Facts Of The Day 7/16

Extreme Heat

• Missoula, Montana may see 21 straight days of temperatures at 90 degrees or more by Saturday, which would set a new record.

• Parts of Montana and Idaho could see temperatures that tie or break daily records this weekend.

• The Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Administration is investigating 117 complaints of unsafe work conditions due to the heatwave made between June 24th and 28th.

• Multiple roads in the Spokane, Washington area have buckled due to the high heat.

• Washington farmers are facing crop and livestock losses due to the heat.

  • At least 800 cows have died from heat waves.

  • Fruit farmers say at least 60% of their apple crop and around 90% of their cherries have been lost due to the heat.

• Drought conditions in New Mexico have forced farmers to buy additional feed for their livestock or reduce their herd sizes.

• Back to back dry years have affected Lake Powell’s ability to generate hydropower in Colorado.

• Work injuries that are tied to heat may be significantly undercounted, translating to lost wages and higher medical bills for low-income workers.

Wildfires

• There are currently 70 large wildfires active across AZ, CA, CO, ID, MN, MT, NM, UT and WA. 1,061,516 acres have burned so far this year across these states.

• 2 new large fires were reported across Oregon and Washington and 3 large fires were reported contained on Thursday.

• While rains from Arizona’s monsoon season have helped firefighters battling wildfires, lightning from the storms has sparked more wildfires in the state.

• A shortage of federal firefighters has hurt California’s wildfire response.

• As smoke from wildfires in other states continue to move into Idaho, the state’s air quality was rated moderate, with conditions expected to continue through Saturday.

• Drought conditions have fueled the increased wildfire activity in Minnesota. As of July 2021, the state has seen more than 1,600 wildfires, which exceeds the yearly average of around 1,400.

• One new wildfire was reported in Oregon on Thursday – The Elbow Creek Fire burned 100 acres and was 0% contained. On Thursday, the Joseph Canyon Fire was contained after burning 100 acres.

• The Bootleg Fire burned 227,234 acres and was 5% contained as of Thursday night. The communities of Summer Lake and the town of Paisley were evacuated Friday. As of Friday, 1,921 homes are threatened, with one damaged and another 21 destroyed. The fire has also destroyed 54 structures and damaged five others.

• One new wildfire was reported in Washington on Thursday. The Summit Trail Fire burned 2,260 acres and was 0% contained.

Hurricanes

• Tropical Depression 6-E formed to the south of Mexico and quickly intensified to become Tropical Storm Felicia Wednesday morning.

  • Less than 24 hours after becoming a tropical storm, Felicia strengthened to become a Category 3 hurricane.

  • While Felicia is not expected to bring direct impacts to Mexico, the hurricane is expected to create large swells and rough surf along the coast of Baja California Sur.

  • Felicia was already a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 as of Friday morning.

  • As of 2 AM local time, Felicia was moving at a speed of 9 MPH and was located about 900 miles southwest of Baja California, Mexico.

  • Felicia may strengthen further on Friday morning before weakening throughout the day.

Climate Studies

• • A July 2021 study found sea walls built to protect the San Francisco Bay Area could increase flooding elsewhere.

  • A July 2021 study found that many bird populations adjusted their migration patterns in response to climate change.