Key Facts Of The Day 3/7

Storms and Flooding

• On Monday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said 125,000 homes and businesses remained without power, and about 300 were without water, three days after a wall of tornadoes, thunderstorms, and heavy winds swept across the state, killing five people.
• Efforts to dig out Southern California’s San Bernardino County residents continued Monday after back-to-back storms dropped over 8 feet of snow in some locations, trapping residents in their homes.
• An active weather pattern is expected to bring yet another storm to the central U.S., including the risk for severe weather, flooding, and more snow.
  • Some communities in the central U.S. could see more than a foot of snow.
  • Warmer conditions on the southern side of the storm will keep states from Texas to Tennessee from experiencing snow; however, they could experience several inches of rain.
  • Farther to the southwest, an influx of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico will bring the potential for thunderstorms for several days.
• A significant flood threat is forecast for California later this week as a storm with milder air drops heavy rain over higher elevations that have been hit by frequent rounds of heavy snow this winter.
  • The high-impact storm could potentially unleash flooding rainfall, mudslides, feet of mountain snow, and powerful wind gusts between Thursday night and Saturday.

Wildfire

• As of March  3, 8  large active wildfires have burned 6,357 acres across the country.
• As of March  3, 4,278 wildfires have burned 63,647 acres across the country.
• In Florida, 1 fire has burned 400 acres as of March 3.
• In Texas, 1 fire has burned 2,816 acres as of March 3.
• burned 28,701 acres across the country.

Extreme Heat

• Maricopa County rejected a proposal from Scottsdale, Arizona, to temporarily restore water to the unincorporated community of Rio Verde.
• Nevada lawmakers proposed a measure to create permanent standards to protect outdoor and indoor workers from heat-related illnesses and injuries.
• As winter storms reduced drought conditions in California and southern parts of Oregon, the storms largely missed Central Oregon, leaving Crook, Jefferson, and Deschutes counties dry.
  • Many farmers in Central Oregon do not have priority rights to water, which puts their farms at heightened risk of failure.

New Reports and Data

• A March 2023 study found that 99% of the global population is exposed to unhealthy levels of tiny and harmful air pollutants known as PM 2.5.
• A March 2023 study found that reducing the intensity and size of wildfires would help conifers regenerate after the destructive blazes that have become more frequent in recent decades.