Facts Of The Day 8/26

Extreme Heat

• On Wednesday, over 60 million people in cities ranging from Phoenix to St. Louis and from Detroit to New York City were under heat alerts.

• Milwaukee Public Schools in Wisconsin dismissed students early on Wednesday due to excessive heat as some rooms do not have air conditioning.

• Multiple school districts in Connecticut released students early on Wednesday and expect to do the same for the rest of the week due to excessive heat, humidity and poor indoor air quality.

• Flint Community Schools in Michigan are installing cooling devices at 6 elementary schools after already having cancelled 6 days of school due to excessive heat.

• Climate change has not only caused megadroughts but also megafloods which brought more than 10 inches of rain that killed at least 5 people from Tropical Storm Fred and rainfalls of up to 17 inches in Tennessee which killed at least 22 people.

• Scofield, Utah has officially run out of drinking water, leading city officials to issue emergency permits for residents to haul water for immediate needs.

• Idaho farmers are bracing for a poor potato crop harvest, with fewer potatoes that will also be smaller due to the ongoing drought and hotter temperatures.

• An estimated 32% of all cattle in the United States are currently living under drought conditions as of Wednesday.

• Cattle ranchers may be forced to wean calves earlier due to drought, which may make the animals more vulnerable to sickness during transport and be riskier for buyers.

• Extreme weather events, including wildfire and drought, are pushing homeowners to buy solar and energy storage systems.

• An Indio, California hospital that regularly treats outdoor workers for heat exhaustion has already seen 129 cases this year, compared to 85 in 2020 and 75 in 2019.

• About 45,000 utility customers in Southern California are going to be transferred to an electricity plan by November 1st that will charge them more during peak hours as part of a statewide effort to influence behavior.

• Due to water shortages from the Colorado River and ongoing drought conditions, outlying areas of the Navajo Nation in Arizona may use as little as 10 gallons of water per day, compared to 300 gallons of water in metropolitan areas of the state.

• According to Florida officials, the red tide continues to persist along the Gulf Coast, with Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties reporting both fish deaths and respiratory irritation.

• Madera County, California officials issued a warning for toxic algae around Hensley Lake on Monday.

• Algal blooms have been reported in the Chesapeake Bay, which may affect oysters and swimmers.

Wildfires

• There are currently 88 large active wildfires that have burned 2,436,690 acres across CA, CO, ID, MN, MT, NV, UT, WA, OR, SD, WA, UT, and WY.

• This year to date, 41,768 wildfires have burned 4,822,010 acres across the country.

• A climate observatory has been established near the headwaters of the Colorado River to collect information on how wildfires, forest management, drought, and tree-killing bugs affect water availability.

• Gaps in air quality sensors in the western United States may mean potential health consequences for people exposed to wildfire smoke and air pollution in the region.

• One fire sparked in California on Wednesday – the Airola Fire burned 700 acres and was 0% contained.

• In California, The Caldor Fire burned 126,566 acres and was 12% contained as of Thursday.

  • As of Thursday morning, the Caldor Fire has damaged at least 461 residences, 34 structures, 11 commercial properties, and 165 minor structures with another 17,000 structures threatened.

• One fire was contained in Montana on Wednesday – the Whitetail Creek Fire burned 340.

Hurricanes

• Tropical Storm Fred brought up to 7 inches of rain to parts of the New York region over 3 days.

  • Floodwaters in the Finger Lakes area of New York pushed mud, rock, and rain under and around trailers.

  • Fred caused millions of dollars of damage to southern Finger Lakes, including $200,000 for road repairs in Yates County.

  • The Jasper-Troupsburg High School in Steuben County, New York was flooded with up to 4 feet of water.

  • Flooding in Cayuga County, New York closed multiple roads near waterways and caused the water levels in Owasco River and Owasco Lake to nearly reach flood stage.

• Tropical Storm Henri brought at least 5 inches of rain to Manchester, Connecticut Sunday and Monday.

  • Rainfalls caused basements and yards to flood, which required the local fire department to make 16-20 evacuations.

  • Henri clogged some of Manchester’s storm drains, causing water to flow into roads, driveways, and front yards

• Henri severely damaged one family’s home in Exeter, Massachusetts, by bringing down a 90-foot pine tree, although the family escaped unharmed.

• A low-pressure system that could become Tropical Storm Ida was located in the Caribbean Sea as of Thursday morning and is likely to grow into a tropical storm by Thursday night.

  • Between Thursday and Friday, parts of Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cuba, and the Yucatan may see tropical alerts.

  • The system is projected to move between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico by the weekend.

  • The system is expected to bring thunderstorms as it approaches Cuba on Friday.

  • Parts of Texas, Louisiana, and northeastern Mexico could be threatened by the storm, which could be a hurricane later this weekend.

• As of Thursday, floods in Tennessee have destroyed or damaged homes, businesses, railroad tracks and has killed at least 20 people.

  • McEwen, Tennessee received the most rain at 17 inches on Saturday.

  • The rainfall that triggered the floods are considered extremely rare.

  • The system was created when a low-level warm steam of air came north from the tropics carrying a lot of moisture, met with a cold front in Middle Tennessee and then a third system, called short waves, consisted of whirling air that kicked off the storms.

• Rains linked to climate change over the Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska have caused landslides which closed the lone road to nonessential vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians and forced closures of a visitor center and campground.

Climate Studies