Wildfires Consume 120,000 Acres in Nebraska

Red Flag Warnings, Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect from Kansas and Nebraska to Indiana

Another round of triple digit temperatures affect the central Plains, as National Weather Service warns  about the extreme conditions.

Temperatures are forecast to be 10-15 degrees above average in the central Plains and the Mid-Atlantic, as three wildfires consume at least 120,000 acres in Nebraska, destroying a dozen homes.

U.S. Daily Highest Max Temperature Records set on July 24, 2012

Source: National Climatic Data Center

• Excess Heat Warnings are in effect for all or parts of 7 states Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.
• Heat Advisories are in effect for 14 states:  South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
• Red Flag Warnings are in effect for parts of Montana, Nebraska and Kansas.

At least 24 high temperature records were broken and 34 tied in a dozen states Monday: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin, NCDC reported.

“The highest temperature readings of the day were reported at 109 degrees in Minneapolis, Kan., and Hebronville, Texas, tying previous records set in 2001 and 2009, respectively,” said NWS.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

• Greenland. Greenland’s massive ice sheet has thawed over an unusually large area, NASA has said.
  • The thawed area jumped from 40% of the ice sheet to 97% between   July 8 -11.
  • NASA scientists say they are ‘surprised‘ by the speed and scale of  this month’s thaw,  describing the phenomenon as ‘extraordinary.’
  • See also: Thought for the Day: A 2009 Forecast

• Missouri. Gov. Nixon has declared a state of emergency due to the impact of continued severe heat and drought on agriculture and public health.
  • “Our farmers are suffering tremendous losses in crops and livestock, and we’re seeing more heat-related deaths and emergency room visits, particularly among seniors.” Nixon said. “In addition, we continue to see a high risk of fire from tinderbox conditions, and we are monitoring how the drought is affecting public water supplies and distribution.”
  • The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has reported 25 heat-related deaths between May 1 and July 22, with about 830 heat-related emergency visits to hospitals, reports said.

• Assam, India.  “The death toll from ethnic violence in northeast India rose to 38 Wednesday after four days of clashes. At least 170,000 villagers have fled from their homes in the remote state of Assam,” said a report.

• China. “Tens of thousands of people have been summoned to stand guard  protecting dikes in Jingzhou city (Pop: ~ 6.45 million), which lies downstream of the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei province. Authorities declared more than 620 kms of river banks as risky along the Yangtze and its tributaries in the city.” Said a report.

Original Caption: Armed police patrol at the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze River, in Yichang City, central China’s Hubei Province, July 24, 2012. Due to the downpours in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, China’s longest, the Three Gorges Dam experienced its largest flood peak this year on Tuesday, with a peak flow of 70,000 cubic meters of water per second. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Related Links

• Deadly Drought Worsens Corn, Soybean, Pasture and Range Conditions Posted July 24, 2012
• Watching Events Unfold, Frame by Frame, Exactly as Forecast Posted July 20, 2012
• Deadly Heat Continues to Devour U.S. Crops Posted July 19, 2012

• Drought Continues to Plague Two-Thirds of Continental U.S. Posted July 17, 2012
• Largest Ever U.S. Disaster Continues Unfolding July 14, 2012
• Drought 2012 Posted on January 8, 2012
• Drought and deluge 

Deadly Heat Wave Affects Third of U.S. Population

Deadly storms pummel mid-Atlantic, knock out power to 3 million customers

A day of record-setting heat spawned deadly storms across Washington metropolitan area, leaving at least 7 people dead, and millions without power.

The storms cut power to about 3 million customers, or an estimated 10 million people, across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and the two Virginias.

West Virginia Gov. Tomblin has declared a state of emergency after storm damage which left more than half a million customers in 27 counties without power.

“The damage from today’s storms is widespread and in many places severe,” Tomblin said.

Record Breaking Heat

More than 20 million people were in areas under excessive heat warnings and almost a third of the population  in areas under heat advisories.

• At least 1,000 high temperature records have been broken across the country in recent days.

• The Washington area on Friday broke a record high temperature set 8 decades ago.  The early afternoon temperature at Washington Reagan National Airport rose to 104 degrees (40ºC) smashing the record 101 degrees set in 1934, NWS reported.

• Norton, Kansas, was the hottest location in the U.S. with 118 degrees (47.8ºC), NCDC reported. Some 22 other locations across the state topped 110 degrees on Thursday.

• Columbia, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee reached all-time records of 109 degrees  (42.8ºC) on Friday

• Atlanta, Georgia and Louisville, Kentucky also saw temperature soaring to 104ºF (40ºC)

• In addition to the fatalities caused by wildfires, which were intensified by the heat, at least a dozen people have died directly as a result of the intense heat including 3 children, two in Tennessee and a third in Missouri.

High Temperature Map of the U.S.

More than 1,000 high temperature records have been broken across the country in the last 7 days.

Daily Maximum Heat Index – Forecast

Indiana.  Oppressive heat is churning up storms across central Indiana with the entire region placed under a severe thunderstorm watch.

• Storms knocked out power to at least 100,000 customers.
• A record high temperature of 104 degrees was recorded at Indianapolis International Airport on Thursday, the highest ever in the month of June in the city, a report said.

