24-28 May 2004

Water in the Earth System will return for Fall 2004 with new Water News and Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 30 August 2004. All the current online homepage products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

• Hurricane Forecast Updates...
• North Atlantic basin -- NOAA forecasters announced their seasonal outlooks for the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. They foresee a more active than usual hurricane season with 12 to 15 named tropical cyclones (to include hurricanes and tropical storms), with six to eight systems becoming hurricanes, and two to four of those major hurricanes. [NOAA News] For comparison, Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University issued his updated forecast for the upcoming 2004 hurricane season in the North Atlantic in early April, which indicated 14 named tropical cyclones, 8 hurricanes and 3 intense hurricanes (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). [The Tropical Meteorology Project]
• Central Pacific basin -- NOAA forecasters released their outlook for the 2004 hurricane season in the Central Pacific, which indicates between four to five named tropical cyclones. [NOAA News]
• "Break the Grip of the Rip" -- NOAA officials are planning a media event on Monday to unveil a new national safety campaign that focuses on the hazards of rip currents. The website http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/ has links to a variety of resource materials dealing with rip currents that claim as many as 100 people in the US annually. [NOAA Media Advisory]
• Interagency Great Lakes task force to coordinate restoration efforts -- Last week President Bush signed an Executive Order creating the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force that is intended at funding and implementing environmental restoration and management activities in the Great Lakes basin. [EPA National News]
• Typhoon hits the Philippines -- With winds of 100 mph and gusts to 122 mph, Typhoon Nida struck Luzon in the Philippines last week, causing at least six deaths. [Disaster Relief]
• North American Safe Boating Week -- Commencing this coming Saturday, the week of 22-28 May has been declared North American Safe Boating Week. Check the Safe Boating Week site maintained by the Safe Boating Council.
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes-- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including 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. 

