That One Nice Week of August Is Here

I come bearing good news for a change: Most of the United States will see reasonable summer temperatures this week! With, of course, a few exceptions …

Debby brings cooler days across the country

Hurricane Debby, which first made landfall in Florida last Tuesday, has set new weather trends in motion. After hitting Georgia and South Carolina, the storm continued north, reaching the Northeast last Friday. The wind and rainfall brought cooler, less humid air into the region, Reneé Duff, senior meteorologist at Accuweather, told me. Temperatures in the Northeast — which were several degrees below historical averages this weekend — will continue to be more comfortable this week compared to the recent past. Same goes for the northern Plains and Midwest.

In the Southeast, where the hurricane has caused the most destruction, temperatures will be near their historical averages — around the low 90s degrees Fahrenheit. While the cool-off will be good for those trying to recover after the storm, Duff told me that higher humidity levels with rounds of showers and thunderstorms in the region may still end up slowing cleanup efforts.

Despite Debby, the heat has found a way to stick itself to some states. Parts of Texas and New Mexico will see temperatures much higher than those expected for this time of the year, Tom Kines, senior meteorologist at Accuweather, told me. During the later part of the week, an intense heat wave will build across Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas. On Thursday, southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama will be under extreme heat risk alerts, according to data from the National Weather Service.

The rest of the country should “experience temperatures close to where they should be for this time of year,” Kines told me.

More updates on the Park Fire

Little progress has been made on containing the Park Fire since last week. The wildfire, which is now 38% contained, continues to grow aggressively. Climate scientist Daniel Swain of the University of California, Los Angeles, explained in a live briefing Thursday that while parts of the fire that had been burning through grass have been contained, in its northeastern flank, the fire is currently ravaging through timber plantations which burn more violently than natural forests. The fire has now also reached the Lassen National Forest, burning over 100,000 acres of the protected area.

• Some useful numbers: Ranking directly above the Park Fire among the largest wildfires in California’s history (for the moment) is the Mendocino Complex Fire of July 2018, which burned around 460,000 acres, but lasted 161 days. The Park Fire has already scorched almost 430,000 acres in less than 20 days. The largest fire in California’s history was the 2020 August Complex fire, which devoured more than a million acres over 87 days.

There is one tiny bit of good news: According to updates from Cal Fire, firefighters have been able to lift evacuation orders and warnings in Butte County.

Meanwhile, other wildfires have continued to pop up in California. On Tuesday, the Crozier Fire started in El Dorado County, and almost 2,000 acres have so far been burned. While not as powerful as the Park Fire, Crozier is also growing fast and in a more densely populated area, Swain said.

• Looking Ahead: The heat wave in California has broken, with near average — and maybe even lower — temperatures in store this week. The only issue is that the cooler weather comes from stronger winds, which are not ideal for containing a wildfire. Despite more forgiving temperatures, wildfire risk will remain high in California for the foreseeable future.

Alaska has been super weird

In late July, an especially long and intense heat wave settled over Alaska. On July 22, Fairbanks hit 90 degrees, breaking the previous record of 89 set last year. On that day, it was hotter in northern Alaska than it was in Atlanta.

The fact that such high temperatures are being seen so late into the summer in Alaska is particularly concerning, Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist for the NWS, told Scientific American. Peak temperatures usually happen much sooner, in June; by July, after the summer solstice, Alaska gets fewer hours of sunlight, so temperatures should start settling down. Alaskans’ housing and habits are all adapted to keep the cold away, so scientists are worried about the health risks of prolonged high temperatures in the state.

• Looking Ahead: While temperatures in Alaska dipped below average this weekend in the central and southern parts of the state, the mercury will soon start rising again. “If there is more record-breaking heat, the middle of the month would be the most likely time frame,” Duff told me. The possibility of record-breaking heat will decrease again starting at the end of August, but temperatures will continue to be warmer than average in the northern part of the state.

A heat wave in South Korea is killing livestock by the thousands

East Asian countries have been sizzling this summer, and South Korea is no exception. Following the end of the monsoon season in late July, Seoul has constantly seen temperatures of 89 degrees and up. Most of the country has seen temperatures 10 degrees higher than historical averages. The relentless heat has led to almost 2,000 heat-related illnesses and 17 fatalities since the start of the summer. In some regions, including Jeju, people are struggling to keep livestock alive, for example using fans and air conditioners to try to cool down the island’s rare black pigs. Over 300,000 livestock have died since mid-July.

“The heat is mostly due to a persistent area of high pressure over the Philippine Sea with the high's axis reaching to the Korean Peninsula over the past week to 10 days,” Duff explained.

The country has opened 50,000 cooling shelters in response to the heat crisis, on top of smaller-scale counter-measures such as distributing umbrellas and salt tablets to try to keep people cool and hydrated.

• Looking Ahead: Despite some cloudiness and rain this past Friday, the scorching heat will prevail this week in the country. “A better chance for relief from the heat may come late next week or early the week of August 19,” Duff told me.

Extreme heat in northern Canada is making some miss the winter

Several communities in northern Canada broke heat records last week. Temperatures reached 95 degrees, breaking the record of 91 set last year. Inuvik, which saw its second ever recorded heat wave this summer, has been especially vulnerable to the recent heat. The region’s famous midnight sunsets means heat takes longer to dissipate, exacerbating the issues with low water levels in the Mackenzie River. Due to the dry and hot conditions, the community so used to ice and snow is now concerned about wildfires. Regions in Canada that have been historically shielded from major fire threats have been in the line of destruction in recent years, The Guardian reported.

• Looking Ahead: In Inuvik, temperatures will stay below 68 degrees for most of this week. While it seems like record-breaking heat is now behind northern Canada, it’s harder to say when drought conditions might improve. At least in the next 10 days, heavy precipitation is not predicted for the Northwest Territories.

Research corner:

• Over 70% of the global workforce is at risk from extreme heat-related death and injuries, according to a United Nations report — that’s almost 2.5 billion workers. While Africa leads as the region with the highest percentage of vulnerable workers, the report also points out that the number of those vulnerable in Europe is growing at the fastest rate.

• In Montana, Missoula County first responders teamed up with researchers at the University of Montana to investigate the most vulnerable group to extreme heat. After going through 911 calls, they found that those living in rural areas — which also tends to have older populations — were the ones that required most assistance during periods of intense heat. They also found that every 1 degree Celsius increase in average daily temperatures led to a 1% increase in 911 activity, i.e. hundreds of additional distress calls.

• A poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that seven in 10 Americans have seen the impact of extreme heat on their electricity bills in the past year. In the past five years, according to the survey, 70% of Americans have been personally affected by extreme heat. Those in the West and South were more likely to report having been impacted by the hot weather than those in the Northeast.