Canadian weather maps were not changed to exaggerate global warming

Gwen Roley / AFP Canada
Fri, August 18, 2023 

Social media users are sharing two Canadian weather maps that use different colors to illustrate similar temperatures, claiming the hues were changed between 2018 and 2022 to exaggerate global warming. This is misleading; the meteorologist featured in the images told AFP he temporarily used software with another color scheme after his computer crashed.

"I guess a 'red hot' 19 degrees in 2021 is warmer than a green 20 degree day from four years ago," says the caption of an August 14, 2023 Facebook post with more than 2,400 shares.

The post includes a photo with two screenshots of weather reports in Canada.

The first forecast, dated July 9, 2018, illustrates temperatures ranging from nine to 29 degrees Celsius (about 48 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit) with green and yellow. The second map, labeled "July 26," uses red and orange to shade in areas with temperatures between 12 and 27C (about 54 to 81F).


The photo comparison circulated elsewhere on Facebook with the same caption. Similar claims have spread online since at least summer 2022 -- including a post from Alberta Legislative Assembly Member Todd Loewen, who has since become the province's minister of forestry, parks and tourism.

Screenshot of a Facebook post taken August 18, 2023

Screenshot of a Facebook post taken August 18, 2023

"Could this be the media pushing a government agenda?" says an August 10, 2022 post with the photo on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X."

AFP has previously fact-checked claims that meteorology reports in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany were manipulated to exaggerate the severity of global warming. The posts about Canada are similarly misleading.

Peter Quinlan, a Global News meteorologist who appears in both screenshots, told AFP the colors vary between the photos because he had to use weather mapping software with different palette settings for a week in 2018.

"My computer just crashed one week," said Quinlan, who is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. "Then I had to use my colleague's computer to complete my weathercasts. And back then they happened to have a different temperature color contour on their national temperature map."

In 2018, Global News meteorologists selected their own palettes for forecasts, he said. But by the end of 2022, the company standardized the colors.

A reverse image search reveals the second photo in the posts is a screenshot from a July 26, 2022 Global News broadcast (archived here).

Quinlan's forecast from July 9, 2018 (archived here) does feature cooler colors. But similar videos from June and August of that year show deeper oranges and reds -- similar to those in the 2022 broadcast (archived here and here).

This screenshot taken August 18, 2023 shows a June 8, 2018 Global News broadcast featuring Peter Quinlan

This screenshot taken August 18, 2023 shows a July 9, 2018 broadcast in which Quinlan used mapping software with different color settings

This screenshot taken August 18, 2023 shows an August 8, 2018 broadcast in which Quinlan returned to using his own software

This screenshot taken August 18, 2023 shows a July 26, 2022 Global News broadcast

When the screenshots first circulated in 2022, Quinlan responded to social media inquiries about the color change with the same explanation about his computer (archived here).

"They just posted it and said, 'this is the narrative' or 'this was the reason why' -- that we were trying to really draw attention to warming or whatever it may be," Quinlan told AFP. "So, I just felt like I needed to address it at least once so that people would have that."
Scientific consensus

Most scientists agree climate change is to blame for more extreme weather events (archived here).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in its most recent report (archived here) that human activities have "unequivocally" caused global warming. July 2023 was the hottest month on record, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

A 2019 report from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) concluded the country is seeing more climate change effects as it warms at a faster rate (archived here).

"Observed changes in temperature extremes indicate that warm events are becoming more intense and more frequent, while cold events are becoming less intense and less frequent," said Eleni Armenakis, an ECCC spokeswoman, in an email on August 18, 2023.

In 2021, Canada recorded its hottest temperature ever at 49.6C (121F) in Lytton, British Columbia -- a town that was decimated by a wildfire days after the record was set.

The province faced another severe heatwave in summer 2023. Other parts of the country, including the Northwest Territories capital of Yellowknife, were evacuated due to wildfire threats.

More of AFP's reporting on climate change misinformation is available here.

WGA West Cancels Monday L.A. Pickets Ahead of Hurricane Hilary’s Expected Arrival

BreAnna Bell
Fri, August 18, 2023

The Writers Guild of America has canceled its scheduled pickets in Los Angeles for Monday “in an abundance of caution” ahead of Hurricane Hilary’s expected arrival.

The guild plans to resume pickets on Tuesday outside of Disney, NBC Universal, Radford and Warner Bros., Amazon, Fox, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and TV City.

The category 4 tropical storm is expected to deliver harmful flooding to the southwestern U.S. as it climbs up the coast along the California-Mexico border. For the first time in history, the National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch which is in effect for the area including the Orange County-Los Angeles County area and Catalina Island.

On Friday morning, Hurricane Hilary was located nearly 360 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, moving northwest at 10 mph with sustained winds of 145 mph.

Forecasters project the hurricane will lessen in strength after moving up from Mexico, but will bring heavy rainfall to Southern California, which, according to NBC News, mostly on Sunday and Monday.

SAG-AFTRA has yet to announce any coming changes in plans in preparation for the storm. As of Friday mid-afternoon, pickets are still scheduled to resume on Monday. A rep for the guild did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment, but sources say that a cancellation is likely.

