Climate Impact Report – 8/27

August 27, 2024

Key Facts Of The Day 8/27

On Tuesday morning, three tropical cyclones swirled over the Pacific Ocean.
- Tropical Storm Hone brought heavy rain to Hawaii.
- On Tuesday morning, Hurricane Gilma started weakening.
- Tropical Storm Hector was churning westward, far off the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico.
The biggest impacts from Tropical Storm Hone were rainfall and flash floods that resulted in road closures, downed power lines, and damaged trees in some areas of the Big Island.
- The hurricane center warned that residents could receive 6 to 12 inches of rain and an additional 3 to 5 inches in south-facing slopes.
On Sunday, a landslide crashed into several homes in Ketchikan, Alaska.
- The landslide killed one person, injured three others, and prompted the mandatory evacuation of nearby homes in the city.
Over the weekend, a flash flood hit the Grand Canyon National Park, killing one woman.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a global SOS —“Save Our Seas”— from the Pacific Island nation of Tonga, pleading with the world to “massively increase finance and support for vulnerable countries” in grave danger of the human-caused climate crisis.

As of Tuesday, 52 large active wildfires have burned 2,119,420 acres across ID, OR, MT, WY, WA, CA, UT, NV, SD, and NM. This year to date, 32,905 wildfires have burned 6,401,345 acres across the country.
In California, 5 fires have burned 529,139 acres as of Tuesday.
- As of Tuesday, the Park Fire has burned 429,603 acres and is 85% contained.
In Idaho, 13 fires have burned 195,579 acres as of Tuesday.
In Montana, 10 fires have burned 16,182 acres as of Tuesday.
In Nevada, 1 fire has burned 6,146 acres as of Tuesday.
In New Mexico, 1 fire has burned 2,167 acres as of Tuesday.
In Oregon, 12 fires have burned 338,771 acres as of Tuesday.
In South Dakota, 1 fire has burned 1,959 acres as of Tuesday.
In Utah, 3 fires have burned 3,262 acres as of Tuesday.
In Washington, 6 fires have burned 54,282 acres as of Tuesday.
In Wyoming, 6 fires have burned 461,526 acres as of Tuesday.

An emergency medicine physician treating Minnesota State Fair-goers for heat illnesses saw firefighters cut rings off two people’s swollen fingers Monday in hot weather that, combined with humidity, made it feel well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Extreme heat prompted some Midwestern schools to let out early or cancel sports practices.
The National Weather Service issued heat warnings or advisories across Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma.
A new study found that extreme heat killed 2,325 people in America last year, the highest number in nearly 25 years.