Key Facts Of The Day 08/24

Hurricanes

• With 2 to 4 more inches of heavy rainfall moving into the area Wednesday morning on top of saturated ground, there is a “significant threat” of flash flooding over most of northeast Louisiana and most of central Mississippi. 
  •  A slight risk – level 2 of 4 – stretches from western Alabama through much of the Texas Coast.
  • A little over 4 million people are under flood watches, which are in effect through late Wednesday from Texas to Mississippi.
• A 29-year-old hiker died after she was reported missing during the floods Friday evening at Utah’s Zion National Park.
• In the last five weeks, five 1,000-year rain events have hit the U.S.
  • Dallas, Kentucky, St. Louis, eastern Illinois, and Death Valley, California, all experienced abnormally dry conditions or a severe drought before being hit by a 1,000-year rain event.
  • Droughts worsen floods by killing plants, leaving the ground bare, and reducing soil absorption. 
  • Droughts also harden top soils, which makes it easier for water to run off.
  • The extremely dry ground, combined with the rapid rainfall, can trigger widespread flooding.
  • While it seems contradictory, drought and flooding are closely tied to human-driven warming and alter our environment and how we interact with it.
• Tornadoes are a rarity in the southwestern U.S., but multiple twisters were on the ground simultaneously for a time Sunday evening.
  • One tornado was close to Interstate 15 in Nevada, and another was photographed near Lake George, Utah, as it slipped into northern Arizona.
  • Part of southern Arizona was included in a Level 1 out of 5 marginal risk for severe thunderstorms by the chances of a tornado were never advertised.
  • Arizona averages only five tornadoes a year across the entire state, and Nevada nets a mean of two.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 41 large active wildfires that have burned 418,377 across AK, CA, ID, MT, NC, ND, OR, UT, WA, and WY. As of Wednesday, 43,850 wildfires have burned 6,003,806 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 5 fires have burned 152,146 acres as of Wednesday.
• In California, 4 fires have burned 95,937 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The McKinney Fire has burned 60,138 acres and is 99% contained as of Wednesday.
• In Idaho, 11 fires have burned 116,660 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Montana, 9 fires have burned 18,928 acres as of Wednesday.
• In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 1,226 acres as of Wednesday.
• In North Dakota, 1 fire has burned 5,289 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Oregon, 6 fires have burned 11,334 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Utah, 1 fire has burned 11,702 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Washington, 2 fires have burned 2,230 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Wyoming, 1 fire has burned 2,925 acres as of Wednesday.

Extreme Heat

• Dinosaur tracks from around 113 million years ago have been revealed at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas due to severe drought conditions that dried up a river.
  • More than 60% of Texas was experiencing drought last week in two of the most intense categories, according to the US Drought Monitor.
• According to a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the power sector generated a record amount of gas-fired electricity in July as the nation suffered scorching temperatures.
  • The price of natural gas has more than quadrupled since 2020, from an average of $1.77 to $7.28 per million British thermal units.
  • Gas typically accounts for approximately 40 to 50% of the U.S. power mix, and power consumption usually spikes in the summer because of air conditioning.
  • Air conditioning was in high demand as July was one of the hottest months on record, with average temperatures 2.8 degrees above average in the contiguous U.S.
• Amid an onslaught of invasive insects, a surge in deadly diseases, and climate change, as many as 1 in 6 trees native to the Lower 48 states are in danger of extinction. 
  • The threatened list includes soaring coast redwoods, capacious American chestnuts, elegant black ash, and gnarled whitebark pine.
  • However, only eight tree species are federally recognized as endangered or threatened, and 17 at-risk species aren’t conserved in botanic gardens or scientific collections.

New Reports and Data

• An August 2022 analysis found that the Inflation Reduction Act could reduce the costs of climate-related damages by up to $1.9 trillion.
• An August 2022 study found that 64% of Americans are “at least somewhat worried” about global warming and climate change, and 30% are “very worried.”
• An August 2022 study found that 1 in 6 trees in the U.S. is threatened with extinction by invasive insects, deadly diseases, and climate change.