Facts Of The Day 6/29

Hurricanes

• Tropical Storm Enrique weakened from a hurricane on Monday as it moved away from the southwestern coast of Mexico. 
  • Enrique was producing winds of 60 MPH by late Monday night.
  • Enrique is expected to weaken further as it moves near or over portions of the southern Baja California Peninsula late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
  • Enrique’s core was moving northwest at about 6 MPH 205 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas late Monday.
• Tropical Storm Danny made landfall as a tropical storm on Monday evening in Pritchards Island, South Carolina with winds of 40 MPH.
  • On Monday evening, Danny was moving west-northwest at 15 mph, bringing about 2 inches of rain to the Georgia coast and southern South Carolina.
  • Danny weakened to a tropical depression Monday night as it moved inwards across South Carolina with maximum wind speeds of 35 MPH.
  • Danny is expected to dissipate over north Georgia or northeast Alabama on Tuesday, and all storm warnings were discontinued on Monday night.
  • Ten people were rescued on Monday at Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
  • 2021 is now the fourth hurricane season in which the fourth named storm has formed before July.
• Due to heavy rain in Michigan, at least 28 of Metro Detroit’s 140 freeway pump stations had no power or had mechanical issues on Saturday afternoon, resulting in multiple closed freeways
• Heavy rain also fell in Illinois, bringing 9 inches of rain to Farmer City on Tuesday morning. Extreme rainfall caused flooding near Interstate 57 and to the town’s wastewater treatment plant.
  • Bloomington, IL and Heyworth, IL also saw 10 inches of rain each as of Tuesday morning.
  • Downs, IL saw 9.96 inches of rain as of Tuesday morning.
  • Fox Creek, IL saw 9.94 inches of rain as of Tuesday morning.
  • Flash flood watches are still in effect for parts of Illinois until 7 PM local time Tuesday.

Wildfires

• There are currently 53 large wildfires active across AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, and WA. Nationally, 667,397 acres have burned so far this year.
• Fires in Arizona are more intense and are occurring more frequently due to factors including climate change and overzealous fire suppression tactics.
• In Arizona, the  Rafael Fire, located 4 miles north of Perkinsville, has burned 78,708 acres and was 59% contained as of Monday evening. The Coconino County Sycamore Canyon and Loy Ranch in Yavapai remain under evacuation orders as of Monday evening.
• In California, the Stowe Fire in Riverside County has burned through 122 acres and was 90% contained as of Monday evening. Several power lines were damaged by the fire, resulting in 3,000 customers losing power in East Helmet.
• In California, the Lilly Fire in Madera County has burned through 50 acres and was 20% contained as of Monday evening.  Half a dozen homes were evacuated Monday evening, and all evacuation orders and warnings were lifted as of Tuesday morning.
• In California, the Lava Fire in Siskiyou County has burned through almost 5,000 acres and had unknown containment as of Monday evening.  The Lake Shastina and Juniper Valley communities were ordered to evacuate Monday afternoon.
• In Colorado, the Oil Springs Fire in Rio Blanco County burned through 12,600 acres and was 18% contained as of Monday night. The cost of fighting the fire stands at $2.1 million as of Tuesday morning
• In Montana, the Robertson Draw Fire, South of Red Lodge, burned 29,838 acres and was 65% contained as of Monday morning. 10 homes and 30 structures have been destroyed as of Monday morning.
• In Utah, the Pack Creek Fire has burned 8,952 acres and was 80% contained as of Monday evening. Evacuations remained in place for the Holyoak and Dark Canyon areas, and nearby campgrounds remained closed Monday evening. 

Extreme Heat

• The U.S. track and field trials were halted and fans were evacuated from the stadium on Sunday after temperatures hit a record high of 110 degrees in Eugene, Oregon. 
• A heat advisory has been issued for New York City on Monday and Tuesday.
• The Pacific Northwest was hit by a record heat wave that is expected to subside after Monday.
  • Road infrastructure in Washington state suffered damage due to the extreme heat.
    • Western Washington saw multiple roadways affected by the heat, included  I-5
    • The State Route 544 milepost 7 near Everson, WA, was closed Monday afternoon with no update as to when it would reopen.
    • A concrete panel popped open on the northbound section of Interstate 5 about 12 miles south of Seattle.
    • Workers in Seattle hosed down drawbridges at least twice a day to prevent the steel from expanding in the heat.
  • Several cities in the Pacific Northwest saw record-breaking heat on Monday, including Portland (116 degrees), Salem (117) and Olympia (110).
• Avista Corp., which services almost 340,000 customers in eastern Washington, Idaho and Oregon, instituted rolling outages for the first time in the company’s history due to the heat.
  • About 9,300 customers were affected late Monday, with outages expected to last into Tuesday.
• On Sunday, Portland General Electric said 5,235 customers across Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties were without power due to the heat. As of Monday morning, several hundred customers were still without power.
• At least 3,500 Salem, Oregon residents were without power on Monday afternoon, with most outages being heat-related.
• Oregon hospitals saw a spike in visitors due to heat-related illnesses. 128 people sought treatment for heat-related illnesses on Sunday vs. 24 heat-related hospital visits Friday and 56 such visits Saturday. Multnomah County had 43 people visit the emergency department or urgent care centers for heat-related illnesses over the weekend.

Climate Studies

• A report published in June 2021 looked at how climate change is impacting Canadian communities, environment and economy.