Here’s an in-depth report from Naomi Klein writing for the Intercept. Click through and read the whole article, and resolve to accelerate your efforts to mitigate the Climate Crisis. Here’s an excerpt:

…for large parts of North America, Europe, and Africa, this summer has not been about water at all. In fact it has been about its absence; it’s been about land so dry and heat so oppressive that forested mountains exploded into smoke like volcanoes. It’s been about fires fierce enough to jump the Columbia River; fast enough to light up the outskirts of Los Angeles like an invading army; and pervasive enough to threaten natural treasures, like the tallest and most ancient sequoia trees and Glacier National Park.

For millions of people from California to Greenland, Oregon to Portugal, British Columbia to Montana, Siberia to South Africa, the summer of 2017 has been the summer of fire. And more than anything else, it’s been the summer of ubiquitous, inescapable smoke.

For years, climate scientists have warned us that a warming world is an extreme world, in which humanity is buffeted by both brutalizing excesses and stifling absences of the core elements that have kept fragile life in equilibrium for millennia. At the end of the summer of 2017 — with major cities submerged in water and others licked by flames — we are currently living through Exhibit A of this extreme world, one in which natural extremes come head-to-head with social, racial, and economic ones.

#FakeWeather

I checked the forecast before coming to British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, a ragged strip of coastline marked by dark evergreen forests that butt up against rocky cliffs and beaches strewn with driftwood, the charming flotsam from decades of sloppy logging operations. Reachable only by ferry or floatplane, this is the part of the world where my parents live, where my son was born, and where my grandparents died. Though it still feels like home, we now only get here for a few weeks a year.

The government of Canada weather site predicted that the next week would be glorious: an uninterrupted block of sun, clear skies, and higher than average temperatures. I pictured hot afternoons paddling in the Pacific and still, starry nights.

But when we arrive in early August, a murky blanket of white has engulfed the coast and the temperature is cool enough for a sweater. Forecasts are often wrong, but this is more complicated. Somewhere up there, above the muck, the sky is clear of clouds. The sun is particularly hot. Yet intervening in those truths is a factor the forecasters did not account for: huge quantities of smoke, blown up to 400 miles from the province’s interior, where about 130 wildfires are burning out of control.

Enough smoke has descended to turn the sky from periwinkle blue to this low, unbroken white. Enough smoke to reflect a good portion of the sun’s heat back into space, artificially pushing temperatures down. Enough smoke to transform the sun itself into an angry pinpoint of red fire surrounded by a strange halo, unable to burn through the relentless haze. Enough smoke to blot out the stars. Enough smoke to absorb any possible sunsets. At the end of the day, the red ball abruptly disappears, only to be replaced by a strange burnt-orange moon.

The smoke has created its own weather system, powerful enough to transform the climate not just where we are, but in a stretch of territory that appears to cover roughly 100,000 square miles. And the smoke, a giant smudge on the satellite images, respects no borders: not only is about a third of British Columbia choked, but so are large parts of the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle, Bellingham, and Portland, Oregon. In the age of #fakenews, this is #fakeweather, a mess in the sky created, in large part, by toxic ignorance and political malpractice.

From the Associated Press (Dan Elliott):

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Heavy snows last winter brought relief from a long, brutal drought across much of the West and produced a lush growth of natural grasses — thicker and taller than many vegetation experts had ever seen. But the weather turned very hot very fast in the spring, and the snow melted much faster than expected.

All the grass that grew high dried out, and so did forests at higher elevations, leaving plenty of fuel for wildfires, said Bryan Henry, a manager at the National Interagency Fire Center, which coordinates wildfire-fighting.

Summer lightning storms then dumped less rain than usual and weather conditions kept the humidity low, creating a natural tinderbox in many states…

HOW BIG ARE THE FIRES?

By Thursday, more than 76 large fires were burning in nine Western states — including 21 in Montana and 18 in Oregon, according to the interagency fire center.

So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 12,500 square miles (32,000 square kilometers) nationwide. In the past decade, only two years were worse at this point in the wildfire season: 2015 and 2012.

For all of 2015, a record 15,800 square miles (41,000 square kilometers) burned. In 2012, 14,600 square miles (38,000 square kilometers) were scorched…

WHAT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE?

It’s making things worse for fires, said Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

Hotter and drier weather is a symptom of human-caused climate change, and that’s making fires worse by leaving forests and other vegetation more flammable…

“It’s not of course playing the only role,” he said. “There’s natural variability at work.”

“Humans are contributing to an ever-increasing degree to wildfires in the West as they emit greenhouse gases and warm the planet and warm the West,” Overpeck said.

