Key Facts Of The Day 09/23

Hurricanes

• As of Friday morning, category 4 Hurricane Fiona was located less than 200 miles west-southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 130 MPH and was moving north-northeast at 21 MPH.
  • Fiona is also expected to bring “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” to the northeast U.S. coast.
  • While the storm is expected to weaken Friday, Fiona is still forecast to be “a large and powerful post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds” when it hits Canada.
  • On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government will pay 100% of the costs of Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricane Fiona for the next month.
  • Days after Fiona hit Puerto Rico, about 62% of 1.47 million power customers remained without energy on Thursday, and a third of customers — more than 400,000 — were without water service.
  • As much as 80% of Puerto Rico’s crops were also destroyed by Fiona, including coffee crops that had just reached a successful harvesting peak post-Maria.
  • After destroying roads and bridges and causing mudslides, Fiona has left hundreds of Puerto Ricans stranded as authorities work with religious groups and nonprofits to reach areas isolated by the storm in order to provide vital food, water, and medicine.
    • At least six municipalities have areas cut off by the storm.
• A developing tropical system, dubbed “Invest 98L,” could spin up into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week.

Wildfires

• As of Thursday, there are currently 94 large active wildfires that have burned 900,748 across CA, ID, MT, OK, OR, UT, WA, and WY. As of Thursday, 51,811 wildfires have burned 6,682,998 acres across the country.
• In California, 6 fires have burned 154,641 acres as of Thursday.
  • The Mosquito Fire has burned 76,427 acres and is 49% contained as of Thursday.
• In Oregon, 6 fires have burned 325,632 acres as of Thursday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 113,637 acres and is 14% contained as of Thursday.
• Wildfire smoke reached unhealthy levels in Seattle, Washington.
  • Wildfire smoke made the air quality unhealthy for everyone in downtown and North Seattle, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency said Wednesday morning.
  • The agency said a plume of smoke from the Bolt Creek Fire near Skykomish was being blown west to Everett, then south into parts of Seattle.
  • Air quality was also listed as unhealthy for sensitive groups in parts of Pierce and Snohomish counties.
• On Thursday, California’s insurance commissioner urged other states to replicate a new California law that requires home sellers to disclose whether their property is vulnerable to wildfires.
  • California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said risk disclosure is critical for homebuyers as wildfires become larger and more destructive.
• Wildfires are burning at higher altitudes in the West, including in areas that are normally cloaked in deep snows in winter.
  • The trend of more fires at higher elevations and faster melting snowpacks represent a major threat to a critical water reservoir for the region.

Extreme Heat

• A new report by the Atlantic Council found that annual worker productivity losses amounted to $44 billion on average across 12 cities due to extreme heat.
  • The figure is projected to rise to $84 billion by 2050 unless heat-trapping greenhouse gases are drawn down.
    • In Miami, the combination of increased heat and humidity is projected to double economic losses — from $10 billion to $20 billion — over the next three decades.
    • Los Angeles, which currently experiences nearly $5 billion in lost worker productivity in an average year, will also see a doubling in heat-related economic losses, to $11 billion, by 2050.
  • Researchers projected that by 2050, more than 970 cities would experience average summertime high temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to 354 cities today.
  • The researchers also found that as productivity losses mount, cities will have fewer financial resources to pursue climate adaptation and resilience measures — creating what the authors called the “pernicious effects” of urban heat. 
• The first days of fall will be met with increasing temperatures as another heat wave makes it way to Southern California.
  • In the Los Angeles area, the mercury will start to climb Friday, with up to 100 degrees possible in valley areas and 95 degrees in the mountains and deserts, according to the National Weather Service.
  • Peak heat will come Sunday through Tuesday when valley areas could see temperatures as high as 106 degrees and mountains and deserts could reach 100.
  • In the San Diego area, the heat will peak Monday and Tuesday.
  • Temperatures in the Inland Empire are expected to exceed 100 degrees, while inland Orange County and San Diego could reach the mid- to upper 90s. 
  • Central California will also see temperatures about 6 to 10 degrees above normal for the time of year, with Bakersfield, Hanford, and Fresno all expected to peak at around 95 degrees. 
  • In the Bay Area, temperatures could max out around 95 degrees on Saturday.
• The summer drought took a toll on Long Island farmers with the quality of their vegetables and pumpkin crops.
  • The drought doesn’t only mean smaller pumpkins but smaller profits for a farm in Wading River.
  • The family farm that relies on fall visitors will be showcasing a shorter corn maze and a decent crop of pumpkins, but many not as big as in years past.

New Reports and Data

• A September 2022 report found that due to extreme heat, annual worker productivity losses amounted to $44 billion on average across the 12 cities.
• A September 2022 study found that during the 2019 heatwave, hot temperatures were closely linked with weight loss in heart failure patients, indicating a worsening of their condition.