WEEKLY WATER NEWS

4-8 December 2006

Water in the Earth System will return for Spring 2007 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 15 January 2007. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the winter break period.

Water in the News:

• Eye on the tropics -- In the western North Pacific, Typhoon Durian continued to move across the South China Sea toward the central coast of Viet Nam on Sunday as a Category 2 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Intensity scale. This typhoon initially formed on 25 November 2006 in the western Pacific and intensified to become a supertyphoon with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph just before making landfall in the Philippines. The torrential rain from this typhoon resulted in flooding and mudslides that may have caused the deaths of as many as 1000 Filipinos according to Philippine authorities. [USA Today] A visible satellite image from Japan's MTSAT satellite shows Supertyphoon Durian before it made landfall in the Philippines. [NOAA OSEI]
• El Niño onset results in near normal hurricane season in North Atlantic -- In issuing a preliminary report on the 2006 official North Atlantic hurricane season that ended last Thursday, NOAA scientists noted that the onset of the anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime identified as El Niño appears to be responsible for a hurricane season that was below what the scientists had originally expected last spring. However, the nine named tropical cyclones that included five hurricanes, two of which were major (Category 3 of higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale), were close to the long-term averages. [NOAA News]
• Florida to tackle hurricane insurance woes -- The Florida legislature will meet in a special session during mid-January to tackle the insurance crisis that developed in the Sunshine State due to the devastating hurricanes that hit the state during 2004 and 2005. Homeowners have been faced with major increases in homeowners insurance rates during the last several years. [USA Today]
• First DART buoys deployed in the Indian Ocean -- A ship recently left Thailand with the first DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoy station that will be deployed in the Indian Ocean. This instrumented buoy will be moored midway between Thailand and Sri Lanka to serve as early warning to residents around the coast of the Indian Ocean of an impending tsunami. An additional DART will be deployed in the Indian Ocean in several months. [NOAA News]
• Environmental data to be found along a new "global highway" -- Officials from the US, Europe, China and the World Meteorological Organization recently announced the implementation of GEONETCast, a cooperative international service that is intended to make essential environmental data to users around the world on a timely basis. These data will assist in decision-making involving the public health, agriculture, energy, weather and climate sectors. [NOAA News]
• Snow or cloud? -- Distinguishing between snow and cloud cover on visible satellite images often is difficult. However, at times, distinct patterns can be discerned.
  • A visible satellite image obtained from NOAA's GOES-12 satellite last Friday morning shows the clouds and snow associated with the winter storm that brought heavy snow, an ice storm and severe weather to a wide section of the nation. [Editor's note: Notice the dendritic pattern of the rivers across central Missouri and west central Illinois, which helps identify snow cover rather than clouds. Also, note the sharp southwest-northeast boundary in the snow cover from the Kansas City metropolitan area of northwest Missouri to the Quad Cities (Davenport and Bettendorf, IA; Moline and Rock Island, IL along the Mississippi. EJH] [NOAA OSEI]
  • Earlier last week, a visible satellite image from NOAA's GOES-11 satellite reveals snow cover across the higher elevations of the Northern Rockies, Utah's Wasatch Mountains, the Cascades and across the basin and range country of northern Nevada. The snow cover contrasts with the clouds found across the Pacific Northwest and over the southern Rockies. The clouds in southern Colorado were part of the winter storm system that eventually moved across southern Plains to the Midwest and Northeast at the end of the week. [NOAA OSEI]
• New produce to help pilots avoid hazardous icing conditions -- Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research have developed graphical displays as part of the CIP (Current Icing Product) system that will frequently rate geographical areas by icing severity and the probability of encountering icing conditions, thereby providing pilots an in-flight opportunity to avoid these areas. [UCAR/NCAR]
