Key Facts Of The Day 4/21

Storms and Flooding

• The same weather system that spawned tornadoes, deadly storms, and water rescues in the central U.S. continues to lash Texas with heavy rain, putting more than 15 million people at risk of severe thunderstorms from the South and Midwest to the Northeast.
  • Floods triggered by Thursday’s storm system prompted water rescues in Austin, Texas.
  •  At least one tornado report was recorded in Tyler, Texas, on Thursday night, a day after more than a dozen tornadoes were reported across Oklahoma, Iowa, and Kansas.
  • On Wednesday, between 50 and 100 homes were damaged in Cole, and another 100 were damaged in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
  • Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency for McClain, Pottawatomie, Cleveland, Lincoln, and Oklahoma counties due to the severe storms and tornadoes.
• The California snowstorms boosted water deliveries for this summer and fall.
  • The Central Valley Project, run by the Bureau of Reclamation and California’s State Water Project (SWP), said they’d increase water allocations to 100%  of contracted amounts.
• A spring storm brought hail to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, resulting in flooding, downed trees, and power outages.
• A major mountain road near Lake Arrowhead, California, is undergoing emergency repairs due to severe damages caused by winter storms.

Wildfire

• As of April 14, 20  large active wildfires have burned 24,230 acres across the country.
• As of April 14, 11,246 wildfires have burned 302,755 acres across the country.
• In Arizona, 2 fires have burned 1,648 acres as of April 14.
• In Michigan, 1 fire has burned 303 acres as of April 14.
• In Oklahoma, 8 fires have burned 5,491 acres as of April 14.
• In Pennsylvania, 1 fire has burned 387 acres as of April 14.

Extreme Heat

• The Office of Heat Response and Mitigation in Phoenix, Arizona, is making changes to address the heat in the most vulnerable populations.
  • In Phoenix, the unsheltered population has a 300 to 400 times higher risk of heat-associated death than the rest of the population.
    • About 30% of the unsheltered population in Phoenix is elderly.
  • In Phoenix, mobile and manufactured home occupants have a 10 to 15 times higher risk of heat-associated death than the rest of the population.
• The ongoing drought conditions are causing a crisis among ranchers and farmers across Texoma.
  • The U.S. drought monitor shows that the lack of rain impacts 54% of Oklahoma.
  • Some farmers are trying to conserve water for their crops by using the no-till production method, which involves not plowing to conserve moisture for the crop.

New Reports and Data

• An April 2023 study found that the seven worst years for polar ice sheets melting and losing ice have occurred during the past decade.
• An April 2023 poll found that 53% of Americans feel people should address climate change right now.
• An April 2023 report found that decisions to keep coal plants open in West Virginia have caused electricity rates to rise.