • Climate change is simultaneously increasing the odds of extreme drought and extreme rainfall events in the western U.S. and many other regions worldwide. It may rain less often, but when it does, the rainfall may be extreme.
  • Wildfires can worsen the impact of extreme rainfall by eating up vegetation and leaving the soil scarred and loose, making it easier for water to run off the surface rather than soak into the ground.
• Protecting two of Boston’s historic waterfront neighborhoods, East Boston and Charlestown, from rising seas, storm surges, and flooding could cost up to $1.3 billion.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 67 large active wildfires that have burned 1,696,851 across AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NE, NV, NM, NC, OR, TX, UT, WA, and WY. As of Friday, 41,456 wildfires have burned 5,902,571 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 28 fires have burned 1,064,172 acres as of Friday.
• In Arizona, 3 fires have burned 3,211 acres as of Friday.
• In California, 4 fires have burned 100,630 acres as of Friday.
  • The McKinney Fire has burned 60,389 acres and is 80% contained as of Friday.
  • The Oak Fire has burned 19,244 acres and is 98% contained as of Friday.
• In Hawaii, 1 fire has burned 25,000 acres as of Friday.
• In Idaho, 7 fires have burned 89,638 acres as of Friday.
• In Montana, 6 fires have burned 27,892 acres as of Friday.
• In Nevada, 1 fire has burned 1,966 acres as of Friday.
• In New Mexico, 1 fire has burned 341,735 acres as of Friday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 341,735 acres and is 98% contained as of Friday.
• In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 2,000 acres as of Friday.
• In Oregon, 4 fires have burned 5,301 acres as of Friday.
• In Texas, 4 fires have burned 2,451 acres as of Friday.
• In Utah, 1 fire has burned 11,702 acres as of Friday.
• In Washington, 2 fires have burned 12,776 acres as of Friday.
• In Wyoming, 2 fires have burned 7,632 acres as of Friday.

Extreme Heat

• A First Street Foundation analysis found that an “extreme heat belt” will emerge in large parts of the country by 2053.
  • Researchers found the local hottest seven days of any particular area are expected to become the hottest 18 days over the next 30 years.
    • Miami-Dade County may experience the most dramatic shift in temperature, where the region’s seven hottest days, including heat index temperatures at 103 Fahrenheit, could increase to 34 days a year at that temperature by 2053.
  • Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Florida are expected to see the largest increase in dangerous temperatures.
  • By 2053, 1,023 counties could experience heat index temperatures above 125 degrees, an area home to more than 107 million that covers a quarter of U.S. land area. 
• An E&E News analysis found that extreme heat will hit racial and ethnic communities the hardest across the continental United States. 
  • ZIP codes where a majority of the residents are a racial or ethnic minority will experience an average of 27.5 days in 2023 when the heat index exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while the average ZIP code will only experience 17 days.
    • ZIP codes where more than 90% of the residents are white will experience an average of 10.5 extreme-heat days.
  • In 2053, minority-majority ZIP codes will experience an average of 43 days of extreme heat.
    • ZIP codes that are more than 90% white will experience 19.5 days of extreme heat.
• Higher temperatures will shrink the supply of processing tomatoes in key regions in the next few decades, with the U.S., Italy, and China expected to decline by 6% by 2050.
  • California leads the world in the production of processing tomatoes. Still, the megadrought is forcing farmers to grapple with a water crisis that’s undermining the crop, threatening further to push up prices from salsa to spaghetti sauce.
  • It costs a Fresno County-based grower and processor around $4,800 an acre to grow and harvest a tomato crop these days compared with $2,800 a decade ago.
• Northeastern farmers face new challenges with severe drought.
  • Water supplies are low or dry, and many communities are restricting nonessential outdoor water use. 
  • Fire departments are combating more brush fires, and crops are growing poorly. 
  • Providence, Rhode Island, had less than half an inch of rainfall in the third-driest July on record.
    • Last week, Rhode Island’s governor issued a statewide drought advisory with recommendations to reduce water use. 
  • Boston, Massachusetts, had six-tenths of an inch in the fourth-driest July on record.
  • About 50 dry wells have been reported in Maine since 2021.

New Reports And Data

• An August 2022 study found that an extreme heat belt will impact more than 100 million Americans in 2053.
• An August 2022 study found that extreme heat will hit racial and ethnic communities the hardest across the continental United States. 
• An August 2022 poll found that over 80% of respondents who reported experiencing an extreme weather event said they believed climate change was to blame for it.
• An August 2022 study found that climate change is increasing the risk of a megaflood in California.