Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Climate

Don’t Mess With Texas Heat

The week in heat, August 19 to 25.

Heatwaves on a road.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The heat is chilling out this week, meaning today’s update is a short one. If you’re in the Northeast, start dreaming of pumpkins and hot cocoa. If you live farther south … keep running that AC a little longer.

Fall is in sight — for some

Those in the Northeast can start airing out their sweaters this week. According to Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, a long-lasting jet stream should bring temperatures 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit below historical averages through the end of August. The region can also expect some precipitation and stronger storms, which will likely bring down temperatures even more.

The Pacific Northwest will also get fall-like weather this week, Pastelok told me, which will move into the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley on Thursday. For much of the South and the Gulf Coast, however, forecasts are not looking as optimistic. Pastelok told me it’s possible that both Albuquerque, New Mexico and Lubbock, Texas will break heat records this week, getting well into the 90s and 100s, respectively.

After a brief respite, the heat will also return to the western Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and southeast Montana. Some parts of the Pacific Northwest that started the week feeling fall-ish might end it back in summer, as temperatures creep back up on the eastern side of the region. By Friday, Texas will have it worst.

Park Fire slows down

The Park Fire seems to have finally halted — it hasn’t grown past 429,000 acres burned since last week. Containment is now at 53%. and no new counties have been affected. “I think there's a reasonable chance that the fire has largely reached its final footprint,” said Climate scientist of the University of California, Los Angeles Daniel Swain during a live briefing on Friday.

After experiencing its hottest July ever, California will finally get a break from the heat this week as the low pressure along the northwest coast will send cool air down into California, Pastelok told me. “The combination of smoke and westerly winds will cool northern California, as well as the coastal areas down to southern California,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean fire conditions are going away, Swain explained. As long as things stay windy and dry, the risk will remain, and a new heat wave arriving around the end of August could up the danger even higher.

Greece’s worst wildfire of the year almost reached Athens

Gigantic wildfires in Greece stopped just shy of Athens. The fire spread incredibly quickly last week due to powerful winds, with flames as high as 80 feet — the mayor of Kifisia, Vasilis Xypolitas, told CNN that at one point, the fire was moving faster than cars. Thousands of residents had to be evacuated.

While the flames have since died down, they burned through almost 260,000 acres, causing extensive damage to cities and villages. Houses, schools, and hospitals have been completely destroyed and many residents might have to wait weeks before electricity is restored. One death has been confirmed.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but Greece has been suffering through a particularly hot and dry summer — prime conditions for relentless fires. This year, the country saw its hottest June and July on record.

Another heat wave in the Balkans

Southeastern Europe has recently seen temperatures above 100 degrees during a heat wave that is expected to persist this week. This is the latest heat wave to hit Romania, which has already suffered through drought and extreme weather this summer. While some rain is predicted for the country this week, temperatures will continue to run above average

Bosnia has also been particularly hard hit, and farmers there have noticed a significant impact to production this year. Around Bijeljina, where most of the country’s grain production takes place, farmers estimate that half their crops have been damaged due to the heat. The whole country has seen little to no precipitation this summer, with temperatures constantly above 95 degrees.

You’re out of free articles.

Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
or
Please enter an email address
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Energy

The New Campaign to Save Renewables: Lower Electricity Bills

Defenders of the Inflation Reduction Act have hit on what they hope will be a persuasive argument for why it should stay.

A leaf and a quarter.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

With the fate of the Inflation Reduction Act and its tax credits for building and producing clean energy hanging in the balance, the law’s supporters have increasingly turned to dollars-and-cents arguments in favor of its preservation. Since the election, industry and research groups have put out a handful of reports making the broad argument that in addition to higher greenhouse gas emissions, taking away these tax credits would mean higher electricity bills.

The American Clean Power Association put out a report in December, authored by the consulting firm ICF, arguing that “energy tax credits will drive $1.9 trillion in growth, creating 13.7 million jobs and delivering 4x return on investment.”

Keep reading...Show less
Green
Politics

AM Briefing: A Letter from EPA Staff

On environmental justice grants, melting glaciers, and Amazon’s carbon credits

EPA Workers Wrote an Anonymous Letter to America
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Severe thunderstorms are expected across the Mississippi Valley this weekend • Storm Martinho pushed Portugal’s wind power generation to “historic maximums” • It’s 62 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudy, and very quiet at Heathrow Airport outside London, where a large fire at an electricity substation forced the international travel hub to close.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Trump issues executive order to expand critical mineral output

President Trump invoked emergency powers Thursday to expand production of critical minerals and reduce the nation’s reliance on other countries. The executive order relies on the Defense Production Act, which “grants the president powers to ensure the nation’s defense by expanding and expediting the supply of materials and services from the domestic industrial base.”

Keep reading...Show less
Yellow
Electric Vehicles

These States Are Still Pushing Public EV Charging Programs

If you live in Illinois or Massachusetts, you may yet get your robust electric vehicle infrastructure.

EV charging.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Robust incentive programs to build out electric vehicle charging stations are alive and well — in Illinois, at least. ComEd, a utility provider for the Chicago area, is pushing forward with $100 million worth of rebates to spur the installation of EV chargers in homes, businesses, and public locations around the Windy City. The program follows up a similar $87 million investment a year ago.

Federal dollars, once the most visible source of financial incentives for EVs and EV infrastructure, are critically endangered. Automakers and EV shoppers fear the Trump administration will attack tax credits for purchasing or leasing EVs. Executive orders have already suspended the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, a.k.a. NEVI, which was set up to funnel money to states to build chargers along heavily trafficked corridors. With federal support frozen, it’s increasingly up to the automakers, utilities, and the states — the ones with EV-friendly regimes, at least — to pick up the slack.

Keep reading...Show less
Green