Key Facts Of The Day 4/24

Storms and Flooding

• In California, an immense wall of snow has started to melt from the Sierra Nevada as the state warms over a near-record snowpack.
  • In the coming weeks and months, Cutler and other towns in the San Joaquin Valley are facing the prospect of catastrophic flooding from what could be the largest amount of snowmelt in state history — and much of the area’s flood infrastructure is in dire need of repair.
  • The bed of Tulare Lake, which was the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi River before it was drained, has begun to refill in Kings County, submerging the great stretches of prime agricultural land and major dairy operations.
• The Mississippi River in St. Paul continues to rise, flooding parks and low-lying roads.
  • The river is still expected to rise another foot, cresting at 18.8 ft. by Thursday.
  • Both St. Paul and Ramsey County declared local flood emergencies.
• On Saturday, President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for 13 Texas counties, freeing federal relief for areas damaged in last winter’s crippling ice storms.
  • The storms in late January and early February left a damaging coat of ice across a broad swath of Texas, cutting power to more than 300,000 customers statewide and hitting the Central Texas region around Austin particularly hard.

Wildfire

• As of April 21, 20  large active wildfires have burned 14,812 acres across the country.
• As of April 21, 11,910 wildfires have burned 351,821 acres across the country.
• In Colorado, 1 fire has burned 3,039 acres as of April 21.
• In Florida, 2 fires have burned 405 acres as of April 21.
• In New Mexico, 1 fire has burned 939 acres as of April 21.
• In Oklahoma, 4 fires have burned 2,778 acres as of April 21.

Extreme Heat

• Virtually the entire D.C. and Baltimore region is experiencing moderate drought, a first since 2019.
  • The dry weather has helped fuel outdoor fires, contributed to a punishing pollen season, decreased river flow rates, and started to impact crops.
• Citrus County, Florida, is still under “extreme drought” conditions.
  • The ​​rainless days are causing lawns to go brown, the threat of wildfires to increase, and affecting lake levels throughout the county.
    • Since their peak in mid-November, lake levels in Citrus County have dropped 22 inches.
  • From January through April 19, the region has received about 4 inches of rain, a third of the average 12.25 inches this area usually gets for the first four months of the year.
  • A burn ban enacted by county commissioners earlier this month remains in effect for all of Citrus County.
• Two of the three largest wheat classes grown in the U.S., hard red winter and hard red spring, face moisture challenges that may limit yields and production in 2023, tightening stocks and heightening the risk of above-average flour prices into 2024.
• Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill into law that prevents utility companies from shutting off power or water to Washington residents during a heat warning or alert issued by the National Weather Service.

New Reports and Data

• An April 2023 poll found that about 8 in 10 U.S. adults say that in the past five years they have personally felt the effects of extreme weather, such as extreme heat or drought.
• An April 2023 study found that Arctic ice algae contains ten times as many microplastic particles as the surrounding seawater, posing a threat to creatures that feed on the algae at the sea surface.
• An April 2023 study found that using solar farms can generate new biocrust, which is crucial in maintaining soil health and ecosystem sustainability but has been damaged by human activities.