Climate Impact Report – 8/9

Quick Facts

On Wednesday, there is a new threat of severe thunderstorms stretching from Kansas to Georgia.
- Major cities like Little Rock, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama, could see damaging winds, hail, and a few tornadoes.
Since Monday, there have been more than 850 damaging storm reports nationwide, with nearly two dozen tornadoes reported from Colorado to Massachusetts.
- Thunderstorms dumped 6 to 7 inches of rain in Massachusetts within a short period of time, producing major flash flooding that inundated roadways and neighborhoods.
- At least two people were killed by severe weather on Monday — a 28-year-old man in Florence, Alabama, and a 15-year-old boy in Anderson, South Carolina.

As of Wednesday, 85 large active wildfires have burned 540,084 acres across AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, LA, MT, NM, OR, TX, UT, and WA. This year to date, 32,602 wildfires have burned 1,411,277 acres across the country.
In Alaska, 23 fires have burned 93,789 acres as of Wednesday.
In Arizona, 9 fires have burned 26,593 acres as of Wednesday.
In California, 4 fires have burned 99,470 acres as of Wednesday.
- The York Fire burned 93,078 acres and was 95% contained as of Wednesday.
In New Mexico, 14 fires have burned 128,249 acres as of Wednesday.
In Texas, 4 fires have burned 5,419 acres as of Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the heat index value hit 113 degrees in Miami, Florida, the hottest ever recorded in the city.
Lafayette, Louisiana, has gone a record 10 straight days of temperatures at or above 100 degrees.
July was the globe’s hottest month on record and the 11th warmest July on record in the U.S.
Florida experienced its hottest January to July on record.
It was the hottest July on record in Arizona, New Mexico, and Maine.
The year 2023 now has a 50-85% chance of becoming the hottest year on record globally.
Medical examiners report extreme heat in the U.S. has killed at least 147 people in five counties, but the real number is likely much higher.
- As of early August, 64 had died in Pima County, Arizona; 39 in Maricopa County, Arizona; 26 in Clark County, Nevada; 11 in Webb County, Texas; and seven in Harris County, Texas.
  - Maricopa County has 312 more deaths still under investigation for possible heat-related causes of death.

An August 2023 report found that the U.S. saw 15 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, the most on record from January to July.
An August 2023 report found that extreme events in Antarctica, such as ocean heatwaves and ice loss, will almost certainly become more common and more severe.