Key Facts Of The Day 11/29

Hurricanes

• The 2021 hurricane season officially ends on Tuesday, November 30th.

• The Tampa Bay, Florida region has escaped landfall from a major hurricane for 100 years in a row, which could change due to warming temperatures.

  • The Tampa Bay region is the most storm-surge vulnerable area in the country.

  • Warming temperatures are expected to cause the average number of hurricanes to double by 2050 as well as cause storms to become stronger more quickly.

• Mid-November floods in Washington caused one farm to lose 44 cows.

  • The flooding was 5 inches higher than the farm or any farm in the area had ever experienced.

  • 1,200 people in the Sumas area were displaced due to the floods.

• After seeing an atmospheric river last week, the Pacific Northwest saw more rain on Saturday, with western Washington under flood warnings.

  • As more heavy rain and snow was expected for the region as of Monday morning, flooding is expected with many rivers already at a major flood stage.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, there are currently 4 large active wildfires that have burned 90,810 acres across AL, CA, and MT. As of Friday, 52,729 wildfires have burned 6,631,430 acres across the country.

  • As of Friday, the KNP Complex fire burned 88,307 acres and was 80% contained.

    • As of Monday, 2,380 giant sequoia trees have died or are expected to die within the next several years due to the KNP Complex Fire.

• Fire towers help spot and prevent wildfires in Minnesota, which is home to 2 of 3 deadliest wildfires in United States history.

• Humans ignited more than 25% of all wildfires in Colorado’s San Juan National Forest between 2000 to 2018.

• A study has found that the costs from the 2010 Schultz Fire in Arizona have only increased with time and that only 6 to 7% of the total cost of the fire went to fire suppression.

  • 22.5% of respondents in the study said they did not file an insurance claim related to the fire, and they paid about $12,000 in the last decade.

  • About 10.5% of respondents said that they were still coping with repairs relating to the flooding after the fire.

  • About 19% of residents said that their mental health suffered after the fire and 25% felt significant stress afterwards.

  • 14.5% respondents said they did not like living in the area after the fire.

• Despite the danger from low humidity and strong winds, large wildfires did not occur over the Thanksgiving holiday in Southern California.

  • More than 70,000 people in the region suffered from power outages on Thursday.

  • More than 20 locations in California recorded wind gusts of 70 MPH or higher on Thursday.

  • Areas from Ventura to San Diego saw red flag warnings between Wednesday and Friday.

    • More than 17 million people were under red flag warnings for wildfires as of Friday.

Extreme Heat

• Extreme heat is causing damage to infrastructure, including damage to roadways in Washington state after a heatwave hit the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 2021.

• Ongoing drought means one Arizona farmer who usually plants alfalfa and cotton crops has not received any water from the Colorado River and does not know when or if she will ever get any again.

• Investors have been buying up Arizona farmland and stripping it of water to send to housing developments elsewhere in the state as it continues to cope with an ongoing drought.

• Warming temperatures on the Great Lakes may cause effects such as harmful algae blooms which could eventually harm Michigan’s fishing industry.

• Ongoing drought has forced a Ute Mountain Ute farm to only be able to plant 2,500 acres of corn, 10% of the 25,000 acres they have planted in previous years.

• Researchers are attempting to create a potato that would be resistant to warming temperatures from climate change.

• The 2021 summer heat dome in the Pacific Northwest has damaged Christmas trees, causing this year’s consumers to see a 10 to 30% price hike compared to last year.

• Warming temperatures may be driving albatross birds to “divorce” their partners as the birds may be forced to travel further and further to find food, leading them to find new mates.

• The Texas power grid may be vulnerable to extreme weather like last winter’s storm despite efforts to weatherize the grid.

New Reports And Data

• A November 2021 study found that hurricanes are expected to worsen for northeastern United States cities due to climate change.

• A November 2021 study found that a carbon tax to fund clean electricity and public transportation could significantly reduce households’ greenhouse gas emissions.

• A November 2021 study found that retrofitting existing buildings with green walls could reduce heat loss by 30%.