• 24 May 1901...The relative humidity at Parkstone, Dorset in England at 4 PM was reported to be 9.5 percent. This low relative humidity is not typical of the British Islands, which are surrounded by ocean water and have no large high mountain barriers or plateaus. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 24 May 1894...Six inches of snow blanketed Kentucky. Just four days earlier as much as ten inches of snow had fallen across Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Six days earlier a violent storm had wrecked nine ships on Lake Michigan. (David Ludlum)
• 24 May 1940...Hail fell near Ada, OK to a depth of six to eight inches, and rainfall runoff left drifts of hail up to five feet high. (The Weather Channel)
• 24 May 1992...Winds up to 40 knots and seas to 18 feet in the northern Gulf of Alaska, approximately 30 miles southwest of Alaska's Cape Cleare, sent three waves crashing over the Cajun Mama. This 80-foot fishing boat sank, but the crew of five was rescued. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 25 May 1987...A man on a boat on Lake Bistineau in northwest Louisiana was struck and killed by lightning, while the other three persons in the boat were unharmed. The man reportedly stood up in the boat and asked to be struck by lightning. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 25 May 1990...Heavy thunderstorm rains produced flash flooding in central Missouri. Floodwaters swept through Washington State Park southwest of Saint Louis, and nearly one hundred persons had to be rescued from water as much as twenty feet deep. The floodwaters swept away a number of vehicles; some were carried as much as four miles away. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 25 May 1985... The Meghna River delta in Bangladesh was hit with a tropical cyclone with winds of over 100mph that created a 15-to 20-foot high storm surge that flooded a 400-square-mile area, mainly islands located in the mouth of the river. More than 11,000 people and 500,000 head of cattle died and hundreds of thousands were left homeless because of this cyclone.
• 26-27 May 1771...A famous Virginia flood occurred as heavy rains in the mountains brought all rivers in the state to record high levels. As many as 150 lives were lost in the Richmond, VA area in the great James River Flood. (Intellicast) (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders -1987)
• 26 May 1967...A slow moving nor'easter battered New England with high winds, heavy rain, and record late season snow on this day and into the 26^th. Winds 70 to 90 mph in gusts occurred along the coast. Over 7 inches of rain fell at Nantucket, MA with 6.57 inches falling in 24 hours to set a new 24-hour rainfall record. Severe damage occurred along the coast from very high tides. The 24.9 inches of snow that fell at Mount Washington, NH set a new May snowfall record. Other locations in New Hampshire received 10 inches of snow near Keene and 6 inches at Dublin. (Intellicast)
• 26 May 1984...Thunderstorms during the late evening and early morning hours produced 6 to 13 inches of rain at Tulsa, OK in six hours (8.63 inches at the airport). Flooding claimed fourteen lives and caused 90 million dollars property damage. As many as 4600 cars, 743 houses, and 387 apartments were destroyed or severely damage in the flood. (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)
• 26 May 1987...Thunderstorms in southwest Iowa spawned five tornadoes and produced up to ten inches of rain. Seven inches of rain at Red Oak forced evacuation of nearly 100 persons from the town. Record flooding took place in southwest Iowa the last twelve days of May as up to 17 inches of rain drenched the area. Total damage to crops and property was estimated at 16 million dollars. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 26 May 1990...Flash flooding occurred along Mineral Fork in Missouri's Washington State Park shortly after local midnight. Approximately 100 people had to be rescued from water up to 20 feet deep. Some vehicles washed four miles downstream. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 26 May 2001...The 2000-2001 snowfall season finally came to an end in St John's, Newfoundland, during which time a grand total of 255.3 inches of snow fell. The total snow, which broke a century-old mark, was estimated to have weighed 500 million tons! (The Weather Doctor)
• 27 May 1984...Thunderstorms unloaded 8.63 inches of rain on Tulsa, Oklahoma in only 6 hours. The resultant flash flooding killed 14 people and total damage was $89.6 million. (Intellicast)
• 27-31 May 1987...Thunderstorms produced torrential rains in Oklahoma and northern Texas. Five days of flooding commenced in Oklahoma, as thunderstorms produced 10 to 13 inches of rain in central Oklahoma. Up to six inches of rain caused flooding in north central Texas. Oklahoma City reported 4.33 inches of rain in six hours on the 27^th. On the 28^th, Lake Altus, OK was deluged with nine inches of rain. Up to eight inches drenched northern Texas, and baseball size hail was reported north of Seminole and at Knickerbocker. The flooding during the last five days of May in central Oklahoma resulted in an estimated 65 million dollars damage and forced several thousand persons to evacuate their homes, many by boat or helicopter. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 28 May1963...A cyclone killed about 22,000 people along the coast of East Pakistan.
• 28 May 1990...Two to five inches of rain over southeastern Ohio on the 28^th and 29^th capped an exceptionally wet month of May, and triggered widespread flooding. Flooding that resulted claimed three lives, and caused millions of dollars damage. Numerous roads in southeast Ohio were flooded and impassable, and many other roads were blocked by landslides. (Storm Data)
• 29 May 1914...Shallow river fog along the St. Lawrence River approximately 185 miles from Quebec City, Quebec contributed to the collision of the CP Liner Empress of Ireland and a Norwegian coal ship, The Storstad. The liner sank in 25 minutes drowning 1024 passengers. (The Weather Doctor)
• 29 May 1986...Hailstones up to 3.2 inches in diameter pounded South Shore in Montreal, Quebec, causing over $65 million in damage. (The Weather Doctor)
• 29 May 1987...Thunderstorms deluged the Texas Hill Country with up to eleven inches of rain. Severe flooding along the Medino, Hondo, Seco, Sabinal and Frio rivers caused more than fifty million dollars damage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 30 May 1948...The Columbia River swollen from snowmelt reached its highest stage since 1894. A railroad bed acting as a dam gave way during a flood along the Columbia River destroying the city of Vanport, which had been Oregon's second largest city during World War II. The nearly 18,700 residents escaped with little more than the clothes on their backs, as the river put the city under 15 feet of water in two hours. Damage was estimated at 101 million dollars and 75 lost their lives. The city died that day. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 30 May 1961...Thunderstorms dropped over 10 inches of rain in less than an hour at Buffalo Gap, Saskatchewan, breaking a long drought. (The Weather Doctor)
• 30 May 1983...Unusually high temperatures throughout the western United States caused great runoff from snowpack in Rocky Mountains. The flooding washed out bridges and caused mudslides in Nevada. (Intellicast)
• 30 May 1991...Three thunderstorms produced 5.65 inches of rain in a 3-hour period across new Marlboro and Sheffield, MA resulting in severe flooding. Many roads and several bridges were washed out eventually isolating the two towns. About 89 miles of road were damaged. Typical washouts ranged up to 8 feet deep and roads that were 25 feet wide were reduced to only 10 feet. Power outages were widespread and a state of emergency was declared. The flooding was the worst since 1955 for the area and total damage was estimated near 10 million dollars. (Intellicast)
• 30-31 May 1997...As many as 140 people had to be rescued from rip currents off Dayton Beach Shores, FL. One man died in a rip current while trying to save his wife. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

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Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2004, The American Meteorological Society.