The pickets are just one set of events that have experienced changes due to the coming weather. The Hollyshorts film festival closing night has switched locations from the Hollywood Highland Ovation Center’s outdoor courtyard over to Bardot’s indoor venue. (Originally, only the afterparty was scheduled to be held at Bardot.)

The Palm Springs and Yucca Valley areas of the Southern California desert are likely to be among the most affected, and Joshua Tree National Park will be closed from Saturday until Tuesday.

What happened in San Bernardino County when Hurricane El Cordonazo arrived on land in 1939?

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
Fri, August 18, 2023 

Waves pound the coast of Long Beach in 1939 as Hurricane El Cordonazo arrives and begins to move inland as a tropical storm.


As Hurricane Hilary moves toward Southern California, many have mentioned that if the hurricane makes landfall in California, it would be the first tropical storm to do so since 1939.

Many are watching as Hilary’s eye is expected to make landfall near the southern border on Sunday, the National Weather Service reported.

As with Hurricane El Cordonazo de San Francisco, or the Lash of St. Francis, which hit California in September 1939, Hurricane Hilary will lose much of its punch as it travels over land and toward our county and the High Desert

Despite losing strength, hurricanes have been strong enough to cause significant damage miles away from the Pacific Ocean.

September 1939

In September 1939, four tropical cyclones hit Southern California, with the last being the most devastating.

As residents struggled with cleanup from previous storms, El Cordonazo made landfall in California near Long Beach on Sep. 26, 1939.

It was the only tropical storm to make landfall in California during the 20th century.

The storm resulted in the death of 93 people; 45 died in flooding on land and another 48 were lost at sea, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The storm brought the greatest September rainfall ever to Southern California, with Los Angeles receiving 5.42 inches in 24 hours, and Mount Wilson 11.6 inches, the National Weather Service said.

The flooded streets of Long Beach in 1939 as Hurricane El Cordonazo hits the West Coast and becomes a tropical storm moving inland.

Major damage

The storm battered Southern California with wind gusts up to 65 mph, damaging boats, structures, utility lines, and crops, according to the L.A. Times.

The storm also put the eastern Coachella Valley under 2 inches of water.

An estimated $2 million in damage was caused along the West Coast, but the American Meteorological Society estimated that if the 1939 storm had struck in 2004, it would have caused about $200 million in damage.
San Bernardino County gets soaked

The storm, which pushed out a major heat wave, brought heavy rain and flooding to the Inland Empire, the High Desert, and the San Bernardino Mountains.

Temperatures dropped so low during the storm that snow and sleet reportedly fell in the Big Bear area days after the storm had passed, the U.S. Weather Bureau reported.

Rain totals included Victorville with 1 inch, Lake Arrowhead with 1.61 inches, Crestline with 1.35 inches, San Bernardino with .65 inches, and Mt. Baldy with .33 inches.

Heavy downpours drenched Victorville, Barstow and Needles, with four feet of water reported in the lowlands of Needles.

New embankment and construction work east of Cajon Creek were damaged, and two new miles of Santa Fe railroad tracks were being constructed east of the creek to escape a future flood similar to The Great Flood of 1938.
Stranded hikers and campers

As the storm approached, families camping in the Mt. Baldy Wilderness Preserve were stranded by washouts and damaged roads. An overflowing creek in the area flooded out a bowling alley and casino, the San Bernardino County Sun reported.

In Rattlesnake Canyon, south of Lucerne Valley, 40-year-old Marie Briggs and her 10-year-old son, Robert, were separated from their deer hunting party during a torrential downpour as the storm approached the High Desert.

During their 48-hour ordeal, Briggs managed to create a shelter by burrowing along a canyon bank. She then built a fire for the two to stay warm.

A rescue party, which included Lucerne Valley residents and a sheriff’s deputy from Victorville, found the exhausted family members after the duo had wandered through 11 miles of dense timber and brush above Old Woman Springs on the north side of the mountain.

Train lines damaged, worker killed

The storm sent the Army Corps of Engineers to Victorville to conduct a flood control survey near the Upper Narrows, the Daily Press reported.

Heavy rain brought flooding to the Mojave Desert, with many roads damaged and rail lines undermined.

A portion of the Santa Fe railroad was damaged between Topock and Kingman, Arizona.

During that time, bridge gang worker John W. Thompson, 65, with the Los Angeles Bridge and Building Company was killed during the storm, the Needles Desert Star reported.

Thompson crawled under a concrete section of a ravine to seek shelter from the rain. When the soil was washed away, the concrete collapsed and crushed him. He was taken to the Needles Santa Fe hospital, where he died.

Rare direct hits to California

Direct hits by hurricanes to California are rare for a variety of reasons, including tropical systems that form in the Northern Hemisphere generally travel west or northwest because of the Earth’s rotation, according to the NWS.

Eastern Pacific hurricanes are born in the waters off the coast of southern Mexico and Central America, so to reach California, they’d have to veer north to an unusual extent.

