Facts Of The Day 7/27

Extreme Heat

• More than 30 million people across the country will see temperatures meet or exceed 100 degrees some time this week with at least 17 states under heat warnings or advisories as of Tuesday.

• Multiple areas of the United States are seeing extreme weather this week, including heat advisories and excessive heat watches from southern Louisiana to Minneapolis, and monsoon weather in the Southwest.

• Seven people died in a 20 vehicle car crash in a sandstorm in Utah. The crash occurred on I-15 near Kanosh, which is experiencing some of the worst drought conditions in the United States, making sandstorms more likely.

• The average water daily levels at Utah’s Great Salt Lake has dropped to a new low record of 4193.1 feet above sea level due to the drought.

• Roads in Springfield, Illinois, are buckling due to the heat.

• Although the COVID-19 pandemic reduced emissions in the Western United States, wildfires have wiped out more than half the region’s reductions last year in July 2021 alone.

• New Orleans, Louisiana has the worst heat island out of 159 U.S. cities.

  • Studies estimate that residents in New Orleans see temperatures nine degrees higher than those living outside the city.

• Parts of Minnesota could see more empty wells due to drought, with 27 low water or out-of-water calls recorded as of July 2021 compared to eight in 2020.

• New Hampshire farms lost crops such as brassicas and lettuce as the weather suddenly shifted from dry conditions in May and June 2021 to three weeks of heavy rain in July.

  • Parts of Sullivan, Grafton, Carroll, Belknap and Coos counties are experiencing abnormally dry conditions while parts of other parts of Grafton and Coos are experiencing moderate drought.

• As of Monday, 1,624 tons or more than three million pounds of dead marine life have been collected from Pinellas County, Florida, due to the red tide.

• Beach hazard statements have been issued for Lee and Charlotte counties in Florida through Tuesday evening because of the red tide.

• The Texas power grid expects to see record demand over the next week as a heat wave arrives for the next month.

Wildfires

• There are currently 79 large wildfires that have burned 1,542,180  acres across AZ, CA, CO, ID, MN, MT, NV UT, WA and WY.

• 3 new large fires were reported across Idaho and South Dakota and 4 large fires were reported contained on Monday.

• Due to wildfires, the air quality in the New England region is currently the worst in the nation except for California.

• Fuel shortages could affect the ability to fight wildfires and are expected to last through mid-August.

• Wildfires have contributed to housing shortages in California and Oregon.

  • California and Oregon have bought and rented hotels to house residents who have lost their homes to wildfires.

  • Oregon launched Project Turnkey in the wake of the 2020 Labor Day fires, in which the state allocated $65 million to purchase between 18 to 20 hotels with the goal of housing 1,000 people for up to a year.

    • $30 million went to six rural counties and the remaining $35 million was used to shelter anyone experiencing homelessness.

  • About 17,700 structures were lost to wildfires in 2020 across the United States.

• As wildfires worsen in California, the state may not have adequate resources to battle the blazes.

• In California, two fires were contained on Monday – the Dexter Fire burned at 2,965 acres and the Henry Fire burned at 1,320 acres.

• In Colorado, 3 people are now confirmed dead from a flash flood in the burn scar of the August 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, which was the largest fire in the state’s history.

• Two new fires sparked in Idaho on Monday –  the Rough Draw Fire burned 2,321 acres and the Storm Theater Complex Fire 7,915 acres.

• More than 20% of Minnesota is in extreme drought, which has helped spark more than 1,500 wildfires since March 2021 and burned more than 34,000 acres.

• Four of five firefighters have been released from the hospital as of Tuesday morning after being injured while battling the Devils Creek Fire in Montana last week.

• One new fire sparked in South Dakota on Monday – the Fuzzy Fire burned 1,200 acres and was 15%.

• In Washington, one fire was contained on Monday – the Red Apple Fire burned 12,228 acres.

Hurricanes

• An area of low pressure that was located off of the coasts of Florida and Georgia has deteriorated into a remnant as of Tuesday morning.

  • As of 8 AM local time Tuesday, the remnant was located inland over Georgia near the South Carolina border. It is forecast to bring rain and thunderstorms as it moves slowly over the Georgia and South Carolina coasts over the next few days. Its chance of development over the next two to five days has fallen to 0%.

• Although Louisiana residents received $250 million in federal emergency aid and were approved for $627 in small business loans after Hurricanes Delta and Laura, the state’s governor, John Bel Edwards, said that the state still had $3 billion in unmet recovery needs.

Climate Studies

• A July 2021 study found that more record-setting heat waves similar to the one that hit the Pacific Northwest in June are more likely in the future.

• A July 2021 study found that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s rail network is facing an existential threat of rising sea levels over the next 50 years.

• A July 2021 study found that reducing air pollution may improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of dementia.

• A July 2021 study found that meeting global climate targets will create 8 million more jobs worldwide, mostly in the solar and wind industries.