TREE-EATING BEETLES

Two dozen species of beetles have killed trees on nearly 85,000 square miles (220,000 square kilometers) in the Western U.S. since 2000. They’re responsible for about 20 percent of the 6.3 billion standing dead trees across the West, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Researchers disagree on whether forests with beetle-killed trees are more likely to burn, or if they burn differently, than healthier forests.

Any standing dead tree — whether killed by beetles, drought, lightning or other causes — can crash down, posing hazards for firefighters who must adjust their tactics to avoid them…

HOW BAD ARE THE LOSSES?

Nine firefighters have died and 35 have been injured this year, according to the national Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. Two of the deaths came during training.

Fires have destroyed an estimated 500 single-family homes and 32 commercial buildings this year, the interagency fire center said.

Janet Ruiz of the Insurance Information Institute sees a hopeful trend in fewer houses lost to wildfires in recent years. Ruiz credits better-equipped firefighters and homeowners who take steps to minimize the danger such as clearing trees away from buildings and installing screens over dwelling openings to keep embers out…

HOW MUCH HAS FIREFIGHTING COST?

Federal spending to fight fires appears to be headed for a record.

The two main firefighting agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Interior, report spending of more than $2.1 billion so far. That’s about the same as they spent in all of 2015, the most expensive wildfire season on record.

Those figures do not include individual state spending, which no single agency compiles. Montana has spent $50 million, exhausting its firefighting reserve fund in just over a month. Oregon has spent $28 million, but the state expects to be reimbursed for part of that by the federal government and others…

DON’T SOME FIRES HELP THE ENVIRONMENT?

Yes. Fires can burn away undergrowth, preventing buildups of flammable vegetation that can make big fires even worse. They can also help some forests and grassland rejuvenate.

But very hot fires can damage the soil and make it water-resistant, which produces heavy runoff during rainstorms and snowmelt, which in turn can cause severe erosion, mud slides and floods.

Silt from fire-damaged valleys can clog streams, which kills fish.

The silt can also settle to the bottom of reservoirs, taking up space needed to store drinking water and forcing utilities to spend heavily to dredge it out.

From The Aspen Times (Scott Condon):

The National Weather Service isn’t expecting the winter to be dominated by El Nino, when temperatures in the Southern Pacific Ocean are above normal, or La Nina, when temperatures are below normal. Instead, they expect El Nino Southern Oscillation Neutral conditions, known as ENSO Neutral.

“Basically what that means for us in western Colorado is a wildcard winter,” said Megan Stackhouse, a meteorologist with the weather service in Grand Junction. “There is no preferred track for storms. If we happen to be in the storm track, we can be wet and snowy. If we are more likely out of the storm track, we will be dry.”

Past winters with ENSO Neutral conditions brought a mixed bag to western Colorado. In 2012-13 and 2014-15 there was below normal precipitation across Colorado for the winter, she said. In 2013-14 there was above normal precipitation across the northern and eastern areas of the state.

“One thing that all three of those winters had in common was the presence of a persistent ridge of high pressure situated over the West Coast,” Stackhouse said. That tends to block low-pressure systems that drop in snowstorms from the northwest.

Aspen’s experiences during the three most recent ENSO Neutral winters were slightly different from the state as a whole. The Aspen Water Plant, which tracks weather data for the weather service, recorded 163 inches of snow in 2012-13 compared with an average of 155 inches going back to winter 1934-35. Snowfall at the water plant also was above average in 2013-14 with 200 inches.

Snowfall was below average in 2014-15 with just 149.5 inches at the water plant.

Winter outlooks are starting to dribble in from commercial forecasting firms and websites oriented toward skiers. AspenWeather.net, a micro-forecaster for the Roaring Fork Valley, will hold its annual winter outlook party Sept. 21 at the Limelight Hotel in Aspen.

Elsewhere, meteorologist Chris Tomer of OnTheSnow.com foresees the storm track cutting northwest to southeast through Colorado, producing “normal snowfall in the central and southwestern mountains and above-normal snowfall in the north.”

He fearlessly predicted 100 percent of normal snowfall at Aspen, Vail and Wolf Creek, while foreseeing 115 percent of normal snowfall at Steamboat and Loveland.

Tomer said the ENSO Neutral conditions in the Southern Pacific from September into early December were driving his forecast. However, he said he sees a shift toward a minor La Nina between mid-December and March.

Tomer also expects normal to slightly below-normal snowfall at California resorts after a monster season last year.

“Keep in mind this is an early-season, broad-brush forecast,” Tomer wrote. “It’s important to watch ocean temperatures in September and make adjustments.”

