Key Facts Of The Day 3/27

Storms and Flooding

• A new storm is set to arrive on the West Coast on Monday night, bringing heavy rain and wind along the shore and heavy snow to the mountains.
  • The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for parts of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Northern California, where local snowfall amounts of 2 to 4 feet are possible over the coming days.
  • The new storm system is forecast to sweep across the country, bringing more severe weather to Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday.
• The latest forecast showed the same storm system from the weekend will linger in the Southeast on Monday with damaging winds, large hail, and an isolated tornado threat.
  • Parts of southern Georgia and South Carolina will be in the bullseye, including the cities of Columbus, Savannah, and Charleston.
  • Flood watches and flash flood warnings were also issued for parts of Alabama and Georgia, where up to 7 inches of rain already fell.
• Over the weekend, at least 27 tornadoes were reported across the five states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
  • Mississippi remained littered with debris after tornadoes caused homes to be ripped from their foundations and vehicles tossed through the air.
  • Officials said at least 26 people died, the majority in Mississippi.
  • The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said that dozens of people were injured.
  • On Saturday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency.
  • On Sunday, President Joe Biden approved disaster relief for Mississippi.
  • One of the hardest hit areas was Rolling Fork, a predominantly Black town of about 2,000 residents.
    • The roof of Rolling Fork’s city hall was ripped off, the business district was badly damaged, and the tornado even toppled the town’s water tower.

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

• Last Friday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek declared a drought emergency in Deschutes and Grant counties.
  • The John Day River basin in Grant County has a streamflow that’s just 39% of the average.
  • Snowpacks in both counties are above historical levels, but officials say the snow will only provide temporary relief this spring as it melts.
• Last Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the removal of some drought restrictions while keeping other measures to bolster the water supply for vulnerable communities and develop water resilience.
  • The Department of Water Resources also announced it will increase the amount of water deliveries to 75% of requested water supplies this year.
  • With a hotter and drier future projected for California, Newsom continued the ban on wasteful water uses, including watering ornamental grass on commercial grounds.
• Last Thursday, Washington’s Yoshino cherry trees hit peak bloom and are now tied for the ninth earliest peak since scientists first started keeping records in 1921.
  • Cherry blossoms are highly sensitive to the weather, and the creeping peak date has coincided with rising temperatures in the Washington area.

New Reports and Data

• A March 2023 study found that sea ice may soon disappear from the Arctic during summer.
• A March 2023 study found that drought and heat waves worsen air pollution for communities with a high pollution burden in California and deepen pollution inequalities along racial and ethnic lines.