Key Facts Of The Day 09/21

Hurricanes

• As of Wednesday morning, category 4 Hurricane Fiona was located about 700 miles southwest of the island of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 130 MPH and moving north at 8 MPH.
  • The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory Tuesday urging U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Bermuda due to the storm’s potential impact.
    • The department also authorized family members of U.S. government personnel to leave the island in anticipation of the storm.
  • Hurricane Fiona has also left behind disaster-stricken communities in Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and the Dominican Republic.
  • Several parts of Turks and Caicos experienced island-wide power outages, including Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, North Caicos, and Middle Caicos.
  • The storm was a catastrophic blow to Puerto Rico, which was still recovering in some areas from when Hurricane Maria ripped through the island in 2017.
    • After an island-wide blackout left Puerto Rico’s 3.1 million residents without power, only about 300,000 customers had their electricity restored as of Tuesday afternoon.
    • Across Puerto Rico, more than 1,200 people were housed in dozens of shelters on Tuesday.
    • Emergency crews are struggling against mudslides and flood conditions, which are blocking access to parts of the power grid and highly impacted and remote areas that need supplies.
    • About 200 families were stranded in the Barros sector of the island because a bridge had been destroyed.
    • Schools are also being inspected to determine when students may return safely, a process the governor said will likely be “gradual.” 
  • Clean water access remains a major concern in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
    • About 60% of Puerto Rico’s water customers were without service Tuesday morning.
    • Nearly 2 million customers in the Dominican Republic were also without water Tuesday evening.
  • In the Dominican Republic, more than 600 homes have been destroyed, and 12 communities have been cut off from aid due to the storm.
  • Hurricane Fiona caused the deaths of two people in the Dominican Republic, one person on the French island of Guadeloupe, and two people in Puerto Rico.
• The storm affected about 21,000 residents living in the small communities dotting a 1,000-mile stretch of Alaska’s western coastline.
  • Many homes throughout the region were flooded, and some were knocked off their foundations by the rushing waters propelled by strong winds.
  • Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Golovin, Newtok, and Nome were greatly affected by a combination of high water, flooding, erosion, and electrical issues. 
    • Nome, where one home floated down a river until it was caught by a bridge, was among the many reporting road damages after recording tidal surges 11.1 feet above normal.
  • On Sunday, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said time is of the essence because freeze-up, meaning the start of winter, can happen as early as October.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 97 large active wildfires that have burned 902,581 across CA, ID, MT, OK, OR, UT, WA, and WY. As of Wednesday, 51,606 wildfires have burned 6,815,741acres across the country.
• In California, 6 fires have burned 154,504 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The Mosquito Fire has burned 76,290 acres and is 47% contained as of Wednesday.
    • Rainfall has brought relief to firefighters battling the Mosquito fire, California’s biggest blaze of the year. 
    • Showers that began on Sunday have allowed firefighters to roughly double the containment of the fire.
    • However, the storms have raised the risk of flash floods in the sheer, muddy hills damaged by fire.
    • Weather officials have warned that people who live near the Mosquito burn scar should watch for flooding.
• In Oregon, 6 fires have burned 325,573 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 113,637 acres and is 14% contained as of Wednesday.

Extreme Heat

• Two new studies found that hotter days lead to more harassment and hate speech.
  • One study found that hotter temperatures may drive an increase in workplace harassment and discrimination.
    • The researchers found that when temperatures exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the number of reports increased by about 5%.
  • Another study found a link between weather and online hate speech.
• A record marine heat wave is gripping large expanses of the North Atlantic and northern Pacific oceans.
  • Climate change is making every marine heatwave warmer than the last.
  • Parts of the North Atlantic and North Pacific are currently about four degrees Celsius warmer than normal.
  • Heatwave conditions in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic have lasted for some three months.
  • There is also an increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the water, which makes the waters more acidic.
  • Research suggests warmer water species are staying in the U.S. Northeast for longer, while North Atlantic right whales are foraging in different waters as they follow their plankton prey, which have moved locations — raising concerns about ship collisions and entanglement with fishing gear. 

New Reports and Data

• A September 2022 study found that hotter temperatures may drive an increase in workplace harassment and discrimination.
• A September 2022 study found a link between weather and online hate speech.