Climate Impact Report – 11/15

November 15, 2024

Key Facts Of The Day 11/15

As of Friday morning, Tropical Storm Sara was located about 40 miles southeast of Isla Guanaja, Honduras, and 205 miles east-southeast of Belize City, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
- According to the National Hurricane Center, heavy rainfall is likely to cause flash flooding and mudslides into early next week for portions of Central America.
- Tropical Storm Sara is now expected to dissipate before reaching the Gulf of Mexico, reducing the potential future threat to Florida.
2024 is the eighth year in a row to surpass the average of 14 named storms.
In the Ridge Manor community about 50 miles west of Orlando, Florida, water still covers yards and homes more than a month after Hurricane Milton.
- A flood warning has been in effect for the town for 34 days.
- Residents used airboats to travel to work and school. Many also used airboats to vote in the 2024 presidential election in a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center that was converted to a polling location.

As of Wednesday, 8 large active wildfires have burned 277,959 acres across CA, MA, NY, NC, PA, VA, and WV. This year to date, 50,045 wildfires have burned 8,109,156 acres across the country.
In California, 1 fire has burned 20,630 acres as of Wednesday.
In Massachusetts, 1 fire has burned 309 acres as of Wednesday.
In New York, 1 fire has burned 630 acres as of Wednesday.
In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 300 acres as of Wednesday.
In Pennsylvania, 2 fires have burned 418 acres as of Wednesday.
In Virginia, 1 fire has burned 190 acres as of Wednesday.
In West Virginia, 1 fire has burned 210 acres as of Wednesday.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has experienced a 1,300% increase in firefighter response.
According to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, since early October, the state’s fire service has responded to 500 more fires than in the same period last year.

Dry conditions in the Northeast are worsening, creating a scenario for fire danger in the region to persist.
- The worst of the drought conditions are located in a large swath of West Virginia, several counties in South New Jersey, and three counties in southwest Pennsylvania – all of which are in extreme drought.
- Most of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and West Virginia are in severe drought.
On Wednesday, New Jersey raised its drought level from a drought watch to a drought warning.
On Wednesday, New Jersey American Water, the largest water utility in New Jersey, issued a statewide mandatory conservation notice.
According to a November 2024 report, countries have made little progress in curbing their greenhouse gas emissions over the past year, keeping the planet on track for dangerous levels of warming this century.