Key Facts Of The Day 2/14

Storms and Flooding

• The two storm systems that brought severe weather over the South Central states and snow for the interior West will also bring intense snow from portions of the central Plains to the Upper Midwest.
  • On Monday night, the first storm brought some snow to the interior West.
  • From Tuesday to Wednesday, the first storm will bring 3-6 inches of snow from northeastern South Dakota to much of northern Minnesota.
  • Tuesday evening, heavy rain will fall over a large part of the Upper Midwest and lead to flooding.
  • On Tuesday, a wind advisory stretches over a dozen states from Texas to Indiana, with a high wind warning in Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky.
  • On Tuesday afternoon, a winter storm watch is in effect in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota
  • The second storm will likely be much more disruptive over a long stretch of the Central states from Wednesday to Thursday.
    • Heavy snow will fall along a 1,200-mile stripe from eastern Colorado to northern Michigan and affect hundreds of interstates.
    • The full spectrum of severe weather is likely from Wednesday evening to Thursday, ranging from storms with high winds and hail to flash flooding and a few tornadoes.
• During the January storms, most of Planada, California, was inundated after Miles Creek burst its banks and busted through the levees.
  • Many residents of Planada said they didn’t get any order to evacuate until the sheriff came door to door, and by then it was almost too late.
  • About half of the homes and the elementary schools in Planada were damaged.
  • Most residents do not have savings to fall back on, and many are undocumented farmworkers making it difficult to qualify for federal disaster funds.

Wildfire

• As of February 3, there are currently 0  large active wildfires that have burned 0 acres across the country.
• As of February 3, 1,688 wildfires have burned 12,882 acres across the country.

Extreme Heat

• Climate change, forest management practices, and worsening drought and wildfires are shrinking California’s snowpack.
  • For decades, California has depended on the reliable appearance of spring and summer snowmelt to provide nearly a third of the state’s water supply.
  • As California gets drier and wildfires increase, the snow is melting faster and earlier than in years past, which depletes the state’s water supply.
• On Monday, the Interior Department announced it would release up to $125 million in federal funds to pay water rights holders on the Colorado River to temporarily abstain from drawing their share of the river.

New Reports and Data

• A February 2023 study found that there is currently less sea ice in the Antarctic than at any time in the forty years since the beginning of satellite observation.
• A February 2023 study found that increasing the level of tree cover from the European average of 14.9% to 30% can lower the temperature in cities by 0.4 degrees Celsius, which could reduce heat-related deaths by 39.5%.