Key Facts Of The Day 10/2

Hurricanes

• On Friday, heavy rain caused severe flooding across New York, leading Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency as rising waters disrupted travel and stranded people in cars and homes.
  • Throughout the day, cascading waterfalls shut down subway lines across much of the city.
  • By the end of the day, the overall attendance rate at public schools fell to roughly 77%.
  • Many flights were canceled or delayed at Kennedy and La Guardia.

Wildfires

• As of last Thursday, 38 large active wildfires have burned 395,936 acres across 9 states: AZ, CA, CO, ID, LA, MT, OR, UT, and WA. This year to date, 43,884 wildfires have burned 2,386,791 acres across the country.
• In Arizona, 1 fire has burned 8,982 acres as of Thursday.
• In California, 6 fires have burned 169,173 acres as of Thursday.
• In Colorado, 2 fires have burned 3,943 as of Thursday. 
• In Louisiana, 2 fires have burned 38,414 acres as of Thursday.
• In Oregon, 12 fires have burned 126,823 acres as of Thursday.
• In Washington, 9 fires have burned 22,462 acres as of Thursday.

Extreme Heat

• As midwestern cities swelter under extreme heat, urban shade trees fall by the millions as a tiny beetle devours them. 
  • In Minneapolis, Minnesota, more than 48% of the city’s population lives on heat islands where asphalt and buildings raise temperatures by as much as 8 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Minnesota’s Twin Cities Marathon was canceled because of extreme heat.
  • The current temperature forecasted in the Twin Cities is 91 degrees, becoming the hottest October temperature on record, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). 
• Phoenix, Arizona, had the driest monsoon season since the weather service began record-keeping in 1895.
  • This year’s monsoon season in the arid Southwest dropped only 0.15 inches of rainfall from June 15 to September 30. 
• A lingering drought affecting more than 80% of Texas is causing wildfires, hurting agriculture, and drying up water supplies throughout the state.
  • The lack of rainfall has caused many public water systems across the state to issue varying levels of water restrictions or ask the public to conserve water.
  • Lake Travis near Austin was 36% full on Thursday, down from 49% at the same time last year. 
  • In Temple, Stillhouse Hollow Lake was 58.5% full on Thursday, compared to 76% this time last year.
  • In North Texas, North Fork Buffalo Creek Reservoir near Wichita Falls was only 29.7% full on Thursday, a huge drop from 49.6% last year.