Facts Of The Day 8/13

Extreme Heat

• As of Thursday, over 1 million people in the United States were under fire-weather advisories.

• The late June heat waves that hit the Pacific Northwest may have killed over 600 people in Oregon and Washington, which is 3 times higher than the states’ official estimates of heat-related deaths so far.

• As another heatwave hits the Pacific Northwest, Portland, Oregon is likely to see its 6th 100-degree day this year on Friday.

• As of Friday, Boston, Massachusetts will see its 19th day of the year where temperatures reach 90 degrees or higher.

• As of this week, 7% of Minnesota is in extreme drought, which is an increase from last week where no part of the state was in an extreme drought condition.

• Volunteers in Oregon handed out water on Wednesday in Portland, where temperatures reached 102 degrees, tying a record set in 1977.

• Nearly two-thirds of North Dakota’s wheat crop is rated as poor or very poor, with half of the state’s soybean and corn crops also in those categories because of the drought.

• Drought has caused hay production in North Dakota to fall 25% to 75%, requiring farmers to seek other sources of food for their cattle.

• Anthrax, which can cause sudden death in livestock, can become a greater risk in hotter temperatures, has been found in at least one North Dakota county because of the hotter temperatures.

• The region that includes North Dakota and Minnesota could see the average temperature rise 3.6 degrees due to climate change.

  • More extreme weather, such as extreme precipitation and increasing drought and fire weather is to be expected.

• Farmworkers in California are working in temperatures that reach up to 110 degrees and continue to work in such conditions due to economic need and fear of reprisal for speaking up.

• California may need to tap into oil and gas as energy sources to avoid blackouts in the next few weeks.

• California may need as much as 600 MW up to 5.2 GW additional energy to ensure energy reliability in 2022 due to extreme heat and drought.

• Red tide has been detected in Monterey Bay, California, sometimes extending as far out as 120 feet of the water.

• World food prices have risen by up to 31% this year, partially because of supply shortages from extreme weather.

Wildfires

• There are currently 103 large wildfires that have burned 2,409,419 acres across AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NE, NM, NV, SD, UT, WA, and WY.

• 5 new large fires were reported across Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Utah, and 4 large fires were reported contained on Wednesday.

• Wildfires are destroying rangelands that ranchers depend upon across the Western United States, with one rancher being forced to relocate his 100 head of cattle 3 times in Montana to avoid the Richard Springs fire.

• As women in firefighting only make up 8% of firefighters nationwide, there are significant knowledge gaps in how wildfire management affects their health, including maternal health.

• Dozens of wildfires across the western United States have burned an average of 30 square miles, almost half the size of Washington, DC, on a daily basis.

• The Bureau of Land Management has been sued for allegedly withholding information regarding the creation of fuel breaks to slow wildfires.

• Both Colorado and Idaho saw the poorest air quality this past week due to the wildfires burning in California, Oregon, and Washington.

• California’s state budget has dedicated $3 million to help veterinarians in livestock recovery from wildfire burns.

• One new fire sparked in Idaho on Thursday – the Scarface Fire burned 300 acres and was 70% contained.

• Two fires were contained in Montana on Friday – the Horse Creek Fire burned 1,683 acres and the Three Wolf Creek Fire burned 344 acres.

• Two new fires were sparked in Oregon on Thursday – The Patton Meadow Fire burned 2,000 acres and was 1% contained and the Willow Valley Fire burned 400 acres and was 0% contained.

• One new fire sparked in Washington on Thursday – the Pincher Creek Fire burned 153 acres and was 0% contained.

• One new fire contained in Wyoming on Thursday – the Jenkins Fire burned 400 acres.

Hurricanes

• As of Friday morning, Fred has deteriorated significantly to the point where the center of the storm, if it still exists, is near the northern coast of Cuba.

  • Fred is not expected to become anything stronger than a low-level tropical storm due to hostile upper-level winds and dry air.

  • Fred was also stripped of moisture after it passed over the mountains of the Dominican Republic and Haiti which is also preventing it from re-strengthening.

  • After Fred passes by Cuba later on Friday, it will head to the over the warm waters south of the Florida Keys, where it could regain some strength but will be limited by winds blowing over the Keys and South Florida and a flood watch is in effect for South Florida.

  • Although Fred is not expected to reach Florida as a major storm or hurricane, the Florida Keys is under a Tropical Storm Warning.

  • When Fred arrives in Florida, it could have winds up to 40 MPH and bring rain on Saturday, most notably to the state’s southeast and south-facing beaches.

  • Florida will likely experience less wind and periods of rain on Sunday, with Fred moving north in the Gulf or near the west coast of Florida.

• On Thursday, Tropical Storm Linda became a hurricane several hundred miles off the southwestern coast of Mexico.

  • Direct impacts to Mexico are not expected, but rough surf and rip currents along its western coast will occur over the weekend.

• After storms, earlier this week more than 600,000 people continue to remain without power in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan as of Friday morning.

  • DTE Energy says 95% of its customers can expect power to be restored by Sunday.

  • Wind gusts from the storms that reached up to 60 MPH caused extensive tree damage and downed more than 3,000 power lines.

  • Parts of the interstates 94 and 696 in the Detroit area were closed on Thursday, with portions reopening later in the day except for the sections near the Detroit area that still had standing water.

Climate Studies

• An August 2021 study found wildfire smoke in the Western United States may lead to less rainfall in the region.

• An August 2021 study found that Arctic-alpine plant species respond differently to climate change based on their location.

• An August 2021 study found that proposed hydro dams pose a risk to more than 260,000 kilometers of rivers.

• An August 2021 study found that the world’s biodiversity maps have significant gaps which may limit the effectiveness of conservation efforts.