23-27 May 2005

DataStreme Water in the Earth System will return for Fall 2005 with new Water News and Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 29 August 2005. All the current online homepage products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

• Hurricane Forecast Updates...
• North Atlantic basin -- Last Monday, NOAA forecasters announced their seasonal outlooks for the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. They foresee another active hurricane season with 12 to 15 named tropical cyclones (including hurricanes and tropical storms), including seven to nine systems becoming hurricanes, with three to five reaching major hurricane status. [NOAA News] For comparison, Dr. William Gray of Colorado State University issued his updated forecast for the upcoming 2005 hurricane season in the North Atlantic in early April, which indicated 13 named tropical cyclones, 7 hurricanes and 3 intense hurricanes (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). [The Tropical Meteorology Project] Long-term statistics indicate 10 named cyclones, 5 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes.
• Eastern North Pacific basin -- NOAA forecasters issued their first operational outlook for the 2005 season in Eastern North Pacific (east of 140 degrees W longitude), which began a week ago last Sunday. Using a categorical forecast format, they are forecasting a 70% probability of below average hurricane season, a 20% probability of near-normal and a 10% chance of an above-average season. In other words, they call for 11 to 15 tropical storms, with 6 to 8 becoming hurricanes and 2 to 4 reaching major hurricane status. For comparison, the long-term averages include 15-16 tropical storms, 9 hurricanes and 4 to 5 major hurricanes. [NOAA Press Release]
• Central Pacific basin -- NOAA forecasters at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, HI recently released their outlook for the 2005 hurricane season in the Central Pacific (from 140 degrees West to the Dateline). They are anticipating a below average season, with the possibility of two to three tropical cyclones, as compared with a long-term average of between four to five tropical cyclones that includes one hurricane, two tropical storms and one or two tropical depressions. [Central Pacific Hurricane Center]
• First hurricane of the Eastern Pacific season -- Hurricane Adrian, the first hurricane of the 2005 hurricane season in the eastern North Pacific moved in an unusual direction to the northeast and slammed into Honduras and El Salvador, forcing the evacuation of approximately 23,000 people. At least one death was attributed to Hurricane Adrian. [USA Today]
• North American Safe Boating Week -- This week of 21-27 May has been declared 2005 National Safe Boating Week. Check the Safe Boating Week site maintained by the Safe Boating Council.
• Assessing the economic impacts of NOAA -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recently released a new fourth edition of the booklet entitled Economic Statistics for NOAA that enumerates the latest economic benefits that NOAA products and services contribute not only to the gross domestic product of the nation, but to the environment. Attention is focused upon the impacts of recent hurricanes. [NOAA News]
• New marine sanctuary website launched-- NOAA officials recently unveiled an education website for the National Marine Sanctuary Program in an effort to enhance public awareness and appreciation of their marine environment, especially in the 13 National Marine Sanctuaries administered by NOAA. [NOAA News]
• New NOAA Satellite launched -- On Friday, NASA and NOAA officials announced that a new NOAA polar-orbiting environmental satellite, NOAA-18, was successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB, CA, attained orbit and transmitted the first image. This satellite is intended to be a part of the global Earth observation program and help improve NOAA's weather and climate forecasts, as well as the US search and rescue operations. [NOAA News]
• Flooding threat increases in the Sierras -- With forecasts of a warm weekend that could melt some of the large snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California officials have been monitoring rivers in the state swollen by recent heavy rainfall. [USA Today]
• Water restrictions lifted -- Because of a large snow pack on the neighboring mountains plus recent abundant rains, city officials in Farmington, NM have recently lifted the voluntary water restrictions that had been imposed last year during the midst of a severe drought. [USA Today]
• Effects of drought persist across the West -- While some areas of the West received generous precipitation totals during the winter and early spring, other areas such as across western Kansas have not been so fortunate. Kansas wheat farmers have been concerned about recent inadequate precipitation and how it has been adversely impacting their winter wheat crops. [USA Today]
• Marshes reveal history of drought and ice near New York City -- Researchers at Columbia University and NASA studying sediment layers from a tidal marsh in the Hudson River Estuary have developed a chronology of past climates in the lower Hudson Valley near New York City that indicates a 500-year drought during a warm period from 800 to 1300 AD, along with the passage of the Little Ice Age from about 1400 to the late 1800s. [NASA]
• Unraveling the mystery of Martian icecaps -- An interdisciplinary team of scientists at Oregon State University studying images from the Mars Global Surveyor, temperature data and climate models have concluded that the permanent ice cap surrounding the South Pole of Mars has been the result of the colder and stormier nature of the southern hemisphere of Mars. Their work may shed light onto finding water in the planet's equatorial zone. [Oregon State University]
• Florida still feeling the effects of last year's hurricanes --
• Memories of "Big 4 of '04" remain -- Floridians continue to have vivid memories of the four hurricanes that hit the Sunshine State last year and remain uneasy as the 2005 hurricane season approaches. [USA Today]
• Floridians still homeless -- Nearly 29,000 people are still living in government-subsidized temporary housing, nearly eight months after hurricanes damaged approximately 700,000 homes in Florida. [USA Today]
• FEMA faulted -- Government auditors recently released a report that faulted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for not adequately inspecting homes and giving $31 million in disaster relief to 12,000 Florida residents who may not have deserved the money following Hurricane Frances. [USA Today]
• Hurricane protection products marketed -- Several companies are marketing a variety of products that they claim offer protection from hurricanes, including a safe room with home theater that can be built in an existing home for a mere $125,000. [USA Today]
• Florida's citrus industry still reeling from last year -- In addition to the damage caused to Florida's citrus groves by last year's hurricane winds and torrential rain, the hurricanes also spread citrus canker, a bacterial disease that could be more potentially ruinous than the toppled trees and ruined fruit. [USA Today]
• Better ways of altering the public explored -- The National Weather Service is exploring better ways of altering residents in inland sections of Florida to the possible dangers of an approaching hurricane. [USA Today]
• 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. 

• 23 May 1960...Tsunami waves from Chilean earthquakes began to affect the Alaska's coast along the Gulf of Alaska from Prince of Wales Island to Montague Island for as long as one week. The tsunami waves on the 23rd were up to 14 feet high near Yakutat. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 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 1951...Northeast gales generated waves to 15 feet high in the harbor of Newport, RI. A 50-ft. Navy launch with about 142 men on board capsized. Nineteen of the men drowned in the incident. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 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 100 mph 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 14 lives and caused $90 million in 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. (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 1755...The first municipal water pumping plant in America was installed at Bethlehem, PA., by Hans Christopher Christiansen. The city was supplied from a 70-foot high tank that was filled with water pumped from a spring through wooden pipes. Although Boston, MA, had built a piped municipal water supply from a spring to a 12-foot square reservoir, the installation at Bethlehem was the first to use a pumping plant. (Today in Science History)
• 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 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 indamage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)

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URL: DS-WES/news.html

Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2005, The American Meteorological Society.