Earlier, NWS issued Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for the region

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60 MILES PER
HOUR...LARGE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

Related Links

• Severe Thunderstorm Warning
• Excessive Heat Warning
• Severe Thunderstorm Watch
• Excessive Heat Watch

Texas Drought Worst Ever

Texas drought is the worst ever one-year drought recorded

Texas received only 0.72 inches of rain in July, making the month the warmest ever on record (since 1895).  

[August 9, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,681 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

READ THIS FIRST

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FIRE-EARTH will continue to update the 2011 Disaster Calendar for the benefit of its readers.

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Disaster Calendar 2011 – August 9 Entry

• Texas, USA. The state of Texas has broken the record for the driest 12 months on record as of July 2011. Only 0.72 inches of rain fell in the state during the entire month of July.
• Texas State Climatologist Nielsen-Gammon: “These statistics rank the current drought as the most severe one-year drought ever for Texas.”
• “Never before has so little rain been recorded prior to and during the primary growing season for crops, plants and warm-season grasses.” He added.
• Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples: “The extreme heat and unprecedented dry weather are crippling agricultural operations in Texas upon which all Americans rely for food, fuel, clothing and other daily necessities.”
• “This historic drought has depleted water resources, leaving our state’s farmers and ranchers in a state of dire need. The damage to our economy is already measured in billions of dollars and continues to mount.” He added.
• The small town of Kemp (Pop: 1,500) ran out of water on Sunday, the town mayor said. Kemp is located on the shore of Cedar Creek Reservoir in Kaufman County about 40 miles southeast of Dallas.
• Dallas experienced triple digit temperatures for the 39th consecutive day.
• For additional information on Texas drought see earlier entries on this page, 2011 Disaster Calendar – July page, previous Calendar months and blog posts.

Related Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Heat, Worsening Drought Kill Thousands of Cattle

Mounting Human Toll Yet to Be Revealed

Deadly heat across the central and eastern United States  expands into the Ohio Valley and East Coast States

Highest heat indexes reported over the southern Plains, the Midwest, the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic: NWS

At least 5,000 cattle have died from heat in Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota, reports said.

Composite Hazard Map Covering Temperature and Wind Threats, Precipitation, Soil/Wildfire Conditions. Click image to enlarge.

Maximum Daily Heat Index Map – Forecast. Click image to enlarge.

Drought

Current U.S. Drought Monitor. Click image to enlarge.

Highlights and Excerpts from the Weekly Report

• Great Plains:  The drought conditions across the Southern Great Plains persisted, and worsened across most areas.
• Texas: 94% of the range and pastureland was described as being in poor or very poor condition— a record weekly value.
• Oklahoma: Across Oklahoma, 78% of the range and pastureland described as poor or very poor.

• Great Lakes: Continued dryness that began about 60 days ago prompted the introduction of an area of abnormal dryness (D0) to the map across the lower Great Lakes region.
• Across western New York and Pennsylvania, continued dry conditions lead to an expansion of the recently introduced D0 area.
• Southeast and mid-Atlantic: A dry pattern persisted for the Carolinas, prompting a slight expansion in coverage of all the drought categories.
• Rockies and Southwest: Rainfall (approximately 0.5 inch) associated with monsoonal moisture contributed to a small improvement across northwest New Mexico (McKinley County).  The central portions of New Mexico remained dry while some portions across the south received nearly 6 inches of rainfall.  Even with 4-6 inches falling in the Cloudcroft region, improvement could not be pursued as average rainfall is 5.2 inches.  Within the same climate division, most other stations reported less than 1 inch of total rainfall during July.
• Colorado: Impacts from the drought continue to linger across the SW Colorado.

Temperature Forecast: Temperatures are expected to remain above normal for the central portions of the contiguous 48 states and below-normal along the Pacific Coast. (Source: )

Indiana and Ohio

“Their crops are behind, and to make things even worse, they are dry now, too,” said Ken Scheeringa, Indiana’s associate state climatologist.

The dry parts in the Midwest is forecast to expand merging into a larger area from eastern Iowa through northern Illinois, stretching into Ohio, Scheeringa said.

“That dome of hot air over Missouri-Kansas — that is so strong, it’s just overwhelming the whole United States now,” he said. “It’s huge.”

Illinois

“I think all the heat that has developed out in the Plains has spilled over into the rest of the Midwest. That has certainly been a contributing factor,” said  the state climatologist for Illinois.

Corn Supplies

“Because corn supplies in the United States, the world’s largest producer and exporter of the grain, are projected to fall to a 16-year low by the end of August, the grain trade is counting on a large harvest this fall.” Said a report.

Soil Moisture Forecasts

Constructed Analog Forecasts based on Soil Moisture. Source: CPC

Related Links

• Killer Heat Wave Continues in Central and Eastern U.S.

Killer Heat Wave Continues in Central and Eastern U.S.

Excessive heat and humidity expected to expand into the Ohio Valley and East Coast states this week: Forecasters

High heat index values of between 105 and 115 degrees through Friday (locally higher values possible) to expand into the Ohio Valley and East Coast, NWS reported.

Currently Excessive Heat Warnings, Watches and Heat Advisories are in effect over most of the central U.S., Ohio Valley and the Atlantic east coast from the Carolinas into New England.

US Weather Hazards Map.

 

Composite Hazard Map Covering Temperature and Wind Threats, Precipitation, Soil/Wildfire Conditions. Click image to enlarge.

Maximum Daily Heat Index Map – Forecast. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links:

• US Nuke Plants Threatened by Extreme Heat
• Killer Heat Persists in Central United States