Key Facts Of The Day 3/24

Storms and Flooding

• A strong storm system Friday will bring the potential for severe weather to 30 million people from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the lower Ohio Valley.
  • The storms will be capable of producing strong to intense (EF-3+) tornadoes, with long-track tornadoes possible.
  • The greatest risk of strong tornadoes includes more than six million people in places like Shreveport, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Jackson, Mississippi.
  • Nearly 19 million people are under flood watches across at least eight states in the mid-South and central regions.
• A winter storm watch for the northern third of Lower Michigan has been issued, with heavy, wet snow expected Saturday.
  • Some areas, including Traverse City and Cadillac, should have at least 5 inches of snow to as much as 10 inches of snow.

Wildfire

• As of March 17, 8  large active wildfires have burned 5,090 acres across the country.
• As of March 17, 5,972 wildfires have burned 77,759 acres across the country.
• In Florida, 4 fires have burned 4,032 acres as of March 17.
• In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 150 acres as of March 17.

Extreme Heat

• Despite California’s recent storms, drought conditions are still not over.
  • California’s groundwater has not been replenished and still faces severe drought.
    • More than 2,000 household wells went dry over the last three years in California, many in low-income communities of color.
  • One of Southern California’s major water sources, the Colorado River, still faces severe drought.
  • As the climate gets hotter, California’s extremes are expected to get more extreme, including more extreme droughts.
• Global warming is melting the Arctic ice cap, which has unforeseen effects on the world’s weather.
  • Some climate scientists have begun to link increasingly common heat waves in Europe to the melting Arctic ice cap.
• Recent months of extremely dry conditions could significantly reduce agave crop production, resulting in a major mezcal shortage.

New Reports and Data

• A March 2023 report found that plastics are a hazard at every stage of their life cycle.
• A March 2023 study found that changing temperatures increase pesticide risk to bees.
• A March 2023 study found that rivers in the Andean mountains contribute 35% and 72% of riverine emissions of CO2 and CH4  in the Amazon basin.