Key Facts Of The Day 10/19

Hurricanes

• An early-season winter storm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula brought snow, powerful winds, and high waves to the Great Lakes region.
  • Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect through Tuesday evening for parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.
  • On Tuesday, warnings about frequent and strong wind gusts were in effect for Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.
  • Waves on Lake Superior reached about 15 feet on Tuesday afternoon.
  • By Tuesday afternoon, more than 18 inches of snow had accumulated in Negaunee, Michigan.
  • While the early onset of snow was not rare for the Upper Midwest, the heaviness of the snowfall was “uncommon.”
• November-like chill places 100 million people under frost and freeze alerts.
  • A cold front was moving through the Midwest, where overnight freeze warnings were in effect in states including Missouri, Indiana, and Kansas.
  • Record-breaking cold was forecast for early Wednesday morning across parts of the Mississippi Valley, central and southern Appalachians, and the Southeast.
  • For the first time on record, Birmingham, Alabama, hit 32 degrees before Billings, Montana, beating the notoriously cold city to the first official freeze of the season.
  • New York City’s Central Park dipped to 42 degrees, the coldest temperature since April 29.
  • Charlotte, North Carolina’s 30-degree reading set its fifth earliest freeze on record.
• After Hurricane Ian caused devastation across Florida and other parts of the East Coast, communities start recovery efforts.
  • Weeks after Hurricane Ian hit, hundreds of Floridians are still in shelters.
    • As of Tuesday, 476 people remained at two public shelters in Lee County, most of them at Hertz, an ice hockey and concert arena.
    • Many people relying on the shelter don’t have second homes or relatives with a guest room to fall back on or can secure rental properties while they await federal disaster assistance.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 71 large active wildfires that have burned 580,241 across CA, ID, MT, OK, OR, and WA. As of Wednesday, 56,560 wildfires have burned 6,946,391 acres across the country.
• In Florida, 1 fire has burned 350 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Oregon, 7 fires have burned 332,947 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 125,856 acres and is 50% contained as of Wednesday.
• In Washington, 16 fires have burned 52,319 acres as of Wednesday.
• An October 2022 study found that California’s wildfire carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from 2020 are approximately two times higher than California’s total greenhouse gas emission reductions from 2003-2019.
  • Researchers also estimated that global monetized damages caused by carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from 2020 wildfires amount to about $7.1 billion.

Extreme Heat

• With planting roughly halfway complete, the 2023 U.S. hard red winter wheat crop is already being impacted by drought in the southern Plains.
  • The drought threatens Kansas, the top winter wheat-growing state, and Oklahoma by discouraging farmers who have not yet planted and threatening crops already in the ground from developing properly.
  • Wheat also helps anchor topsoil in the Plains, protecting it from wind erosion.
• Human remains have been found on the bank of the drought-shrunken Mississippi River.
  • The water level of the Mississippi River in Tennessee is standing at close to negative eleven feet, breaking the previous record set in 1988.
• In Arizona, tribal regions often lack natural resources and are most vulnerable to the impacts of drought.

New Reports and Data

• An October 2022 report found that PFAS were detected across 83% of waterways tested across the country.
• An October 2022 study found that California’s wildfire carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from 2020 are approximately two times higher than California’s total greenhouse gas emission reductions since 2003.