Key Facts Of The Day 11/9

Hurricanes

• As of Tuesday morning, a weak atmospheric river rolled through the San Francisco Bay Area.

  • A wind advisory remained in effect for the local bridges across the Bay during the early hours of morning commute.

  • Ponding or minor flooding was reported on several roadways

• San Rafael Public works crews have spent the last several days cleaning out storm drains and doing other preventative work to avoid flooding similar to that of last month’s storm.

• After Saturday’s downpour and the weekend’s high tides, several roads were closed on Tybee Island, Georgia and residents dealt with damage.

• After the weekend’s storm, Volusia beaches in Florida suffered considerable erosion damage from high surf.

• In Bibb County, Georgia concerned homeowners meet with county leaders to solve flooding issues every time a heavy rain rolls through the area.

• In Washington, climate change makes floods more frequent and dangerous.

• As water levels surge in Lake Michigan, Wisconsin residents are erecting walls to protect their homes, but that could hurt neighboring properties and downstream beaches.

• Millburn, New Jersey small business owners are facing an uncertain future after the devastation of Hurricane Ida.

• Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Interim CEO hosted an event in North Texas to improve communication after the February storm-related power outages.

  • The Public Utility Commission of Texas adopted a rule that requires power companies to use their best efforts to ensure that plants can operate in the winter including weatherization, onsite fuel security, staffing plans, operational readiness, and structural preparations.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 4 large active wildfires that have burned 204,184 acres across CA and MT. This year to date, 48,725 wildfires have burned 6,529,662 acres across the country.

• After the Woolsey Fire, Malibu, California, has about 100 volunteers participating in 6 neighborhood community brigades.

• Northern California sees more and more ‘fire weather’ days.

• In California, 3 fires have burned 202,805 acres as of Friday.

  • The Alisal Fire burned 16,970 acres and was 99% contained as of Friday.

  • The KNP Complex Fire burned 88,307 acres and was 75% contained as of Friday.

  • The Windy Fire burned 97,528 acres and was 92% contained as of Friday.

• In Montana, 1 fire has burned a total of 1,379 acres as of Friday.

Extreme Heat

• 1 billion people will be affected by extreme heat stress if the climate crisis raises the global temperature by just 2 degrees celsius.

• A weak atmospheric river rolled through the San Francisco Bay Area early Tuesday, giving some relief to drought stricken North Bay.

  • South Bay did not receive drought relief from the storm.

• Pajaro Valley, California has pumped an excessive amount of groundwater from wells during the drought, which can cause the land above the wells to sink, buildings to crumble, and pipes to burst.

• Marin and Sonoma County, California will create groundwater storage banks for future droughts.

• In Monterey Bay, California farmers are thriving during the drought as they have been aggressively protecting water basins from saltwater intrusion and using water-recycling projects for years.

• Due to rising temperatures, cattle ranchers are experimenting with different diets for the cattle to produce less methane and are moving toward breeds more accustomed to hotter, dryer climates.

• In Charlottesville, Virginia, the city is working to identify and mitigate the effects the climate crisis will have locally through the Climate Vulnerability Assessment Process.

New Reports And Data

• A November 2021 study found that warming temperatures and other human activities impair the soils’ ability to cycle nutrients and trap carbon.

• A November 2021 study found that warming temperatures are pushing up the lowest level of the atmosphere by about 50-60 meters per decade.

• A November 2021 study found that the rates of death and health burdens associated with air pollution disproportionately affects people of color and lower-income residents in Washington, D.C.