Climate Impact Report – 2/5

Key Facts Of The Day 2/5

Storms and Flooding

• More than 14 million people are under a rare high risk of excessive rainfall across Southern California on Monday, with parts of Los Angeles forecast to receive close to half a year’s worth of rain by Tuesday.
• More than 500,000 California power customers have faced outages as an intense atmospheric river lashed the state with heavy rain and strong winds.
• On Sunday, more than a month’s worth of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles in just 24 hours, making it the wettest day in nearly 20 years.
• Some residents in Santa Barbara, San José, Los Angeles, and Ventura County were under evacuation orders issued over the weekend as officials warned of potential life-threatening floods and landslides.
• Firefighters rescued 16 people from Studio City, Los Angeles, after debris carried by heavy rainfall caused significant damage to two homes.

Wildfires

• A new study found that the combined harm of extreme heat and inhalation of wildfire smoke increased hospitalizations and disproportionately impacted low-income communities and Latino, Black, Asian, and other racially marginalized residents.

Extreme Heat

• As temperatures rise, the dangers of avalanches increase.
  • So far this winter, four people have died in avalanches.
• Oregon mountains have seen record levels of mid-winter snowmelt as rising temperatures and high-elevation rain are rapidly depleting the region’s snowpack.
• A new study found that Colorado’s shortgrass prairies are at risk of dying off as extreme droughts become more common.