Joel Gratz, meteorologist at another online site for skiers, Open Snow, wrote this week that it is too early to make reliable predictions for the winter. Long-range forecasts are notoriously inaccurate, he said.

However, he was willing to share the latest of the long-range forecasts made by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center. Its outlook, released Aug. 17, indicated warmer than normal temperatures across much of the U.S. for December, January and February. Most of Colorado was forecast to be significantly warmer than average during those months.

Click here to read the whole report:

Summer was warmer and wetter than average for the United States

Driven by record warmth in the West, the national average summer (June–August) temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 72.7°F, 1.3°F above average and the 15th warmest summer in the 123-year period of record. The season’s precipitation averageof 9.19 inches was 0.87 inch above average and the 16th wettest summer on record.

For the month of August, much-below-average temperatures in the Midwest and High Plains offset the record warmth along the West Coast. The August national temperature was near average at 72.0°F, 0.1°F below average, tying 1921 as the 53rd coolest on record. The August precipitation average for the contiguous U.S. was 3.34 inches, 0.7 inch above average, the seventh wettest in the 123-year period of record.

See all August, summer, and year-to-date U.S. temperature and precipitation maps.

This monthly summary from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information is part of the suite of climate information services NOAA provides to government, business, academia, and the public to support informed decision-making.

Summer Temperature

Above-average temperatures spanned the western third of the country. California and Nevada were record warm, and six additional western states had temperatures among their 10 warmest. This was California’s second consecutive record warm summer; its last four summers are among its five warmest.

Nine states in the South and Midwest observed a cooler-than-average summer in 2017. This was primarily a result of cooler-than-average afternoons across these regions.

Seventeen of the past twenty summers, including the last seven, have been warmer than average.

Summer Precipitation

Mississippi observed a record amount of summer precipitation at 20.75 inches, 7.75 inches above average. This exceeded the previous record set in 1989 by 0.41 inch. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas also had much above average precipitation for the season.

The Northwest, Northern Plains, parts of the Midwest, and parts of New England experienced a dry summer. Montana had its second driest summer on record, 3.20 inches below average, reflecting worsening drought conditions during the season and setting the stage for extensive wildfires.

Other Summer Weather and Climate Indicators

Although the nation on average was wet, drought expanded during the season, most notably in the Northern Plains, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (link is external). Nationally, 11.8 percent of the contiguous U.S. ended the season in drought, up 6.5 percentage points since the beginning of the summer season. Montana’s drought coverage ballooned from 0.0 percent to 90.2 percent during the season, with nearly one quarter of the state in the most severe classification (D4, “Exceptional Drought”). Similarly, drought grew during summer in North Dakota from 24.1 percent coverage to 65.8 percent coverage, and in South Dakota from 20.4 percent to 68.9 percent.

The U.S. Climate Extremes Index (USCEI) for the summer was 24 percent above average and the 16th highest value on record. On the national scale, extremes in warm maximum and minimum temperatures were much above average. The USCEI is an index that tracks extremes falling in the upper or lower 10 percent of the record. The index covers land-falling tropical cyclones, temperature, precipitation, and drought across the contiguous U.S.

August Temperature

Although the August temperature was categorized as near-average nationally, there were stark regional differences. The western U.S. was very warm, while the central U.S. was quite cool.

California, Oregon, and Washington each had their warmest August on record. The California statewide average temperature of 77.8°F tied with 1967 and 2012 at 4.1°F above average. Oregon’s average temperature was 69.8°F, 5.9°F above average. Washington’s was 68.7°F, 5.2°F above average.

Average temperatures in parts of the High Plains and Midwest were much below average for August, owing especially to much cooler than average afternoons in the region. Missouri had its seventh coolest August on record with an average temperature of 72.0°F, 4.0°F below average. It was the eighth coolest in Iowa and Kansas, the ninth coolest in Oklahoma, and the 10th coolest in Illinois and Nebraska.

August Precipitation, Including Hurricane Harvey

Texas was record wet, mostly due to powerful and slow-moving Hurricane Harvey and its remnants. Precipitation across the state averaged 6.57 inches, 4.26 inches above average. Louisiana averaged 12.64 inches, 8.0 inches above average, resulting in its second wettest August, 0.38 inch shy of the record set just in 2016, which also saw widespread very heavy rainfall and flooding.

Locally in areas of Texas and Louisiana, precipitation amounts were historic due to Hurricane Harvey. At least 22 stations reported more than 500 percent of normal, or five times their normal rainfall for August. Monthly totals in excess of 40 inches were recorded by long-time NOAA observers in Lumberton, Beaumont, and at the Houston National Weather Service office.