• Monitoring contrails -- A high-resolution image made from data collected by the MODIS sensor on NASA's Terra satellite over the Midwest during the Thanksgiving weekend shows numerous contrails that crisscrossed the region. These relatively straight streaks formed from the condensation of exhaust products from high flying jet aircraft eventually could spread to form a relatively wide cloud layer, which could affect the regional weather by acting as a sunscreen during the day and as a greenhouse agent at night. Persistent clouds generated by clouds also could affect the climate. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• East African flooding seen from space -- A pair of images made a year apart from data obtained from the MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite shows the magnitude of the flooding that occurred in Kenya during November 2006 as a result of torrential rain. Nearly three-quarters of a million people were affected by the floods that not only inundated villages and farmland, but also spread a variety of diseases due to unsanitary conditions that resulted. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Famous Texas seaport seen from space -- A photograph made by an astronaut on the International Space Station shows the impact that humans have had upon Galveston Island and adjacent coastal waters along the upper Texas Gulf Coast. The Houston Ship Channel is seen, along with the seawall built to protect the city of Galveston after the disastrous September 1900 hurricane that claimed as many as 8000 people. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Old Man River channel to be blasted -- Officials with the US Army Corps of Engineers recently announced that they will detonate explosive charges to blast rock and insure maintenance of a 9-foot depth for the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau in southeastern Missouri. Extended drought across the region has caused the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois Rivers to fall to near record levels, resulting in decreased barge traffic. [Southeast Missourian]
• Ski events are in jeopardy -- A lack of snow in Europe could cause the cancellation of the men's World Cup in skiing and the lack of money in the US would prevent the event from moving to Colorado. A US skier blames the lack of snow and funds upon global warming. [USA Today]
• A bright side for the Australian drought? -- A representative for the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, the government's industry regulator, has said that the severe drought that his nation has been experiencing does have an upside in that winemakers have been able to reduce the wine glut following some bumper crops in recent years that resulted in an excess wine supply. [US Water News Online]
• A national climate service sought -- Members of the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington are urging the creation of a national climate service that would represent an interagency partnership led by NOAA that would be charged with understanding climate dynamics, assessing climate impacts and preparing climate forecasts. [EurekAlert!]
• Why is excess water vapor found near cirrus clouds? -- An international team of US and European scientists are attempting to determine why nearly twice the amount of water vapor is often found near cirrus clouds at altitudes between six to ten miles above sea level than should be expected. [EurekAlert!]
• Aging sewage systems threaten Great Lakes -- The Sierra Legal Defense Fund recently reported that a study of the discharge from the municipal sewage treatment facilities in 20 Canadian and US cities along the Great Lakes indicates that untreated urban sewage and effluents continue to flow into the Great Lakes, in part because of aging treatment facilities. [US Water News Online]
• Withdrawal of water from Great Lakes would need approval -- The Alliance for the Great Lakes has warned the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources needs to obtain approval from the governors of the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces before permitting a Milwaukee suburb from withdrawing and thereby diverting nearly two million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan for use in the suburb located in a neighboring watershed that is a tributary to the Mississippi River. [US Water News Online]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, to include drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Global Water News Watch -- Other water news sources can be obtained through the SAHRA Project at the University of Arizona [SAHRA Project]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

