Key Facts Of The Day 10/18

Hurricanes

• After hurricane Ian caused devastation across Florida and other parts of the East Coast, communities start recovery efforts.
  • Hurricane Ian’s storm surge led to an increase in bacteria cases.
    • With two months to go, Florida has already seen a record of 65 infections of Vibrio vulnificus, a potentially deadly microbe.
    •  The Florida Department of Health is warning people to stay out of flood and standing water left by the storm.
  • According to a new preliminary analysis from the University of Florida, Florida farmers and ranchers could see up to $1.5 billion in Hurricane Ian-related losses.
    • Citrus, vegetables, melons, and livestock sustained the most “significant production losses.”
  • Early surveys of Hurricane Ian’s damage and data from flood sensors show that the massive cyclone’s storm surge — powerful floods of ocean water above normally dry land — rose one to two stories high across some 60 miles of Florida’s southwestern coastline and in some spots spread several miles inland.
• The hurricane intensification rate has significantly increased near the US Atlantic coast over the last 40 years.
• An early winter storm dropped more than a foot of snow in parts of Wisconsin and Michigan while Chicago saw its first flurries of the season.
  • From the Rockies to the northeast, almost 90 million people are impacted by frost advisories and freeze watches and warnings.
  • In South Carolina, farmers are scrambling to harvest their crops before the frost hits.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 71 large active wildfires that have burned 651,947 across CA, ID, MT, OK, OR, and WA. As of Tuesday, 56,586 wildfires have burned 6,945,665 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, 7 fires have burned 332,729 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 125,638 acres and is 50% contained as of Tuesday.
• In Washington, 15 fires have burned 48,101 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Nakia Creek Fire has burned 1,500 acres as of Tuesday.
    • Some roads reopened and evacuation zones shrank near a wildfire east of Vancouver, Washington, as fire officials got a better handle on fire activity amid weather changes.
    • A nearby prison also was evacuated, and people in custody were moved to temporary alternative housing at other facilities.
    • The Washougal School District closed all schools Monday.
  • Dry, gusty conditions helped spread fires burning over the region, which released plumes of smoke, fouling regional air quality.
• Wildfires in California, Oregon, Washington, and other western states can worsen severe storms in the central U.S., increasing the occurrence of heavy precipitation by as much as 38%.
  • Researchers found that large wildfires tend to produce high-pressure zones in the atmosphere, which change the circulation of air, strengthening the winds flowing from west to east across the country.
  • These stronger winds are able to carry extra moisture into the storm zone.
  • The study warns that these kinds of co-occurring events, while still rare today, could become more frequent in the future.

Extreme Heat

• Historic October heat shatters records in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Temperatures soared Sunday in the Pacific Northwest as Seattle broke its long-standing record for the hottest day this late in the season, reaching 88 degrees.
    • The record-shattering heat broke Seattle’s previous Oct. 16 record high by a staggering 16 degrees.
  • Summerlike temperatures also baked Portland, Oregon, which reached a record 86 degrees Sunday, its fifth day in a row in the 80s.
  • On Saturday, temperatures in Portland, Oregon, soared to 87, its highest temperature on record so late in the season.
  • Several other cities in the Pacific Northwest set record highs Sunday, including Vancouver (86 degrees), Olympia (85), and Bellingham (80) in Washington, and Hillsboro (86) and Troutdale (83) in Oregon.
  • The high temperatures, low humidity, and breezy conditions fueled fires already burning in the Cascade Mountains and helped ignite new blazes.
• Despite promises, California doesn’t know how many people died in a record summer heat wave.
  • For 10 days, meteorologists tracked record-setting temperatures as they boiled across the state — 116 degrees in Sacramento, 114 in Napa, 109 in Long Beach. However, there was little information on the heat wave’s human toll, or how many people had been sickened or even killed.
  • Currently, the California Department of Public Health said it tracks heat-related illnesses and deaths “using data sets that are available at approximately a 6- to 18-month lag time.”
  • The state’s ongoing struggle to account for heat wave illnesses and deaths — despite promises to improve monitoring — has frustrated some public health experts who say the lack of timely information puts lives in jeopardy.

New Reports and Data

• An October 2022 study found that the hurricane intensification rate has significantly increased near the US Atlantic coast over the last 40 years.
• An October 2022 study found that large wildfires in California, Oregon, Washington, and other western states can worsen severe storms in the central U.S., increasing the occurrence of heavy precipitation by as much as 38%.
• An October 2022 report found that overall emissions between 2020 and 2021 rose by 4%.