Facts Of The Day 6/25

Hurricanes

• Tropical Storm Enrique formed off the southwest coast of Mexico early Friday morning.
  • Areas of low pressure organized overnight Thursday to form Enrique, which was upgraded to a tropical storm on Friday morning.
  • Enrique is expected to strengthen as it moves along the coast of Southwest Mexico from Acapulco to Guadalajara.
  • Enrique could become a hurricane over the weekend but a landfall is not expected.
  • Rough surf, surging storms and flooding rain is expected to impact coastal Mexico.
• Tropical Storm Claudette damaged an estimated 150-200 structures in Escambia County, Alabama. 
• Tropical Storm Claudette brought between one to four inches of rain to the Carolinas on Monday morning before being pushed off-shore by the afternoon.
• A strong tropical wave off the coast of Africa has been producing a broad area of waves and thunderstorms.

Wildfires

• Wildfires in forests and other watersheds affect water supplies to cities long after the fires have burned out.
• Pacific Gas and Electric announced its first microgrid program in June which aims to reduce the risk of starting a fire and the cost of power restoration.
• There are currently 47 large wildfires active across AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, MT, NV, NM, and UT. Nationally, 566,444 acres have burned so far this year. 
• In Arizona, the Walnut Fire in Cochise County has burned 8,572 acres and was 0% contained as of Thursday evening. The fire has forced about 500 Boy Scouts to evacuate Camp Geronimo. 
• In Montana, the Robertson Draw Fire, South of Red Lodge, burned 29,601 acres and was 53% contained as of Thursday evening. More than two dozen homes have been destroyed.
• In Oregon, the Cutoff Fire, which burned 1,150 acres and was 23% contained as of Wednesday night, has destroyed 22 structures as of Wednesday night.
• In Oregon, the Lower Deck Fire, which has burned about 500 acres and had unknown containment as of Thursday night, caused evacuation orders for the Mecca Flats Campground.
• In Idaho, the Fritzer Fire, located in the Salmon National Forest about 20 miles west of Salmon, was sparked on Tuesday by lightning. The fire has burned 120 acres and had unknown containment as of Thursday evening.
• In Utah, the Pack Creek Fire, which has burned 8,952 acres and is 72% contained as of Thursday evening, has racked up $8.3 million in firefighting costs to date. 

Extreme Heat

• More than 90% of the Western United States is in a drought.
• A heatwave in the Pacific Northwest is set to deliver extreme heat to parts of interior Washington, Idaho and Oregon into next week.
  • About 13 million people across Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho and Montana are under heat alerts as of Thursday afternoon.
  • It could be the worst heat wave for the region in 12 years.
  • Temperatures are expected to be 25-35 degrees above average
• An extreme heat warning has been issued for the Santa Clarita, Antelope And San Fernando Valleys in California starting Sunday through Tuesday.
• Oregon is considering new regulations to protect workers during extreme heat including farmworkers, construction workers, loggers and others who work outside or in buildings without cooling systems. 
• Texas saw peak demand for electricity break June’s record with 69,957 MW on Thursday and is expected to do so on Friday at 71,086 MW.

Climate Studies

• A study published in June 2021 demonstrated a new three-dimensional analytical methodology that can show how individual cyclones and anticyclones can affect broader weather systems.