Climate Impact Report – 5/5

Quick Facts
2 Tornadoes
On Thursday, two brief tornadoes, with wind speeds around 75 MPH, damaged the roofs of at least two buildings just miles apart in Carson and Compton, California.
Drought+Wheat
About half of winter wheat, nationally, is in a drought condition.
4/10 Cows
Four out of every 10 beef cows in the nation is affected by drought.
Key Facts Of The Day 5/5
Storms and Flooding
- On Thursday, two brief tornadoes, with wind speeds around 75 MPH, damaged the roofs of at least two buildings just miles apart in Carson and Compton, California.
- Snow-laden California received more snow halfway through spring after an unseasonably cold system spun off the San Francisco Bay.
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
- Farmers in northern Oklahoma and western Kansas struggle in a long-lasting dry spell.
- 60% of Kansas is in either exceptional or “extreme” drought.
- 20% of Oklahoma is in “exceptional” drought, and more than a third of the state is in extreme or exceptional drought.
- Parts of southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma saw their driest March on record.
- About half of winter wheat, nationally, is in a drought condition.
- Sorghum — grown largely in Kansas as a livestock feed and source of biofuel — is 80% affected by drought.
- Four out of every 10 beef cows in the nation is affected by drought.
- Short on pasture and feed, some farmers have sent a quarter or even a third of their cattle to slaughter, and thousands of acres may not produce a meaningful wheat crop if the region doesn’t receive significant and repeated rainfall.
- Meat prices are on the climb and will keep rising all around the country for a few years due to the ongoing drought.
- Due to the ongoing drought, flour, bread, and other baked goods that rely on the region’s grain crop could become more expensive.
- A new program looks to replant warm weather trees in the Superior National Forest of northern Minnesota to help them adjust to a rapidly warming world.
New Reports and Data
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