Climate Impact Report – 7/23

Key Facts Of The Day 7/23

Storms and Flooding

• On Tuesday, the body of a missing woman from the devastating Central Texas floods was recovered.
  • As of Wednesday, two other people were still missing. The floods killed at least 135 people.  
• On Wednesday, severe thunderstorms are expected to continue over the central United States, bringing heavy rain, hail, isolated tornadoes, and wind gusts as high as 80 mph.
  • From the Dakotas and Nebraska to the eastern Great Lakes region, rounds of heavy rainfall of one to three inches and as much as eight inches are expected to trigger flash flooding through Thursday. 
• On Wednesday, a tropical disturbance brought heavy rainfall and gusty thunderstorms to the southern Atlantic Coast and was expected to move to the northern Gulf Coast by the end of the week. 

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, 76 large active wildfires have burned 622,848 acres across AK, AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, OR, UT, and WA. This year to date, 38,928 wildfires have burned 2,879,645 acres across the country.
  • In Alaska, 29 fires have burned 377,375 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • In Arizona, 4 fires have burned 74,538 acres as of Tuesday.
    • As of Wednesday, the White Sage Fire had burned 58,980 acres and was 61% contained. 
  • In California, 4 fires have burned 38,473 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • In Colorado, 5 fires have burned 21,127 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • In Nevada, 1 fire has burned 1,268 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • In New Mexico, 3 fires have burned 44,023 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • In Oregon, 4 fires have burned 4,025 acres as of Tuesday.
    • As of Wednesday, the Cram Fire had burned 95,736 acres and was 73% contained. 
  • In Utah, 3 fires have burned 42,330 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • In Washington, 4 fires have burned 19,689 acres as of Tuesday.

Extreme Heat

• On Wednesday, more than 95 million Americans were under heat-related warnings and advisories, extending from the Mississippi Valley to the Northeast.
  • A large heat dome was expected to expand across the Mississippi Valley today and move to the East Coast by the end of the week. 
  • Affected areas are forecast to experience a dangerous combination of high humidity and mid-upper 90-degree temperature highs, creating heat indices between 100 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • In St. Louis, Missouri, an extreme heat warning was in place, with a heat index expected to reach up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• High humidity is expected to make this week’s heat wave worse. Researchers have found that one cause of this high humidity is “corn sweat.”
  • Corn crops produce, on average, about 4,000 gallons of water per day. This added moisture increases humidity, consequently raising feels-like temperatures in nearby areas. 
  • On Wednesday, feels-like temperatures are expected to climb above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Corn Belt, including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.
• A new report outlines how climate change is accelerating the warming of the Great Lakes region and impacting the region’s environment and economy.
• A new study found that since the 1970s, multi-day heat streaks have become more common in U.S. cities.
  • The study looked at 247 cities across the U.S. and found that the annual number of extreme heat streaks has increased in 80% of the analyzed cities. 
  • Researchers found that on average, these cities now experience two more extreme heat streaks each year compared to the 1970s. 
  • Multi-day heat streaks can put people at risk from heat-related illness and strain local energy grids, causing power outages.