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Summer is here and extreme heat is afflicting parts of the Southwest, while drought is taking hold in Montana.
A historic heat wave in Phoenix, Arizona has broken the record for the most days under an excessive heat warning, which started on July 1 and will be in place through July 17. That number of days of the current warning nearly doubles Phoenix's past record, which was eight days. Rains from a behind-schedule monsoon season could provide some relief this week.
Neighboring New Mexico is also feeling the heat this week, with triple-digit temperatures scorching the southern part of the state. New Mexico is also waiting on a monsoon season that isn't likely to start until August. Experts there attribute the delay to El Niño, a seasonal pattern of warming and cooling in the Pacific Ocean which pushes moisture from the ocean toward the eastern U.S. Because of this, some parts of the state are already slipping back into drought despite the wet winter.
Meanwhile in Montana, signs of drought are starting to appear. In the last month, Flathead Lake has dropped more than a foot, and by July 12 it is expected to be 22 inches below full pool, the reservoir’s normal operating level in summer. Northwest Montana started the summer with below average-snowpack and got little rain in the last few months. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, January to May 2023 was the fifth driest start to the year in Flathead County since it started keeping records 129 years ago.
Interior launches map to track Infrastructure Law funding
The Department of the Interior launched a new interactive map last week to track the over $7.3 billion distributed so far from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to over 1,300 projects nationwide. The tool is the first of its kind from a cabinet agency, according to Interior.
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You catch a fish and its gill plate is missing or its jaw is all malformed, are you going to eat it? ... No, you are not going to. When you lose that ability to fish, it disconnects you from your culture. It takes a whole thing away from the people—their society, their sense of place, their community and their family. It’s an extreme taking.”