Also, storms need warm water to give them the energy to transition into hurricanes, and the Pacific Ocean off California is about 10 degrees colder than the waters in Mexico, according to the NWS.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: What happened in San Bernardino County when a hurricane arrived in 1939?

Canada next in line for Hurricane Hilary’s rains after historic U.S. impacts

WILL IT EXTINGUISH WILDFIRES

Digital Writers
Sat, August 19, 2023 

Canada next in line for Hurricane Hilary’s rains after historic U.S. impacts
Click here to view the video

A catastrophic flash flood threat will cover much of the southwestern United States through Tuesday as Hurricane Hilary tracks along a path not seen in more than 80 years.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued its first-ever tropical storm warnings for southern California on Saturday, covering tens of millions of people throughout the Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino metropolitan areas.

RELATED: Catastrophic flood threat in California as Hurricane Hilary nears

California Tropical Storm Warning

Folks throughout the deserts and mountains of southern California and southern Nevada will likely experience drenching rains on the order of 100+ mm through early next week.

The amount of rain on the way will likely break all-time records for many areas, unleashing widespread and destructive flash flooding and landslides throughout the region’s vulnerable terrain.

Gusty winds will compound a dangerous situation, potentially leading to tree damage and power outages in the region's densely populated metro areas.

Hilary Canada Effects August 20

Hilary’s effects won’t stop with the American Southwest. The system’s moisture will continue flowing north over a large ridge parked over the central United States, bringing cloudy skies and rain deep into the heart of Canada heading into next week.
Hilary beginning its final approach into Mexico, U.S.

Hurricane Hilary peaked on Friday as a formidable Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 225 km/h. It’s since begun its long-anticipated weakening trend, as unfavourable atmospheric conditions and cooler ocean waters rob the storm of the energy it needs to thrive.

MUST SEE: The best way to prepare for a hurricane is well ahead of a potential disaster

hilarytrack

Despite the storm’s winds starting to tick down, Hilary’s looming impacts on the U.S. Southwest are essentially baked in at this point. The storm’s prolific tropical moisture will continue surging inland even as its structure begins to degrade.

Forecasters with the NHC expect Hilary to make landfall on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula on Sunday afternoon, eventually crossing the international border into California near San Diego by Sunday evening. If the predictions pan out, this would be the first tropical storm to reach California soil since 1939.
Catastrophic flooding likely for southern parts of California, Nevada

The storm’s influence arrived Saturday as rounds of heavy rain began washing over the deserts of the American Southwest. Flash flood warnings were already in effect throughout extreme southeastern California as a result of heavy rain influenced by the storm’s outer fringes, with the bulk of the moisture still to come on Sunday and Monday.

CaliRainHilary

Death Valley, California, only measures about 55 mm of rain in an average year, with records there stretching all the way back to June 1911.

The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) expects Death Valley to receive about 90 mm of rain through Tuesday morning, which would resoundingly shatter all-time records for the wettest day, wettest week, and wettest month ever measured there. This much rain would easily secure 2023 as Death Valley’s wettest year on record.

RELATED: Beware: Flood insurance isn't guaranteed, and the type you have can vary

It’s a similar story in nearby Las Vegas, Nevada, the world-renowned vacation destination that hosts millions of visitors every year. The desert climate in Las Vegas only provides the city about 100 mm of rain every year. The latest NWS forecast calls for about 50 mm of rain over the next three days.

If the flash flooding threat weren’t enough of a hazard, Las Vegas will see a risk for tornadoes in any thunderstorms that develop over the region on Sunday as Hilary pushes inland. Fast-moving tornadoes are a common hazard as tropical systems make landfall.
Hilary sends Canada a dose of tropical moisture this week

The remnants of Hilary will pick up speed and continue pushing north after its deluge in the western U.S.

A formidable heat dome setting up over the central United States will send daytime high temperatures well into the 40s for a vast swath of the country through the upcoming week.

AtmosMoisture

The outer edge of a heat dome this intense acts like a guardrail that forces all systems to scoot around the ridge.

This will force Hilary’s remnant moisture to flow into Western Canada through next week, bringing widespread clouds and occasional bouts of rain to the region. Some of the rain in Alberta could be heavy at times in the Rockies and the foothills.

We could see some of that moisture spill toward Ontario and Quebec later in the week, bringing the potential for clouds and rain heading toward next weekend.

Header image courtesy of NOAA.

WATCH: The best time to prepare for a hurricane is well before one forms
Click here to view the video

British Columbia under province-wide state of emergency due to 'unprecedented' wildfires: Officials

IVAN PEREIRA and RILEY HOFFMAN
Fri, August 18, 2023 at 8:51 PM MDT·3 min read

British Columbia Premier David Eby declared province-wide state of emergency in response to unprecedented wildfires on Friday night.

Evacuation orders in B.C. expanded from 4,000 houses Friday afternoon to about 15,000 by nightfall.

“Tonight as a result of this rapid deterioration, we are declaring a provincial state of emergency to ensure that we have rapid access to any tools that we may need to respond to this situation,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said.

