Heavy Central U.S. Rainfall – National Weather Outlook For September 21, 2023

by | Sep 21, 2023 | Weather

Rain

National Weather Forecast

On Thursday, we’ll be tracking a system in the central United States producing showers and thunderstorms. Some snow will mix in back in the western United States. Meanwhile, a frontal boundary across Florida will produce storms as well.

The heaviest rain through the end of the week will be in parts of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, where 3-5” of rain could cause flash flooding.

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Great River Greening gets $10 million for trees to cool urban heat islands in Minnesota

More from the Star Tribune: “Thousands of new trees will soon take root in cities across Minnesota thanks to a $10 million federal grant received by the St. Paul-based nonprofit Great River Greening. The trees will help cool identified urban heat islands in Faribault, Owatonna, Brooklyn Center, St. Cloud and St. Paul — areas where a lack of tree canopy and heat bouncing off concrete exacerbate the broil of climate change and create potentially deadly conditions. The $10 million award will finance the planting of nearly 14,000 trees over the next five years under a new project called Cooling Minnesota Communities. Planting will start in the spring, said Great River Greening Executive Director Kateri Routh.”

State, federal funding fuels expansion of Minnesota microgrid research center

More from Energy News Network: “A St. Paul, Minnesota, college’s microgrid research center is preparing to expand after securing significant new state and federal funding. The University of St. Thomas’ Center for Microgrid Research plans to triple its three-person staff and enroll more students thanks to money from a $7.5 million state legislative appropriation and $11 million in federal defense bill earmarks secured by U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum. State officials who championed the funding said they hope the center’s education and research efforts can help train future grid technicians and smooth the state’s path to 100% clean electricity by 2040. “We’re at a time of not only a great transition but of a great opportunity,” said state Sen. Nick Frentz, a Democrat from Mankato. “We’ll be looking at transmission, distributed generation and innovation as we transition, and funding for the St. Thomas microgrid research is a part of the state’s plan to lead.””

Climate risks place 39 million U.S. homes at risk of losing their insurance

More from Grist: “From California to Florida, homeowners have been facing a new climate reality: Insurance companies don’t want to cover their properties. According to a report released today, the problem will only get worse. The nonprofit climate research firm First Street Foundation found that, while about 6.8 million properties nationwide already rely on expensive public insurance programs, that’s only a fraction of 39 million across the country that face similar conditions. “There’s this climate insurance bubble out there,” said Jeremy Porter, the head of climate implications at First Street and a contributor to the report. “And you can quantify it.” Each state regulates its insurance market, and some limit how much companies can raise rates in a given year. In California, for example, anything more than a 7 percent hike requires a public hearing. According to First Street, such policies have meant premiums don’t always accurately reflect risk, especially as climate change exacerbates natural disasters.”

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