Climate Impact Report – 10/3

October 3, 2024

Key Facts Of The Day 10/3

Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

Hurricane Helene Impacts

At least 194 people have died across six states from Hurricane Helene and its impacts.
As of Thursday morning, more than 720,000 customers in Helene’s path were still without power, including more than 377,000 customers in South Carolina and more than 300,000 customers in North Carolina.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, complaints of price gouging on gas, groceries, and hotel rates had increased in affected southeastern states.
- In South Carolina, at least 142 price-gouging complaints have been issued since the start of Helene.
- North Carolina had at least 64 complaints of price-gouging.
On Wednesday, a report found that only 2% of the 100 counties most affected by Helene-related power outages were protected by flood insurance.
- Less than 1% of the North Carolina counties hardest hit by Helene were covered, and in South Carolina, only 0.3% were covered.
On Wednesday, residents in East Tennessee were warned to avoid all contact with water bodies affected by extreme flooding from Helene due to damaged wastewater treatment plants and sewer line crossings.
On Wednesday, President Biden met with Hurricane Helene victims in Greenville, South Carolina, and received an aerial view of the damages in Asheville.
On Wednesday, President Biden amended the disaster declarations for Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina so that the federal government would pay for 100% of certain categories of recovery costs, including debris removal, first responders, search and rescue, shelters, and mass feeding.
On Wednesday, Vice President Harris met with local officials and first responders in Augusta, Georgia.
On Thursday, President Biden and Vice President Harris were expected to visit Florida and Georgia to tour the damages from Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Kirk

As of Thursday morning, Hurricane Kirk was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph. The storm was located about 1,185 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands and moving northwest.
- According to the National Hurricane Center, Kirk was forecasted to generate “life-threatening” surf and rip current conditions.
- Kirk was expected to generate surf swells that were forecasted to reach portions of the Leeward Islands by Friday.

Wildfires

As of Thursday, 30 large active wildfires have burned 1,571,550 acres across AZ, CA, ID, MT, OR, UT, WA, and WY. This year to date, 39,169 wildfires have burned 7,438,367 acres across the country.
In Arizona, 1 fire has burned 15,074 acres as of Thursday.
In California, 3 fires have burned 122,326 acres as of Thursday.
In Idaho, 10 fires have burned 361,074 acres of Thursday.
In Montana, 1 fire has burned 315 acres as of Thursday.
In Oregon, 9 fires have burned 230,469 as of Thursday.
In Utah, 1 fire has burned 2,538 acres as of Thursday.
In Washington, 2 fires have burned 2,738 acres as of Thursday
In Wyoming, 3 fires have burned 81,631 acres as of Thursday.

Extreme Heat

On Wednesday, about 39 million people across the Southwest were under heat alerts.
- Excessive heat alerts were issued in major cities, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
- High temperatures in parts of Arizona, California, and Nevada were expected to be 10 to 25 degrees above normal.
On Tuesday, Palm Springs, California reached a high of 117 degrees Fahrenheit, matching the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States during October.
- San Francisco saw its hottest day of the year on Tuesday with a high of 94 degrees Fahrenheit.