PHOTO: This screengrab from a video provided by Jordan Straker shows vehicles driving on the freeway as people evacuate from Yellowkife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Aug. 16, 2023. (Jordan Straker/UGC via AFP via Getty Images)

Over 380 wildfires have been raging since the beginning of the week throughout western Canada territories, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Fire officials warned on Thursday, they would be facing "the most challenging 24 to 48 hours of the summer," as wildfires that have been ravaging western Canada.

Two wildfires of note, the Stein Mountain wildfire, which was discovered on July 12, and the McDougall Creek wildfire, which was discovered on Tuesday, are classified as "out of control" and have burned through a combined 18,000 acres as of Friday morning, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service.

Cliff Chapman, the British Columbia director of wildfire operations, said in a statement Thursday evening that he is expecting more wildfires to erupt.

MORE: Video Gusty trade winds continue to impede Maui wildfires

"We are expecting significant growth and we are expecting our resources to be challenged from north to south in the province over the next 48 hours," he said in a statement. "Those fires will challenge even our air tanker and helicopter resources and our ground resources as we are likely to see a number of new fires happening across the province."

PHOTO: This August 13, 2023, image provided by Sylvia Webster shows smoke rising from wildfires near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. (Sylvia Webster/UGC via AFP via Getty Images)

High winds in western Canada have been contributing to the spread of the flames, officials said. Several B.C. towns and cities have issued evacuation orders and alerts over the wildfires.

A local state of emergency was issued Thursday for the city of Kelowna, which has a population of over 144,000, a portion of Westbank First Nation and the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area. Sixty-eight properties located off Bear Creek Road were ordered to evacuate.

MORE: Canadian wildfire dangers should prompt more proactive mitigation from government: Experts

Residents of Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith, N'dilo, Dettah and the Ingraham Trail, all in the Northwest Territories, were also ordered to evacuate this week because of the fires.

PHOTO: Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Aug. 17, 2023. (Darren Hull/AFP via Getty Images)

Chapman warned that 28 of British Columbia's 34 water basins continue to be operating at worst or second-worst drought levels while fighting the blazes.

PHOTO: This handout satellite image courtesy of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 sattelite taken on Aug. 16, 2023, shows fires burning in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. (European Space Agency via AFP/Getty Images)

"So the drought situation is serious in British Columbia ... and the impacts of drought conditions in certain B.C. watersheds will be serious as well," he said.

PHOTO: This handout photo shows the town of Fort Smith, Canada, during the wildfires, on Aug. 13, 2023. (Handout/AFP via Getty Images)

MORE: Canada marks worst wildfire season on record

Canada has seen a rise in wildfires on both coasts this summer, causing black smoke to spread for miles and into the United States.

As of Friday, the fires have burned through over 34 million acres this season, which is larger than New York state, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. This year marks the worst wildfire season on record and doubles the previous high for most acres burned, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

PHOTO: Canada wildfire graphic (ABC News)

David Phillips, a senior climatologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, a government agency, told ABC News that the fires have been worse this year because "it's been too hot and too dry for too long." Phillips noted that 50% to 60% of the country was abnormally dry during the spring months, including many agricultural regions.

In Yellowknife, only 0.3 inches of rain has fallen in the last seven weeks, which is roughly 12% of the normal precipitation for the area, according to Phillips.

PHOTO: The McDougall Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside above a lakefront home in West Kelowna, B.C., on Aug. 18, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

He said there was "no question" that climate change was contributing to the rise in the larger fires.

"It’s almost impossible for nature alone to do these things," Phillips told ABC News. "This wildfire season has been ramped up. These fires are bigger and badder."

ABC News' Will Gretsky, Daniel Peck and Daniel Manzo contributed to this report.

British Columbia under province-wide state of emergency due to 'unprecedented' wildfires: Officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Where’s that smoke coming from? Online maps show location, status of Idaho wildfires

Shaun Goodwin, Karlee Van De Venter, Genevieve Belmaker
Fri, August 18, 2023 

If you live in Boise, you may have noticed some smoke creeping over the Foothills and into the Treasure Valley in recent days. It’s coming from multiple active wildfires, big and small, burning throughout the Northwest, particularly in North Idaho, Washington and Canada.

But how can you find out precisely where the fires are?

A vegetation fire retardant burns east of Blacks Creek Road south of Interstate 84, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.

Idaho has multiple online resources, including Fish and Game’s interactive fire map. The map shows all active wildfires in the Gem State, and the location of previous fires and burnt acreage from 2023 wildfires. You can click on each fire icon to learn more about the date it started, how many acres have burned and how much of the fire is contained.

The Environmental Protection Agency also runs an interactive fire and smoke map that provides a national view of all fires and smoke coverage.

The Department of Lands posts a detailed map on its website using information from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information system, which shows all active, controlled and inactive fires in Idaho.

The Department of Lands also maintains a fire news feed on which it frequently publishes updates and summaries on specific fires.

Which Idaho agencies issue wildfire alerts?

