Key Facts Of The Day 5/1

Storms and Flooding

• On Monday, communities across the Virginia Beach area cleaned up after a severe storm that brought at least one confirmed tornado damaged an estimated 50 to 100 homes.
  • On Sunday night, Patrick Duhaney, the city manager, declared a state of emergency as the coastal municipality sought to provide refuge to people whose homes were damaged and prepared to send its crews to pick up debris from public streets.
  • Some residents had reported gas leaks.
  • Multiple boats were reported to have broken off their moorings, overturned, and damaged.
  • Officials for Virginia Beach had also canceled the final day of the music festival, Something In the Water.
• On Saturday, a tornado with 100 MPH winds touched down in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, as a powerful storm system brought intense rain and powerful winds to the state, overturning cars, damaging homes, and snapping tree branches.
  • Storm damage forced authorities in the coastal city to close major roadways as workers cleared debris and inspected the wreckage.
• The bountiful snow that continues to blanket much of the backcountry in many Western states took a toll on big game animals, with a large number of elk, deer, and pronghorn starving to death during a long and intense winter.

Wildfire

• As of April 28, 13  large active wildfires have burned 45,376 acres across CO, FL, KS, NJ, NM, NC, OK, and WV.
• As of April 28, 12,972 wildfires have burned 392,287 acres across the country.
• In Colorado, 1 fire has burned 4,618 acres as of April 28.
• In Florida, 2 fires have burned 1,353 acres as of April 28.
• In New Mexico, 1 fire has burned 989 acres as of April 28.
• In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 32,400 acres as of April 28.
• In Oklahoma, 5 fires have burned 2,384 acres as of April 28.

Extreme Heat

• Utah’s record heat and snowpack resulted in flood warnings.
  • On Sunday, the high temperature in Salt Lake City hit 87 — a new record for that date and 21 degrees above normal for April 30.
•  On Monday, the rising Mississippi River tested flood defenses in southeast Iowa and northwest Illinois as it neared forecast crests, driven by a spring surge of water from melting snow.
  • The peak water levels this spring will likely rank in the top 10 of all time in many places.
  • The river peaked in the Dubuque area Saturday at 23.03 feet.
  • On Monday, the river is expected to crest at around 21.6 feet in the Quad-Cities area, where several neighboring cities sit along the Iowa-Illinois line. Some roads and parks near the river are closed.
• This year’s early snow melt could mean more ticks earlier than usual and a wider spread of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.
• Melting sea ice is opening new pathways through the Arctic but also reducing visibility, making it harder and more dangerous for ships to navigate the thawing sea.

New Reports and Data

• An April 2023 study found that climate change could cause a 20-40% reduction in the ocean’s twilight zone life by the end of the century.
• An April 2023 study found that humidity may increase heat risk in urban climates.