Facts Of The Day 8/05

Extreme Heat

• Although extreme heat days have been historically fairly rare at 13 days on average, Minnesota has already experienced 22 days of temperatures at 90 degrees or more in 2021.

• Wheat farmers in the United States and Canada are expecting a steep drop in the spring wheat crop this year, with the U.S. harvest forecast to drop 41% from a year ago.

  • On Monday, the USDA declared that only 10% of the country’s spring wheat was in good condition, which is down from 73% a year ago.

  • The USDA rated 42% of the spring wheat in Montana was very poor, and another 43% was in poor shape.

• Multiple cities are conducting studies to map urban heat islands, including New York City, San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, and Kansas City.

• Oregon’s OSHA has adopted new emergency rules to protect farmworkers from smoke exposure.

• The June heatwaves contributed to the deaths of at least 210 people in Washington and Oregon, at least two of whom were farm workers.

• Drought has affected the town of Mendocino, California so severely that an inn is paying $600 for 3,500 gallons of water for their guests and a restaurant pays $3,600 a month for water.

• Drought is forcing farmers in California to rip up their almond trees.

  • California’s almond market is worth almost $6 billion a year.

• Drought has affected Montana’s hunting season by suppressing grass growth and leaving hunting game unable to feed and weigh.

• Utah has closed 2 boat ramps due to the drought causing low water levels and has issued caution advisories for an additional 7 state park boat ramps.

  • Reservoir levels in Utah are down to an average of 53% capacity.

  • The state has received 62.4% of its typical precipitation of a normal year.

  • 77% of hay and roughage supplies are rated as short or very short and 69% of pasture and rangelands are rated poor to very poor.

• Although Idaho’s power grid has been tested due to the summer drought, it is unlikely to face issues like the blackouts in Texas because Idaho’s power grid is not isolated from the rest of the country.

• As of Wednesday, the red tide continues to threaten Florida’s coast, although the red tide was still detected in samples in multiple counties: Pinellas (25), Sarasota (19), Pasco (7), and two in Manatee.

• Scientists are attempting to reuse fish killed by red tide by turning them into fertilizer.

• Florida officials are considering using drones to detect red tide.

• Salt Lake City, Utah, saw its hottest month on record in July, with an average temperature of 85.7 degrees.

Wildfires

• There are currently 100 large wildfires that have burned 1,947,811 acres across AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MN, MT, NV, SD, UT, WA, and WY.

• 9 new large fires were reported across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and 2 large fires were reported contained on Tuesday.

• Last year’s wildfires in Colorado burned away vegetation that would have absorbed water that flooded Interstate 70 last week, forcing it to close.

  • The highway is likely to be closed for weeks, which will add a burden to the local economy and families.

• The Biden administration has promised more assistance to California to battle wildfires.

• Two new fires sparked in California on Wednesday – the River Fire burned 1,400 acres and was 0% contained and the Tilttill burned 489 acres and was 10% contained.

• In California, The Dixie Fire burned 278,227 acres and was 35% contained as of Thursday. The Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Rich Bar and engulfed the downtown of Greenville. At least one gas station, hotel, bar, and multiple homes were destroyed in Greenville by the Dixie Fire.

• Hawaii Governor David Ige signed an emergency declaration for the County of Hawaii on Wednesday for the Mana Road Fire.

• One new fire sparked in Idaho on Wednesday – the Clover Creek Fire burned 650 acres and was 80% contained. One fire was contained – the Pioneer Fire burned 355 acres.

• One new fire sparked in Montana on Wednesday – the Bradshaw Fire burned 350 acres and was 0% contained. One fire contained in Montana on Wednesday – the Eagle Butte Fire burned 1,922 acres.

• Two new fires sparked in Oregon on Wednesday – the Devils Knob Complex burned 247 acres and was 0% contained and the Janus Complex Fire burned 300 acres and was 0% contained.

• Three new fires sparked in Washington on Wednesday – the Hamilton Fire burned 400 acres and was 0% contained, the Schneider Springs Fire burned 500 acres and was 0% contained and the Whitemore Fire burned 2,000 acres and was 0% contained.

Hurricanes

• As of Wednesday afternoon, Hilda was still a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 MPH and was located 1900 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii.

  • It was forecast to degrade to a tropical depression by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

• The Atlantic hurricane season is now forecast to be more active this year and has 15 to 21 named storms instead of the originally forecast 13 to 20 in May

  • Forecasters also expect the number of hurricanes will range from 7 to 10 instead of 6 to 10.

  • 2021 is expected to be the sixth straight year with above-normal hurricane activity.

Climate Studies