Idaho’s primary statewide source for wildfire alerts is the Department of Lands. The department issues wildfire alerts across Idaho’s 9 million acres of forests and rangelands, but doesn’t issue evacuation notices. It’s up to the local sheriff’s office to order an evacuation.

The Department of Land’s Twitter and the #IDLFireInfo hashtag are good social media sources for the most recent and frequently updated information.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality also issues air quality advisories based on how much wildfire smoke is in the air. The advisories note where outdoor burning and wood stove or fireplace burning are disallowed in each county.

The DEQ issued a yellow/moderate air quality advisory for Friday in the Treasure Valley, and all outdoor burning in Ada County was banned.

Idaho residents can sign up for emergency notification systems that alert residents of potential dangers, such as weather and wildfires. Here are the best options for the Boise area:

• CodeRED - Ada County and City of Boise alert system

• Alert Sense - Canyon County alert system

• Department of Lands alert system - Alerts for specific forest protective districts

How do you report a wildfire in Idaho?

If you spot a wildfire, don’t assume someone else has reported it. If no emergency crews are on the scene, play it safe and call it in. Idaho fires can be reported to 911 or the local sheriff’s office — for Ada County, the number is (208) 577-3460. If you are on a highway, note the nearest exit or milepost marker.

Once you’ve spotted a wildfire and called emergency services, move as far away from the source of the wildfire as possible.

“If (the fire) is showing that it’s going to grow quickly, you definitely want to get away from it in case it starts growing,” Spencer Tangen, a fire weather forecaster with the National Weather Service in Boise, told the Idaho Statesman. “So if you’re near a fire, you have to be very careful about the direction it could be growing because you don’t want to get trapped by the fire.”

What causes wildfires to start?

There have been 35,702 wildfires nationwide since the start of 2023, burning a total of 1,699,381 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Both numbers are below the past 10-year average, according to NIFC, headquartered in Boise at the airport.

About 40% of fires are caused by lightning, which means the other 60% are human-caused.

Tangen said human-caused wildfires are from some of the simplest things, such as an unattended bonfire or flicking a cigarette butt onto dry grass. He also warned about lesser-known causes, such as hot bullet casings falling on dry fuel and sparks from a chain dragged along a roadway.

Before heading into the wilderness, check for any red flag warnings in the area, Tangen said. A red flag warning is issued by the Weather Service and means conditions are ripe for wildfires to start and spread quickly, such as warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.

“When we issue them for the dry and windy conditions, people need to be very careful about anything that could cause a spark in grasses or the forest,” Tangen said

Hurricane Hilary has already made weather history for Idaho. Here’s latest storm forecast

Shaun Goodwin
Fri, August 18, 2023 

When the latest models and forecast were released for Hurricane Hilary on Friday morning, Idaho found itself in a position it’s never been in before.

Inside the cone of uncertainty.

The National Hurricane Center didn’t start creating cones of uncertainty until 2002, but it’s already a rare instance for the west coast to be impacted by a hurricane.

The cone of uncertainty is the probable track of a named storm from its current position to its evolution into a tropical depression and eventual end.

Hurricane Hilary became a Category 4 hurricane off of Mexican’s west coast on Friday morning. A hurricane of that strength requires sustained wind speeds of 130-156 mph.

The hurricane is on a path to make landfall in the Mexican state of Baja California on Sunday before weakening into a tropical storm as it moves into California. It could drop up to 10 inches of rain in Southern California before weakening into a tropical depression and heading north.


That’s where Idaho comes into play. The cone of uncertainty has the remnants of Hilary moving into Southwest Idaho, while forecast models show the bulk of the storm’s remaining moisture hitting Boise head-on.

According to records at the National Weather Service in Boise, it’s the first time that Idaho has ever been included in a cone of uncertainty.

But there are a few caveats. The National Hurricane Center is responsible for the cone of uncertainty forecast, and the organization didn’t start creating them until July 2002.

“And since then, there’s only been Hurricane Kay last year which approached the Southwest U.S.,” Weather Service meteorologist Spencer Tangen told the Idaho Statesman.

Hurricane Kay approached the California coast before steering westward; it never made landfall. Hilary will be the first hurricane or tropical storm to make landfall in California since an unnamed storm hit the coast in 1939.

It won’t be the first time that the remnants of a hurricane impact Idaho, but it’s rare.

In 1976 Hurricane Kathleen made a path toward the West Coast, but by the time it reached California, it was a tropical depression — the final stage of a storm before it fizzles out. The remnants reached Idaho and, even in weakened form, brought 1.74 inches of rain to Boise, including 1.1 inches in a single hour.

Early predictions from the Weather Service have Boise receiving up to an inch of rain from Sunday to Tuesday, while areas higher in the mountains, such as McCall, could get up to 1.8 inches. The Weather Prediction Center gives Southwest Idaho and surrounding mountains a 15% chance of exceeding flash flood guidance, which is when small rivers break their banks.

Thousands under evacuation orders and some homes burn as wildfires race through Washington state

Associated Press
Updated Fri, August 18, 2023

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Fast-moving wildfires raced through Washington state on Friday, burning some homes and prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people in small rural communities.

