Key Facts Of The Day 10/12

Hurricanes

• After hurricane Ian caused devastation across Florida and other parts of the East Coast, communities start recovery efforts.
  • The seafood industry in southwest Florida is trying to save what’s left of a major shrimping fleet that was battered by Hurricane Ian.
    • The storm’s ferocious wind and powerful surge hurled a couple of dozen shrimp boats atop wharves and homes along the harbor on Estero Island. 
    • Shrimping is the largest piece of Florida’s seafood industry, with a value of almost $52 million in 2016.
    • Shrimping crews are at sea for as long as two months at a time, so some members often don’t have homes on land.
  • Researchers and scientists along the Gulf coast are monitoring water conditions in the Tampa Bay area in case red tide starts to emerge.
  • Hurricane Ian could deliver prolonged blows to the local economy, walloping small businesses heavily dependent on tourists and seasonal residents.
    • The destruction in southwest Florida will keep many winter tourists away as well as task local residents with rebuilding for months or more.
    • Ferocious gusts ripped off roofs, collapsed walls, and jolted buildings off their foundations. 
    • Flooding — including tidal surges of more than a dozen feet — inundated shops, bars, and restaurants.

• A new study by researchers at Northwestern University found that climate change is bringing more intense rains to the U.S.
  • For every degree Fahrenheit that air temperature rises, the atmosphere can hold 4% more water.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 64 large active wildfires that have burned 708,917 across CA, ID, MO, MT, OK, OR, and WA. As of Tuesday, 55,612 wildfires have burned 6,934,664 acres across the country.
• In California, 1 fire has burned 76,788 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Mosquito Fire has burned 76,788 acres and is 95% contained as of Tuesday.
• In Oregon, 2 fires have burned 293,742 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 122,210 acres and is 38% contained as of Tuesday.
  • Oregon officials have issued an air quality advisory for several counties, including Portland, as stale, unseasonably high temperatures, and stagnant air have caused wildfire smoke to linger.
    • The Eugene area measured in the red unhealthy zone Monday, while Multnomah County was unhealthy for sensitive groups.
• In Washington, 13 fires have burned 39,464 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • In Washington, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency said Monday that air quality in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties was in the unhealthy for sensitive groups category.

Extreme Heat

• Climate change is making this allergy season longer and more intense.
  • As temperatures stay warmer for longer periods of time and the first frost happens later and later, plants have more time to grow and release allergens.
  • Allergies may be particularly intense if you live in a city since they tend to have higher temperatures than suburban or rural areas.
• A lack of rain and snow in central California and restricted water supplies from the Colorado River in the southernmost part of the state have withered summer crops like tomatoes and onions and threatened leafy greens grown in the winter.
  • California’s drought conditions, on top of Hurricane Ian ravaging citrus and tomato crops in Florida, are likely to push food costs even higher.
  • California produces about 30% of the world’s processed tomatoes, but in August the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its 2022 forecast to 10.5 million tonnes, down 10%.
  • Because of the shortfall, farmers this year negotiated higher prices for tomatoes, as well as onions and garlic used for spices in countless boxed meals and other grocery store staples.

New Reports and Data

• An October 2022 study found that climate change is bringing more intense rains to the U.S.
• An October 2022 study found that global warming at least doubled the probability of extreme ocean warming around Japan.