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The weather in the USA...

I know it's a big country but the wild fires in Canada have now destroyed an area the size of England. They are apparently still out of control and are worse than than they have been all summer.

Doesn't appear to be getting as much attention as everywhere else for some reason.
 
We're getting a stint of really hot weather. For the last few days, the temperature has hit highs of 100-103 F. Current temperature is 104F, with temps of 105 and 106 due the next few days. There was a fire call earlier today for a prairie fire. Last year we lost two firefighters to such fires.
 
I know it's a big country but the wild fires in Canada have now destroyed an area the size of England. They are apparently still out of control and are worse than than they have been all summer.

Doesn't appear to be getting as much attention as everywhere else for some reason.

I think we've just gotten used to it. We still regularly have an odd-looking sky and the subtle smell of woodsmoke most days. I wake up in the morning and cough my lungs out. I can't imagine how people closer to the fires cope.

It might be why we've had such a weird summer. Here, it's been in the mid-80s most of the summer, while its usually in the mid-90s. On the days when the sky looks weird, its cooler, but when the sun comes out, we get temps in the 100F+ range.
 
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Wildfires raging in Louisiana.

Mandatory evacuation for the 1,200 residents of Merryville in the SW corner of the state.







The unusual wildfire event is another consequence of the record-breaking US heatwave fueled by the global climate crisis. Louisiana and the surrounding region have been suffering from an extreme drought. Residents are usually bracing for tropical storms and hurricanes at this time of year.

At a press conference later on Friday, Edwards said: “Nobody alive in Louisiana has ever seen these conditions. It has never been this hot and this dry for this long.”
 
This might be the first real big one of the season. The text this time round is pretty clear on that.

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Most recent update. There's a lot of jargon but certain elements are pretty damn clear.

BULLETIN
Hurricane Idalia Advisory Number 13
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL102023
500 PM EDT Tue Aug 29 2023

...IDALIA NOW A CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE...
...LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE AND HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXPECTED
ALONG PORTIONS OF THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...


SUMMARY OF 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...26.1N 84.8W
ABOUT 195 MI...310 KM SW OF TAMPA FLORIDA
ABOUT 300 MI...480 KM S OF TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...100 MPH...155 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...N OR 360 DEGREES AT 16 MPH...26 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...972 MB...28.71 INCHES
 
I'm not sure where the smoke is coming from but the air quality here is in the unhealthy range. The air quality index is running 150 to 200. Normal is 50 and below. The air is so bad that if you look across the road its obscured by haze. I went outside for two minutes to water plants and came back with an asthma attack. The schools are keeping kids inside and cancelling sporting events. They're recommending that people with breathing problems and the elderly stay inside.
 
The flooding at Burning Man was shocking, on top of all the other weather havoc.

Where is the war on climate change?

I am sadly coming round to the idea that we do need a 'war communism' type approach; massive State intervention involving a complete re-ordering of how society is organised. Something like the first Covid lockdown: essential work prioritised, travel much restricted, moving huge numbers of people in non-essential work to projects to mitigate climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
 
Lee is being seen as one of the (potentially) most powerful hurricanes in the Atlantic.
 
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