One of the largest blazes, the so-called Gray Fire near Spokane in eastern Washington, began around noon and a few hours later had surged through 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) of grass, timber and wheat, pushed by 35-mph (56-kph) winds, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Level 3, or “Go Now,” evacuations were issued for Medical Lake, a community of about 4,800 people and some homes and other buildings had burned, authorities said, although it wasn't clear how many.

National Guard troops were called in to help evacuate patients and staff from Eastern State Hospital, a 367-bed psychiatric facility in Medical Lake.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said deputies were “running from house to house” urging people to leave their homes, NBC News reported.

“We’ve had to rescue people by boat. We’ve had to rescue people by helicopter,” Nowels said. “If you’re in an evacuation area, leave. We have some folks who refused to leave. Fire then overtakes where they’re at and they need to be rescued.”

Evacuation orders also were issued for nearby Four Lakes, which has about 500 residents and a Level 2 evacuation alert, urging people to "Get Set" to evacuate, was issued Friday night for the city of Cheney, which has more than 13,000 residents. The alert included staff and students at Eastern Washington University, which is located in Cheney.

A second Spokane County blaze dubbed the Oregon Road Fire also prompted evacuations, the Department of Natural Resources said.

That fire broke out near Elk at around 4 p.m. and in only a few hours grew to some 3 square miles (8 square kilometers).

The region was scorched by triple-digit temperatures last week, leaving grasslands and wheat fields ready to burn, said Joe Smillie, spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources.

“We haven’t had any real rain all summer, basically,” he said, and then a cooler weather front moved in Thursday, bringing with it gusty winds.

The National Weather Service had warned of “critical fire conditions,” citing dry conditions and the potential for gusty winds that could cause new or existing fires to spread rapidly.

Authorities were calling in more aircraft and firefighters to battle the Gray Fire, which closed down Interstate 90.

South of Spokane, the Winona Fire in Whitman County had burned at least 7.8 square miles (20.2 square kilometers) of grass and brush and prompted evacuations orders for Winona, a tiny hamlet of about 50 residents.

“Cropland, range land, primary structure and secondary structures are threatened,” the Department of Natural Resources said on social media.

The fires were among 36 blazes that erupted around the state in the past two days, although most were small and quickly contained, Smillie said.

There wasn't any immediate word on what sparked the blazes.

Odds of 'strong' El Niño now over 95%, with ocean temperatures to 'substantially exceed' last big warming event

Sascha Pare
Sat, August 19, 2023 

A picture of the ocean on the Pacific coast in San Diego.


This year's El Niño may drive ocean temperatures to "substantially exceed" those recorded during the last strong event in early 2016, scientists have warned.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) latest El Niño update also says there is a more than 95% chance the event will last through to February 2024, with far-reaching climate impacts.

"El Niño is anticipated to continue through the Northern Hemisphere winter," NOAA staff wrote in the update. "Our global climate models are predicting that the warmer-than-average Pacific ocean conditions will not only last through the winter, but continue to increase."

Scientists officially announced the onset of El Niño in early June. El Niño is an ocean-warming event that typically occurs every two to seven years in the central and eastern Pacific, driving air temperatures up around the globe.


Its strongest climate impacts are usually felt during the Northern Hemisphere's winter and early spring, bringing more rain and storms across the southern U.S., southeastern South America, the Horn of Africa and eastern Asia. In other parts of the world, such as southeastern Africa and Indonesia, El Niño leads to drier conditions and may increase the risk of drought.

Related: NASA doesn't know what poked these holes in the Arctic sea ice...

To track El Niño's progress, scientists measured sea surface temperatures in the east-central tropical Pacific Ocean. Abnormally high temperatures seem to confirm early predictions that this year's event could be a big one. Atmospheric conditions are also consistent with a long-lasting El Niño, according to NOAA.

"El Niño is a coupled phenomenon, meaning the changes we see in the ocean surface temperatures must be matched by changes in the atmospheric patterns above the tropical Pacific," the update said. More rain and clouds over the central Pacific, as well as weak pressure in the east and reduced trade wind activity in the west, suggest "the system is engaged and that these conditions will last through the winter," staff added.

Two maps show the climate effects of El Nino in the summer and winter.

Sea surface temperatures in the east-central tropical Pacific exceeded the long-term average for 1991 to 2020 by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) throughout the month of July. Temperatures from May to July — a three-month average called the Oceanic Niño Index — were also 1.4 F (0.8 C) higher than usual and marked the second warmer-than-average Oceanic Niño Index in a row.

"We need to see five consecutive three-month averages above this threshold before these periods will be considered a historical 'El Niño episode,'" the update said. "Two is a good start."

There is "a good chance" the Oceanic Niño Index will match or exceed the threshold for a "strong" El Niño, the update added.

