Key Facts Of The Day 09/16

Hurricanes

• As of early Friday, Tropical Storm Fiona was located about 265 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean, was moving west at 15 MPH and had maximum sustained winds of 50 MPH.
  • Tropical storm warnings were issued for Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Maarten/St. Martin.
  • Tropical storm watches were issued for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.
  • Up to six inches with isolated higher amounts were forecast for the northern Leeward Islands, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, with a maximum of 10 inches falling across eastern Puerto Rico and up to 12 inches in eastern Hispaniola.
    • Rains could produce flash flooding and create mudslides.
• The search, cleanup, and damage assessment from the mudslides that affected 30,000 residents in two remote communities in California continues.
  • On Wednesday, rescuers searched for a person missing in a mudslide that swept boulders down fire-scarred slopes and damaged or destroyed 30 homes in the Southern California mountains.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 97 large active wildfires that have burned 900,282 across CA, ID, MT, NE, NV, OR, UT, WA, and WY. As of Friday, 50,951 wildfires have burned 6,784,624 acres across the country.
• In California, 8 fires have burned 158,731 acres as of Friday.
  • The Fairview Fire has burned 28,307 acres and is 84% contained as of Friday.
  • The Mosquito Fire has burned 67,669 acres and is 20% contained as of Friday.
    • Evacuation orders remained for some 11,000 residents because of the unpredictable nature of the winds.
    • Total containment of the fire is expected to occur around Oct. 15. 
• In Nevada, 1 fire has burned 710 acres as of Friday.
• In Oregon, 8 fires have burned 311,604 acres as of Friday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 93,109 acres and is 0% contained as of Friday.

Extreme Heat

• Earth just experienced one of its warmest summers on record.
  • NASA data indicates June through August tied 2020 for the warmest summer worldwide in records dating back to 1880.
  • NOAA data indicates the meteorological summer tied for the fifth warmest worldwide in 143 years of records.
  • Both sets of data show that this summer was abnormally warm and that the world has warmed dramatically over the past century.
  • NASA data indicated June 2022 tied for the hottest June on record, July tied for the third warmest, and August ranked as the second warmest globally. 
  • NOAA said June, July, and August, individually and collectively, were the sixth warmest on record.
  • Texas experienced its hottest July on record. 
  • At the end of July, a prolonged heat wave in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest set records for the longest warm streaks in Portland and Seattle.
  • August 2022 was the hottest August recorded in North America.
  • August also brought more intense heat to parts of the U.S., especially in parts of the West.
• As climate change drives up temperatures, kids are suffering in school buildings without air conditioning or being sent home early for heat days.
  • In just the last few weeks, schools in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Maryland have closed for “heat days,” and students have suffered through sweltering temperatures in classrooms without air conditioning while trying to learn.
  • Excessive heat impairs the brain’s functioning and makes it harder for students to learn.
  • Black and Hispanic students tend to live in parts of the country that are more susceptible to extreme heat, and they’re less likely to attend schools or live in homes that are air-conditioned.
  • Wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather events that have worsened due to climate change are also straining school infrastructure and disrupting learning.
  • Switching to renewable sources of electricity, like installing solar panels with battery storage, and converting asphalt playgrounds to green schoolyards are among the ways schools can cool down while lowering their carbon footprint.

New Reports and Data

• A September 2022 report found that 54 (out of 63) healthcare providers said they had experienced at least one extreme weather event over the last five years, and more than half experienced more than five events during that time.
• A September 2022 poll found that more than half of adults surveyed worldwide said climate change has already severely impacted their lives.