Climate Impact Report – 1/8

January 8, 2025

Key Facts Of The Day 1/8

Storms And Flooding

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm watches across northern Texas, southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas, and northern Louisiana.
- Forecasters warned of hazardous travel conditions and potential disruptions to daily life in these areas.
- This winter storm is expected to begin on Wednesday along the Gulf Coast before moving northeast in an elongated path from Texas to the Carolinas, bringing a mix of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain.
As winter storms strike, airlines scramble to de-ice planes and keep them flying.

Wildfires

As of Friday, January 3, 1 large active wildfire has burned 1,352 acres across AZ.
In Arizona, 1 fire has burned 1,352 acres as of last Friday.
- The Horton Fire in Arizona has burned 1,352 acres and is 17% contained.
In California, 4 fires have burned 41,316 acres as of Wednesday.
- As of Wednesday, the Palisades Fire has burned 2,921 acres and is 0% contained.
- As of Wednesday, the Eaton Fire has burned 2,227 acres and is 0% contained.
- As of Wednesday, the Hurst Fire has burned 500 acres and is 0% contained.
- As of Wednesday, the Tyler Fire has burned 15 acres and is 0% contained.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency amid dangerous wildfires in California.
- By early Wednesday, more than 50,000 people in the Los Angeles area had been told to evacuate due to the wildfire threat.
- On Wednesday, nineteen school districts across Los Angeles County announced wildfire-related closures.
- As of Wednesday morning, over 175,000 customers were without power.
- A smoke advisory has been issued around much of the Malibu Coast to Santa Monica, stretching all the way east to Pasadena.
- Extreme winds across Southern California have picked up overnight, with some isolated gusts in the highest elevations approaching triple digits – fueling the multiple ongoing blazes and complicating firefighting efforts.
- One of the causes for the fire outbreak in Southern California is the incredibly dry conditions during what is supposed to be the rainy season, which typically runs from December through March.
  - It has been the driest start to Los Angeles’ water year, which begins October 1, in more than 80 years of weather records.

Extreme Heat

As climate change worsens, food delivery workers are increasingly exposed to heat, wildfire smoke, and other dangerous weather events.
- Food delivery orders tend to surge as temperatures increase.
The current California wildfires are the result of an unprecedented combination of factors at this time of year – the worst high wind event in Southern California since 2011, and some of the driest conditions on record for early January.