Key Facts Of The Day 09/27

Hurricanes

• As of Tuesday morning, category 3 Hurricane Ian was located 10 miles north-northeast of Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, and 130 miles south-southwest of the Dry Tortugas, moving north at 12 MPH with maximum sustained winds of 125 MPH.
  • About 2.5 million Floridians are under evacuation orders, including the coastal counties of Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Manatee County, Hernando County, Pinellas County, Sarasota County, Charlotte County, and Lee County.
  • The storm is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday night into early Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane. This would mark Tampa Bay’s first direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921.
  • Slow-moving Ian is expected to drop more than 15 inches of rain from Tampa to Orlando.
  • Major flooding is possible in Orlando, Tampa, and St. Petersburg.
  • Tornado watches have been issued in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Naples, and Key West as Hurricane Ian approaches.
  • Airlines canceled flights and at least one major airport on Florida’s west coast said it will suspend operations ahead of Hurricane Ian’s arrival.
    • Delta, Southwest, American, United, Spirit, and JetBlue said they are waiving flight-change fees or fare differences for travelers affected by the storm at airports throughout Florida. 
• Hurricanes are expected to rapidly intensify more often — and potentially at faster rates — as global warming heats up Earth. 
  • As it transitioned into a hurricane on Monday, Hurricane Ian officially met the National Hurricane Center’s threshold for “rapid intensification” — that’s when a storm swells unusually quickly, gaining at least 35 MPH in wind speeds within 24 hours or less. 
  • A 2018 study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that hurricanes in certain parts of the Atlantic are rapidly intensifying faster than they used to.
  • A separate paper, published in 2019, also found that Atlantic hurricanes are intensifying at faster rates. 
  • One 2019 paper suggested that future warming may affect wind shear patterns near the United States, allowing hurricanes to intensify faster as they approach the East Coast.
  • Research suggests that around 79% of major storms undergo rapid intensification at some point and that very few storms achieve a Category 3 or higher without it.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 89 large active wildfires that have burned 782,752 across CA, ID, MT, OK, OR, WA, and WY. As of Tuesday, 52,951 wildfires have burned 6,851,495 acres across the country.
• In California, 2 fires have burned 29,386 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Oregon, 6 fires have burned 326,814 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 114,422 acres and is 20% contained as of Tuesday.

Extreme Heat

• The first full week of fall brought summer-like temperatures to Southern California on Monday along with an increased risk of wildfires.
  • Excessive heat warnings and advisories were issued for inland areas through midweek, with maximum temperatures predicted to reach 103 degrees Fahrenheit in foothills and valleys.
  • The National Weather Service said so-called sundowner winds around dusk on Monday and Tuesday could gust to 45 MPH, which have the potential to create erratic conditions for flames. 
• The cost of pumpkins, a fall staple, is up due to inflation and drought conditions just ahead of Halloween.
  • Lack of rain and pollination due to extreme heat has led to smaller pumpkins and overall fewer pumpkins this year.
• Ranchers and farmers are struggling as drought conditions persist across all of Nebraska’s $28 billion dollar agricultural sector.
  • Normally, corn stalks stand 6 to 8 feet tall, but this year they’re roughly half that height.
  • Rather than feed their cattle, some ranchers are planning to sell them to auction.
  • Corn, soybean, live, and feeder cattle prices have been increasing by double-digits or more, but expenses have also gone up as well.

New Reports and Data

• A September 2022 study found that the greater the child’s exposure to air pollution before age 5, the greater the brain structure alteration observed in preadolescence.
• A September 2022 study found that indoor air has many more known and potential air toxics than outdoors, particularly when cooking.