1-5 August 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.

• Gulf "dead zone" forecast issued -- A group of scientists from the NOAA Oceans and Coasts Service recently forecasted that the "dead zone", a region of depleted dissolved oxygen that has appeared annually in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas should be the smallest in 15 years, roughly the size of Rhode Island. [NOAA News]
• Eye on the tropics --
• Climatologist Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently reported that major hurricanes in the North Atlantic and North Pacific basins have increased in intensity and duration by roughly 50 percent since the 1970s. He believes this increase correlates with an increase in sea surface temperatures for each basin. Other climatologists are more cautious in their appraisal of his work. [USA Today]
• Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center monitoring Tropical Storm Franklin reported last Friday that this tropical low pressure system had moved northeastward across the North Atlantic and loose its tropical characteristics over the weekend as it moved across colder water. [USA Today]
• Ocean spray lubricates winds in a hurricane -- Mathematicians for the University of California, Berkley and the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Russia have shown that windborne ocean spray drops lifted into the atmosphere by hurricane-force winds appear to provide sufficient lubricating effect so as to allow the hurricane to intensify, with wind speeds near the surface to exceed 140 mph. [EurekAlert!]

• Monitoring blooms in the Baltic from space -- The European Space Agency recently released images obtained from its Envisat satellite showing this summers marine phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Sea, observable because the spectrometer onboard the satellite is sensitive to detecting ocean colors associated with the algae. [ESA]
• "It's not the heat, but the dewpoint!"...The recent heat wave that spread across the Northeast had dewpoint temperatures that exceeded the "design dewpoints" in many of the cities across the Northeast, according to climatologists at the Northeast Regional Climate Center. The design dewpoints represent the maximum atmospheric water vapor content at which air-conditioning systems can operate efficiently. [Cornell University]
• Rapid recycling of carbon dioxide in Amazon River basin -- An oceanographer from the University of Washington and a colleague from the Stroud Water Research Center report that carbon dioxide gas was outgassing from rivers and wetlands in the Amazon Basin at a rate much faster than originally thought. [EurekAlert!]
• Effects of drought are disastrous in Illinois -- The continuing lack of rain during July has created extreme drought across sections of the Midwest, especially in Illinois were much of the state's corn and soybean crops could be the worst in years. [USA Today]
• Indian monsoon produces record rains and an increasing death toll -- The financial hub of Mumbai received 37.1 inches of rain last Wednesday, setting a new 24-hour maximum precipitation record for India. [Rediff.com India] As of Sunday, 910 fatalities near Bombay have been attributed to the flooding from this year's monsoon rains. [USA Today]
• Drought-stricken Iberian Peninsula receives aid -- With cereal shortages becoming a problem across Portugal and Spain because of a lack of rain along with elevated temperatures, other members of the European Union are making surplus supplies available. [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.

