Key Facts Of The Day 12/9

Storms and Flooding

• Back-to-back-to-back systems will move across the U.S. over the next few days, with the last storm bringing heavy rain, blizzard conditions, and the potential for tornadoes.
  • Over 7 million people are under winter weather advisories, as a band of snow and ice will lead to travel difficulties across numerous states.
    • The current storm tracking across the Plains and Midwest will bring a variety of winter weather from the Rockies to the Great Lakes through Friday.
  • A storm that will move across the West this weekend into early next week could bring threatening flash flooding, blizzard conditions, and tornadoes.
    • Winter storm watches are in effect along the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, where some isolated locations could see snowfall totals up to 5 feet through the weekend.
• A new analysis warned that 39 of 43 public coastal airports in California have assets that will be exposed to coastal flooding by 2100 and possibly sooner.
  • California has more at-risk airports than any other U.S. state or region, rivaled only by the Northeast corridor between Washington and Boston.

Wildfire

• As of December 7, there are currently 2 large active wildfires that have burned 906 across IN and NC. As of December 7, 64,127 wildfires have burned 7,343,939 acres across the country.
• In Indiana, 1 fire has burned 110 acres as of December 7.
• In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 796 acres as of December 7.

Extreme Heat

• Girl Scouts of Central Texas leaders said they would not host their day camp at Zilker Cabin next summer due to extreme heat.
  • The city-owned cabin, which is not air-conditioned, has been used by the Girl Scouts of Central Texas for 80 years.
• A Lancet Planetary Health study found that heat stress can affect the fetuses of women working in extreme temperatures.
  • The effects include raised fetal heart rate and slower blood flow through the umbilical cord.
  • The study suggests that for every extra degree Celsius in extreme heat stress, there was a 17% increase in fetal strain.
• Rare ice age fossils of an American lion were discovered on the drought-stricken Mississippi River.
• This year extreme heatwaves and prolonged droughts took a toll on the agricultural industry in the U.S.
  • This year, 7% of California’s cropland went unplanted due to a lack of water for irrigation.
  • Rice – which relies heavily on water – was hit the hardest, with over half the state’s rice acres going unplanted.
  • The U.S. produces 82% of the world’s almonds, and this year the harvest was down 11% compared to last year.
    • After facing an unseasonable freeze, the ongoing Western megadrought forced farmers to choose which almond trees could get enough water to produce.
  • Texas is the largest cotton producer in the U.S., but this year’s drought has cut the harvest by at least a third.
  • Due to the prolonged droughts, there isn’t enough grass to feed cattle, so beef slaughter is up 13% nationwide and 30% in the Texas region.

New Reports and Data

• A December 2022 study found that record blazes reduced solar power by as much as 30% and threatened to tip the electric grid out of balance.
• A December 2022 study found that heat stress can affect the fetuses of women working in extreme temperatures.
• A December study found that Americans are leaving many of the U.S. counties hit hardest by hurricanes and moving towards areas with wildfire risk.