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And forecasters are now confident the event will remain strong through to next year, although this doesn't necessarily equate to strong impacts locally, they noted

El Niño affects global weather patterns, as well as the Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons. The event usually dampens hurricanes over the Atlantic Ocean, but this year's sizzling water temperatures could mitigate this dampening effect , according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

While a hurricane update in May predicted a 30% chance of higher activity over the Atlantic, the latest forecast said there is a 60% chance of an "above normal season," with up to 21 named storms and five major hurricane

ABOUT TIME

Brita water filter company accused of false advertising

IT'S AN OVERPRICED AQUARIUM FILTER

Dorany Pineda
Sat, August 19, 2023 

Water filters on an assembly line at Brita's factory in Taunusstein, Germany. (AFP via Getty Images)

A lawsuit filed against the maker of some of the nation's most popular water filtration systems has accused the Brita company of falsely advertising that its products remove or reduce hazardous contaminants from tap water.

The proposed class-action lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims that deceptive advertising has led customers to falsely believe that Brita products filter such contaminants as arsenic, nitrate, hexavalent chromium and certain PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” from tap water.

Brita is owned by Clorox Co., which is headquartered in Oakland. Clorox released a statement Wednesday saying it was still reviewing the complaint, but looked forward to "defending ourselves vigorously."

"Brita takes the transparency of the variety of water filtration options we offer seriously," the statement said. "Our products include a standard filtration option that improves taste and odor of tap water and is certified to reduce identified contaminants as communicated. For those consumers looking for water filters certified to reduce PFOS or PFOA, the Brita Elite pour-through and Brita Hub are both certified to reduce PFOS/PFOA, as well as lead and other identified contaminants."

Read more: Risk of tap water exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals higher in Southern California

The lawsuit was filed by Los Angeles County resident Nicholas Brown, who is currently the sole plaintiff. Brown purchased a Brita water pitcher and standard filter for about $15 in 2022 after reading the product label and believing the device would filter contaminants to below lab detectable limits, the lawsuit said.

"Unfortunately, the Products are not nearly as effective as defendant deliberately leads people to believe, causing consumers to overpay millions and forego more effective alternatives," the lawsuit said. "In this way, defendant has not only bilked millions of dollars from consumers in ill-gotten gains, but Defendant has put the health and welfare of millions of consumers and their families at risk."

At the heart of the lawsuit is the basic and fundamental human right to clean and safe drinking water, said the plaintiff's lawyers. They argue that Brita products, which are widely available and affordable, are a staple in the homes of students, renters, working families and others who can’t spare the price of high-quality filters for their taps.

The company's marketing “creates the illusion of safety and protection for people and their families,” said Ryan Clarkson, managing partner of the Clarkson Law Firm in Malibu. “And that's really the big problem that we need to solve here. When people are running their tap water with PFAS through these Brita water filters, it's just a superfluous act. It does nothing whatsoever as it relates to chemicals like PFAS.”

PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated substances, are a group of thousands of manufactured chemicals that have been widely used for decades in products that resist heat, oil and water. They can be found in such everyday items as nonstick cookware, dental floss, period underwear, fast food boxes, water-repellent clothing and firefighting foam.

Known as forever chemicals because they don’t degrade naturally in the environment, PFAS have made their way into rivers, lakes, aquifers and people’s blood streams. Exposure to high levels of some PFAS has been linked to adverse health effects such as decreased fertility, increased risk of high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and liver and immune-system damage.

The lawsuit accuses the company of violating California laws concerning unfair competition, false advertising, breach of contract and others. It seeks damages and other remedies.

Read more: 'This is taking too long': California community awaits cleanup of PFAS-contaminated wells

Depending on the type of filter, Brita products are certified to reduce or remove contaminants such as chlorine, lead, mercury, asbestos, some particulates, zinc, copper and select pesticides, herbicides and pharmaceuticals, according to its website.

The lawsuit comes at a time of increasing concern over drinking water contamination.

Researchers recently estimated that at least 45% of the nation’s tap water is contaminated with one or more PFAS chemicals, and that drinking-water exposures may be more common in urban areas across Central and Southern California than in other regions.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to begin regulating several types of PFAS in drinking water and has proposed strict limits on two common ones — PFOA and PFOS — and L.A. County supervisors supported a proposal last month to investigate PFAS levels in drinking water.

Arsenic and nitrate, which are linked to certain cancers and other health issues, are also widespread in parts of California. According to state data, 22% of primary maximum contaminant level (MCL) violations in public water systems last year were for arsenic, and 22% were for nitrate, the highest of any contaminants. MCLs are health-protective drinking-water standards.

The lawsuit argues that claims on the labels and packages of certain Brita water filters, pitchers and dispensers — such as “Cleaner, Great-Tasting Water for Over [20, 25, or 30] Years,” “The #1 FILTER” and “Reduces 3X Contaminants” — are false and misleading. Other claims like “Better water for you. Better water for the planet” and “Fresh filter = Fresh water” reinforce consumer beliefs that the products remove or reduce to below lab detection limits common hazardous contaminants, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also claims that numerous Brita products have not been registered with the California State Water Resources Control Board since they’ve been marketed and sold, and that none of their products have been certified to remove or reduce health-hazardous contaminants, making it unlawful to market and sell them in the Golden State.