• 1 August 1954...Mount Rainier in Washington State was still covered with sixteen inches of snow at the 5500-foot level following a big snow season. (David Ludlum)
• 1 August 1969...Severe hailstorm pummeled Montreal, Quebec. Hailstones measured from 0.5 to 0.75 inches in diameter. (The Weather Doctor)
• 1 August 1977...Excessive rains at Muduocaidang, China were responsible for establishing two world records, to include 33.07 inches in 6 hours and 55.12 inches in 10 hours. (WMO, NWS)
• 1 August 1985...A nearly stationary thunderstorm deluged Cheyenne, WY with rain and hail. Six inches of rain fell in six hours producing the most damaging flash flood of record for the state; a 24-hour precipitation record for the Cowboy State was also established with 6.06 inches. Two to five feet of hail covered the ground following the storm, which claimed twelve lives and caused 65 million dollars property damage. Ten of the deaths occurred along Dry Creek when people were swept away in cars while trying to cross flooded roads. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (Storm Data)
• 1 August 1986...A powerful thunderstorm produced 100-mph winds and large hail in eastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri causing 71 million dollars damage, and injuring nineteen persons. It was one of the worst thunderstorms of record for Kansas. Crops were mowed to the ground in places and roofs blown off buildings along its path, 150 miles long and 30 miles wide, from near Abilene to southeast of Pittsburg. Hail 3 inches in diameter fell at Sun City and Belvidere. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 1-3 August 1989...Hurricane Chantal made landfall along the Upper Texas coast about sunrise on the 1^st. Chantal deluged parts of Galveston Island and southeastern Texas with 8 to 12 inches of rain. Unofficial totals ranged up to twenty inches. Winds gusted to 82 mph at Galveston, and reached 76 mph in the Houston area. Tides were 5 to 7 feet high. The hurricane claimed two lives, and caused 100 million dollars damage. The remains of Hurricane Chantal also deluged north central Texas with heavy rain. Up to 6.50 inches drenched Stephens County, and Wichita Falls reported 2.22 inches of rain in just one hour on the 2^nd. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 2-3 August 1922...A typhoon hit the China Coast at Swatow on the night of the 2^nd. The wind and the storm surge killed as many as 50,000 of the city's 65,000 residents. Barometric pressure at landfall had dropped to at least 932.3 millibars (27.53 inches). (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 2 August 1954...Severe thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail for thirty minutes in north central Kansas. One drift measured 200 feet long, seventy feet wide and three feet deep. (The Weather Channel)
• 3 August 1898...Philadelphia, PA had one of its worst thunderstorms ever when 5.84 inches fell in just 2 hours. The hydraulic pressure in the city sewers due to the force of the accumulated runoff caused overflows in toilets, basins and sinks to rise to second-floor levels in some cases. (Intellicast) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 3 August 1970...Hurricane Celia made landfall near Port Aransas on the Texas coast, producing wind gusts to 161 mph at Corpus Christi, and estimated wind gusts of 180 mph at Arkansas Pass. Even at Del Rio, 250 miles inland, Celia produced wind gusts to 89 mph. The hurricane was the most destructive of record along the Texas coast causing 454 million dollars damage as 8950 homes were destroyed on the Coastal Bend. Celia also claimed eleven lives and injured 466 people. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 3 August 1987...A severe thunderstorm moved across Cheyenne, WY during the midafternoon. The thunderstorm produced hailstones up to two inches in diameter causing more than 37 million dollars damage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 3 August 1995...South Bend, IN received 4.83 inches of rain in 24 hours to set the city's greatest daily rainfall record. (Intellicast)
• 3-4 August 1978...The remnants of Tropical Storm Amelia produced up to 32 inches of rain on Schackelford County in Texas, an incredible amount of rain for a far-inland and non-mountainous area. A twenty-foot wall of water killed six during the evening of the 4^th in Albany, resulting in 89 percent of the city being covered by water. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4(?) August 1609...A tempest struck the western Atlantic Ocean scattering small British convoy headed to Virginia. Two vessels sank; another, the Sea Venture was presumed lost. However, a ship made landfall on Bermuda, shipwrecking the crew. After a ten-month stay to build two small rescue boats, they sailed to Jamestown (Virginia) Colony. Incident accounts may have provided William Shakespeare with background material for The Tempest. (The Weather Doctor)
• 4 August 1666...A violent hurricane raked the island of Guadeloupe, destroying all boats along its coast, including a 17-ship fleet with 2000 troops. The island's batteries, with 6-foot thick walls, were destroyed and the 16-pounders (large cannons) were washed away. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4 August 1995...Thunderstorms generated 5 to 6 foot waves on Flathead Lake, a 26-mile long lake in northwest Montana. Some of the waves generated by a distant thunderstorm crashed ashore at Lakeside, damaging boats, sea walls and docks. At the time, calm conditions were reported at Lakeside. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5 August 1843...A spectacular cloudburst at Chester Creek, near Philadelphia, PA turned the small creeks and streams entering the Delaware River into raging torrents. As much as sixteen inches of rain fell in just three hours at Concord, which still stands as the greatest amount of precipitation in a three hour span in the U.S. Flooding destroyed thirty-two county bridges, and caused nineteen deaths. Several small tornadoes are believed to have accompanied the torrential rains, one of which upset and sank more than thirty barges on the Schuylkill River. Fifteen inches of rain also fell at Newark, NJ. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• 5 August 1983...One of many Western Plains thunderstorms dumped 2.89 inches of rain in 38 minutes at Denver, CO. (Intellicast)
• 5 August 1988...Floods ravaged parts of Sudan during August, the result of 8.27 inches of rain that fell in Khartoum in 13 hours on the 4^th and 5^th. The previous 24-hour record at Khartoum was 3.46 inches. More than one million people were made homeless. At least 96 died in Sudan's worst flooding sine 1946. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5-7 August 1997...Although far to the southwest, Hurricane Guillermo generated surf to 12-foot heights along the beaches of southern California. In Newport Beach, lifeguards made almost 300 rescues on the 5^th and 6^th. Rip currents were responsible for one death and three injuries. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 6 August 1890...Thunderstorms left four inches of hail covering the ground in Adair County and Union County in Iowa. The hail drifted into six-foot mounds, and in some places remained on the ground for twenty-six days until the end of the month. (The Weather Channel)
• 6 August 1905...Princeton, IN received 10.50 inches of rain, which established a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Hoosier State. (NCDC)
• 5-6 August 1959...A bucket survey showed that thunderstorms dropped 16.70 inches of rain on parts of Decatur County, IA. The total was accepted as Iowa's 24-hour rainfall record. (The Weather Channel)
  Hurricane Dot crossed Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands producing sustained winds of 103 mph and gusts to 125 mph. Over 6 inches of rain fell there and over 9 inches on the island of Hawaii. The sugar cane crop on Kauai sustained $2.7 million in damages. (Intellicast)
• 6 August 1987...Afternoon thunderstorms deluged Milwaukee, WI, breaking all previous rainfall records for the city. Among the records: 1.10 inches in 5 minutes, 3.06 inches in 1 hour, 5.24 inches in 2 hours, 6.24 in 6 hours and 6.84 inches in 24 hours. Floodwaters were four feet deep at the Milwaukee County Stadium, and floodwaters filled the basement of the main terminal at the airport. Flooding caused 5.9 million dollars damage, and claimed the life of one person. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 7 August 1904...A flash flood near Pueblo, CO washed a train from the tracks killing 89 passengers. A bridge, weakened by the floodwaters sweeping through the valley below, gave way under the weight of the train dashing all but the sleeping cars into the torrent drowning the occupants. Rail service was frequently interrupted in the Rocky Mountain Region and southwestern U.S. that summer due to numerous heavy downpours, which washed out the railroad beds, delaying trains as much as five days. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 7 August 1922...A violent hailstorm struck a passenger train near Pinneo, CO. Sixty-mile per hour winds blew jagged chunks of ice into the train, breaking windows and injuring the passengers. The train was so severely damaged that another train had to pick up the passengers to take them on their way. (Flora, Hailstorms of the United States, 1956)
• 7 August 1984...El Paso, TX normally receives 1.21 inches of rain in August. They got that amount in forty-five minutes, with four more inches to boot, during a storm that left Downtown El Paso under five feet of water. (The Weather Channel)
• 7 August 1990...A thunderstorm moving through Nome, AK, the ninth thunderstorm of the year, more than in the previous 20 years combined. (Intellicast)
• 7-8 August 1995...Lockington Dam, OH recorded 10.75 inches of rain, establishing a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Buckeye State. (NCDC)