• 4 December 1786...The first of two great early December storms began. The storm produced 18 inches of snow at Morristown, NJ, and twenty inches of snow at New Haven, CT. It also resulted in high seas at Nantucket which did great damage. (David Ludlum)
• 4 December 1964...One of the worst ice storms on record was in progress across Massachusetts and eastern New York. Ice accretions reached 1.5 inches in some places. Well over 80,000 homes lost power. Some homes did not have power for 5 days. (Intellicast)
• 4-13 December 1991...Tropical Cyclone Val with gusts to 150 mph caused $700 million damage. Seventeen deaths were reported in American and Western Samoa, with 95 percent of the housed in Savaii either destroyed or badly damaged. Savaii was essentially hit twice by Val as the system completed a loop on the 8^th. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4 December 2003...A tropical depression became Tropical Storm Odette in the Caribbean well south of Kingston, Jamaica, becoming the first December tropical storm of record to form in the Caribbean Sea. Odette made landfall on near Cabo Falso, Dominican Republic on 6 December, causing eight deaths and destroying 35 percent of the banana crop. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5 December 1949...A typhoon struck fishing fleet off Korea; several thousand men reported dead. (Infoplease.com)
• 5-9 December 1952...Fog and industrial pollution combined to form the worst smog experienced by London, England. Approximately 1000 tons of dirt particles were trapped in the air. Water droplets and sulfur dioxide combined to form sulfuric acid droplets. As many as 4000 deaths resulted, mainly the old and the ill. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5-6 December 1968...High surf from an intense storm near Alaska swept rocks and seawater into pavilions at Onekahakaha Beach near Hilo, HI. Water reached 150 feet above high-tide mark at Napili Beach and swept into the swimming pool and ground floor of a hotel there. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5-6 December 1968...A Genoa low (pressure system) brought heavy rain and snow to northern Italy. Venice received 4.21 inches of rain on the night of the 5^th-6^th, well above the December average rainfall of 2.40 inches. St. Mark's Square was flooded to a depth of 57 inches. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 6 December 1866...The first water supply tunnel for a U.S. city was completed for Chicago, IL. The Chicago Lake Tunnel extended 10,587 feet under Lake Michigan to a 5-foot inlet crib. The pumping station with the standpipe tower still stands at the intersection of Michigan Blvd and Chicago Ave., having escaped destruction in the 1871 Chicago fire. (Today in Science History)
• 6-8 December 1935...Severe flooding hit parts of the Houston, TX area. Eight persons were killed as one hundred city blocks were inundated. Satsuma reported 16.49 inches of rain. The Buffalo and White Oak Bayous crested on the 9th. (The Weather Channel)
• 6 December 1997...Between 4 to 8 inches fell in California's Orange County, the biggest rains in at least 70 years; Mission Viejo reported 10 inches. Areas such as the Rhine Channel in Newport Beach were so clogged with debris that they looked like landfills. Damage was estimated at $17.7 million. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 7-8 December 1703...A monstrous storm raked southern England and adjacent waters with winds in excess of 100 mph. Approximately 8000 deaths were the result of this storm, mostly at sea. Many naval and supply ships were anchored in harbors or in the English Channel. The Eddystone Lighthouse disappeared. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 7 December 1740...In early December two weeks of mild and rainy weather culminated in the worst flood in fifty years in the Lower Connecticut River Valley. The Merrimack River swelled to its highest level, and in Maine the raging waters swept away mills, carried off bridges, and ruined highways. (David Ludlum)
• 7 December 1987...Heavy rain fell across eastern Puerto Rico, with 19.41 inches reported at Las Piedras. Flooding caused $5 million damage. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 8 December 2002...Super-typhoon Pongsona hit Guam with sustained winds of 144 mph and gusts to 173 mph, along with a storm surge to 20 feet. The 40-mile wide diameter eye was over Anderson AFB for 2 hours. One indirect death and 193 injuries were attributed to the typhoon. Some bridge pavement was "scrapped off" by wind and wave action. Damage was estimated at $700 million. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 9 December 1786...A second great snowstorm in just five days brought another 15 inches of snow to Morristown, NJ, on top of the eight inches that fell on the 7^th and 8^th, and the 18 inches which fell on the 4th and 5th. The total snowfall for the week was thus 41 inches. New Haven, CT received 17 inches of new snow in the storm. Up to four feet of snow covered the ground in eastern Massachusetts following the storms. (9th-10th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 9 December 1917...A severe winter storm struck the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes Region. It produced 25 inches of snow and wind gusts to 78 mph at Buffalo, NY. The storm produced 26 inches of snow at Vevay, IN, with drifts fourteen feet high. By the 16th of the month, people could walk across the frozen Ohio River from Vevay into Kentucky. (8^th-9^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 9 December 1987...The fifth storm in nine days kept the northwestern U.S. wet and windy. Winds along the coast of Washington gusted to 75 mph at Oceans Shores and at Hoquiam, and the northern and central coastal mountains of Oregon were drenched with three inches of rain in ten hours, flooding some rivers. Snowfall totals in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State ranged up to 36 inches in the Methow Valley. High winds in Oregon blew a tree onto a moving automobile killing three persons and injuring two others at Mill City. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 9 December 1988...A winter storm blanketed the Southern and Central Appalachians with up to ten inches of snow. Arctic air invaded the north central U.S. bringing subzero cold to Minnesota and North Dakota. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 9 December 2003…A subtropical storm became Tropical Storm Peter approximately 700 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands. With Tropical Storm Odette having formed in the Caribbean on the 4th, the development of Peter marked the first time since 1887 that two tropical storms formed in the Atlantic Basin in December. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 10 December 1699...A severe ice storm hit Boston MA causing much damage to orchards. (The Weather Channel)
• 10 December 1988...Squalls produced heavy snow in the Lower Great Lakes Region. Totals in northeastern Ohio ranged up to 14 inches at Harpersfield, and totals in western New York State ranged up to 14 inches at Sodus. In the snowbelt of Upper Michigan, the Ontonagon area reported two feet of snow in two days. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 10 December 1989...Heavy snow fell across the northern and central mountains of Colorado, with 24 inches reported at Steamboat Springs. Six to twelve inches of snow fell in the Denver and Boulder area delaying plane flights and snarling traffic. Heavy snow also spread across the Central Plains into the Mississippi Valley. Winner SD received 11 inches of snow, and more than ten inches of snow was reported north of Sioux City IA. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

Return to DataStreme WES Website

Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2006, The American Meteorological Society.