“What the case seeks is really two things,” Clarkson said. “First, greater transparency for consumers so they understand what these water filters are capable of filtering out and what they are not capable of filtering out. We don't believe that the advertising and labeling of these products communicate in a transparent and effective way to consumers what the products can and can't do.

“And secondly, we're looking for compensation to all purchasers of these products who have relied upon the products to fulfill a promise that they simply haven't fulfilled,” he added. The class period will go back to Aug. 16, 2019.

$2.99 CDN

THE WAR ON DRUGS

Nebraska District Moves Forward with Random Drug Testing of 7th-12th Graders

A majority of Crete students are of Hispanic descent

Zach Wendling
Sat, August 19, 2023 

This article was originally published in Nebraska Examiner.

CRETE, Nebraska — School board officials in Crete decided to follow through with a random drug testing policy among students despite nearly a dozen speakers Monday night objecting to the policy.

Crete Public Schools Board of Education President Justin Kuntz presides over a meeting on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Crete, Neb. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Crete school board president Justin Kuntz on Monday night described what he viewed as the importance of the policy after seeing an increase in substance use in the school community.

The policy, approved unanimously last month with other consent agenda items, would require students in seventh through 12th grades who participate in extracurricular, nongraded activities, as well as those who have obtained school parking lot passes, to be entered into a “pool” for testing.

Once or twice each month, a selection of students will be randomly selected for urine testing, which the policy describes as similar to tests for those who hold a commercial driver’s license. Each test will cost the school district $36 and includes screening for alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, nicotine and opiates.

“We believe that this is in the best interest of our students at this time to provide them a safe, positive learning environment,” Kuntz said.

Students wishing to be removed from the testing pool must sign a “drop” form, which includes a 15-day reconsideration window. Doing so bars the student from participating in any extracurricular activities or campus parking for 12 months.

By the end of the 2023-24 school year, officials intend to test 20% of the eligible student population.

Data not immediately available

Data on increases in substance use, which Kuntz said led to the policy, have not been made available, and some Crete Public Schools parents have questioned why the school handbook — which outlines consequences for substance use and is signed by parents and students — is no longer effective.

The district, which is in Saline County, southwest of Lincoln, serves more than 2,000 students in pre-K through 12th grade.

The district has budgeted $25,000 to pay for the drug testing in the policy’s first year and estimates paying $16,200 during the 2023-24 school year to cover 450 tests, which are being contracted through Safe Sport Testing Service. The number of tests will likely fluctuate depending on how many students are required to reach the 20% requirement.

Parents such as Michaela Conway questioned when the problems began occurring, why only students participating in activities are being tested and whether the budgeted funds could have instead been directed to education or required counseling, rather than a “punitive, gotcha approach.”

“Lack of transparency and proactive communication has created an environment of distrust,” Conway told the board Monday. “The best way to rectify that now is open, direct dialogue and a thorough accounting of how we got here and where we will go next.”

Crete Superintendent Joshua McDowell told the Nebraska Examiner after the meeting that “we’ll see” on whether the board will release the data that led to the policy. He said discussions were needed on whether and how to do so.

‘We need data’

Jess Parker of Lincoln said parents of Crete students reached out to her about the policy, and she noted to the board that immediately requiring substance use counseling for students who test positive to return more quickly to participation ignores the reality of mental health services.

Many counselors statewide have “tremendous” counseling waitlists across the state, and waits can be longer and services harder to obtain for Medicaid patients.

Parker has filed a public records request seeking additional context involving the policy’s creation.

A majority of Crete students are of Hispanic descent, and Conway questioned why a frequently asked questions website for the policy was not translated into Spanish, although Parker said district documents are often provided in both English and Spanish on handouts.

Maggie Thompson, a researcher and psychologist from Lincoln, testified before the Crete Public Schools Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Crete, Neb. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Maggie Thompson of Lincoln, a psychologist and researcher, questioned how officials intend to prevent implicit and explicit biases in randomized testing and why board members, teachers, staff and coaches won’t be tested if the purpose is a “drug-free environment” for students.

“We need data,” Thompson told the Examiner. “We need evidence-informed strategies and interventions, and I heard nothing in there about any data or any evidence that actually would make this a good call.”

‘You now have my attention’

Thompson also described the policy as unpopular and a culture war extension. One speaker, Sara Freeouf, cited substance use as a spiritual problem.

“You can make all the rules and policies you want to, but if this wokeness and this craziness that we see happiness, kids requiring a litter pan because they define themselves as a cat…. It’s coming this direction, folks, and you better get braced,” Freeouf said.

The rumor of litter boxes being found in school bathrooms has been repeatedly debunked. One Nebraska state senator apologized in the spring of 2022 hours after he made a claim about litter boxes in schools during a debate on the floor of the Legislature.

Seth Bell, a Crete parent, told the board that while he felt the parental pushback would “fall on deaf ears,” he wanted board members to know parents are watching and will expect relevant data points at monthly board meetings indefinitely.

“Make no mistake,” Bell told the board. “You now have my attention and the attention of this community.”


Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.