Climate Impact Report – 10/18

Quick Facts

As of Saturday night, severe storms bring damaging winds through the Tri-State area as rain hangs around.
- Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for eight New Jersey counties.
- Winds in Orange County, New York lifted debris above a number of stores at the height of the warnings.
- Due to weather conditions Newark and La Guardia airport had ground delays.
As of Saturday, the National Weather Service Grand Rapids issued a warning to Michigan residents and visitors to stay away from the local piers as Lake Michigan is expected to form 9-foot waves.
The Guadalupe River is expected to crest around 30 feet and cause flooding at the Texas Zoo and Riverside park.
Meteorologists predict hurricane season in Florida will wrap up quietly.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is at extreme risk of flooding in the next 15 years.
Louisiana parishes face some of the highest flood risk of any U.S. counties.
Due to climate change, the cost of federal flood insurance is rising for millions of homeowners, threatening to make homes in coastal areas unaffordable for many.

As of Monday, there are currently 18 large active wildfires that have burned 2,253,764 acres across CA, ID, MT, OR, and WA. This year to date, 47,525 wildfires have burned 6,494,054 acres across the country.
To improve wildfire resistance, researchers look to beaver wetlands.
In California, 8 fires have burned 1,905,459 acres as of Monday.
- The Alisal Fire burned 17,254 acres and was 78% contained as of Monday.
- The Caldor Fire burned 221,835 acres and was 98% contained as of Monday.
- The Dixie Fire burned 963,309 acres and was 94% contained as of Monday.
- The KNP Complex Fire burned 88,068 acres and was 55% contained as of Monday.
In Idaho, 3 fires have burned a total of 135,842 acres as of Monday.
In Montana, 3 fires have burned a total of 5,673 acres as of Monday.
In Oregon, 3 fires have burned a total of 99,468 acres as of Monday.
In Washington, 1 fire has burned a total of 107,322 acres as of Monday.

Lake Tahoe’s water level has dropped so low that water is no longer flowing into the Truckee River and salmon aren’t expected to spawn in a major tributary this year.
Severe dry weather in North Dakota has diminished the supply of oat crops meaning higher price for the breakfast staple and alternative-milk ingredient.
La Niña could make Arizona’s drought even worse by moving storms away from the Rocky Mountains, which means a thinner snowpack that the state relies on for water.
Arizona’s extreme weather and record breaking heat have led to older saguaros dying off.
Monarch butterfly population in decline due to rising temperatures leading the monarch butterflies to breed further south making migration routes longer and more difficult.
As climate change is causing extreme weather around the world, architects turn to vernacular architecture to create climate resistant buildings.
- Many southwestern states use Pueblo inspired architecture such as thick mud walls for insulation for extreme heat.

An October 2021 report found that the threat of flooding from major storms and rising sea levels already poses a dire threat to many states’ critical infrastructure, and those risks are growing significantly.
An October 2021 study found that carbon emissions can be reduced by 68% by replacing petroleum-based aviation fuel with sustainable aviation fuel derived from a type of mustard plant.
An October 2021 study found that the expansion of wind and solar power is too slow to avoid global warming of 1.5°C or even 2°C.
An October 2021 study found that hedges help reduce traffic-pollution at breathing height in shallow street canyons.