Other August Weather and Climate Indicators

According to the August 29 U.S. Drought Monitor report, 11.8 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, relatively unchanged since early August. Drought and abnormal dryness contracted across the Plains, in Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Drought and abnormal dryness expanded or intensified in the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, northern High Plains of Montana, and parts of the Midwest, Southeast, Kansas, Maine, and Hawaii.

The year-to-date temperature averaged across the contiguous U.S. was 56.7°F, 2.8°F above the 20th century average. This ranks as the third warmest January–August period on record.

Four Atlantic states—Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas—were warmest on record for the period. No state fell in the “Near Average” category or cooler.

Year-to-Date Precipitation

The year-to-date precipitation for the contiguous U.S. was 24.1 inches, 3.4 inches above average, and the wettest in the 123-year period of record.

Ten states—scattered in parts of the South, Midwest, Northeast, and West—had precipitation totals among their 10 largest for the period. Only North Dakota (seventh driest) had a year-to-date precipitation considered much below average.

US Drought Monitor September 5, 2017.

West Monitor September 5, 2017.

Colorado Monitor September 5, 2017.

Click here to go to the US Drought Monitor website. Here’s an excerpt:

Summary

This past week saw too much rainfall and historic flooding along the Gulf Coast as a result of Hurricane Harvey. After dumping record-breaking rainfall on the Texas coast, the remnants of Harvey tracked to the northeast, bringing excess rainfall from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic states. Despite this, pockets of abnormal dryness continue to develop in the Southeast in areas that missed the bands of heavy rains. With Hurricane Irma approaching the United States, there is a potential for heavy rainfall to alleviate these conditions

While many eyes were on the devastation in Texas, drought continued to intensify in the Pacific Northwest. Record-breaking heat and dry streaks have parched vegetation and fueled devastating wildfires across the region. Smoke from these fires traveled along the jet stream and stretched to the East Coast…

High Plains

Above-normal temperatures continued across the Dakotas and the Nebraska Panhandle this past week. A band of rain moved through the region during the week, though amounts were generally less than one inch. North-central North Dakota saw increases in severe drought where rainfall was less than 25 percent of normal over the last 30 to 60 days and satellite based-vegetation indicators were showing stress. South-central North Dakota saw a one-category improvement in areas where rainfall deficits, soil moisture, and well levels have begun to show recovery and pastures have responded to rains over the last 30 days. Western South Dakota saw a small one-category deterioration due to a continued lack of rainfall, low soil moisture and streamflow values, and vegetation stress. Southeastern South Dakota and northeastern Nebraska saw one-category improvements in areas where precipitation deficits, soil moisture, and vegetation indicators have returned to normal or near-normal values. Improvements also occurred in the abnormally dry area in the Nebraska Panhandle and in the moderate drought in central Kansas…

West

Hot, dry weather continued across much of the Northwest, causing conditions to deteriorate a conditions in many locations as rainfall deficits increased and hot temperatures dried out vegetation. Many locations in the region have experienced a record-breaking 80-plus days without rain over the last three months. The dry conditions have fueled wildfires across the region, prompting public health warnings because of decreases in air quality. Changes to this week’s map include an expansion of severe and extreme drought in central Montana and the introduction of moderate drought in eastern Washington and western Washington and Oregon. Conditions also deteriorated in southern Idaho and the Upper Colorado River Basin as rainfall deficits grew and streamflow fell below normal. Southern Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and western Colorado saw expansions in abnormally dry conditions while eastern Utah and northwest Colorado also saw an expansion of [moderate] drought.

Looking Ahead

Since the Tuesday morning cut-off for this week’s map, 1 to 3 inches of rain has fallen in two swaths, one in eastern North and South Carolina and the other stretching along a cold front from the Mid-South to New England. The front will continue to bring rain and cooler temperatures, 5-15 degrees below normal, to the East Coast. The East will likely see even more rainfall from Irma, a large and powerful hurricane that is expected to make landfall in the Southeast this weekend. Heavy rains of 1 to 10 inches, with isolated higher amounts, are forecast for parts of the Florida Peninsula, Georgia, and South Carolina with the locations of heaviest rainfall depending on Irma’s eventual track.

The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center forecasts warm and dry conditions are expected from the Northern Plains into the Northern Rockies where temperatures may be 5 to 20 degrees above normal. Forecast thunderstorms are also expected to bring much needed rainfall to southeastern Oregon with amounts of 1 to 1.5 inches. Rainfall from 0.5 to locally over 1 inch is also forecast for northern New Mexico, southwest Colorado, and northern Utah, and in southern Nevada, northwest Arizona, and southeast California through early next week.

Here’s a look at precipitation for Colorado in August: