Weekly Water News

WES WEEK TWO: 13-17 September 2004

Water in the News

Hurricane Ivan is Cat-5! -- Moving westward across the Caribbean Sea on Saturday afternoon, Hurricane Ivan intensified to become a Category 5 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale) as maximum sustained surface winds reached 165 mph. As of late Saturday, at least 11 people were killed in Jamaica, 17 in Grenada, 4 in Venezuela and 4 in the Dominican Republic by Hurricane Ivan. [CNN] http://cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/11/hurricane.ivan/index.html

Is Florida marked this year? With Hurricanes Charley and Frances having pummeled Florida during the last month, and Hurricane Ivan taking aim on the Sunshine State, some residents may feel that they are marked. However, the Director of the National Hurricane Center provides some perspective on the situation. [USA Today]

Data collected from Frances could be extremely useful -- NOAA used a variety of instrument platforms, to include "hurricane hunter" type aircraft, to collect a considerable variety of environmental data from the recent Hurricane Frances not only for the operational forecasts, but also for the research community. [NOAA News]

Ice core reveals some abrupt climatic changes -- A nearly two-mile long ice core retrieved from Greenland by the North Greenland Ice Core Project has provided a climate record spanning approximately 123,000 years, beginning with last interglacial and running through the last glacial maximum and present interglacial epoch. Researchers have found that this ice core has revealed a variety of climatic variations, ranging from gradual changes to abrupt changes spanning several decades. They also found that polar climates approximately 115,000 years ago may have had temperatures 9 Fahrenheit degrees higher than at present. [EurekAlert!]

Water wars could be reduced -- The Sandia National Laboratory is testing new farming methods in hydrophonic greenhouses that could significantly reduce the amount of fresh water needed to grow livestock forage, thereby lessening the possibility of future water wars in the Southwestern US and adjacent sections of Mexico. In addition, previously untapped solar energy could be added to the electrical power grid. [Sandia National Laboratory]

A new type of divining rod? The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been using remote sensing data obtained by a variety of satellites, to include Landsat, the European Space Agency's ERS spacecraft and Japan's JERS-1 satellite to identify hidden water resources and site new camps for the nearly 200,000 Sudanese refugees in the deserts of eastern Chad. [ESA]

Drop in groundwater levels noted -- A hydrogeologist at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln recently reported that groundwater levels have dropped by as much as five feet between 2002 and 2003 in some areas of Nebraska that are heavily irrigated. [US Water News Online]

African water shortages foreseen -- The International Water Management Institute reported that Kenya and South Africa should experience severe water shortages by 2025. [US Water News Online]

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.

Concept of the Week: Water Chill

The epic movie Titanic dramatically portrayed how immersion in cold water can be deadly. After abandoning ship, passengers and crew who were floating in relatively calm seas perished within a short time. Residents of cold climates are warned of the dangers posed by a combination of low air temperature and strong winds (the wind-chill). Because of the special thermal properties of water, immersion in cold water can be even more hazardous. A boating accident or a plunge through thin ice on a lake can have deadly consequences.

One of the principal hazards of cold water immersion is a lowering of body temperature due to excess heat loss. (Perhaps half of all drowning victims actually die from this effect of cold water rather than water-filled lungs.) Heat is energy that is transferred between two objects at different temperatures, always flowing from the warmer to the colder object. The human body can regulate its core temperature so that it normally varies by no more than about 2 Celsius degrees (3.6 Fahrenheit degrees) above or below 37 °C (98.6 °F). Hence, heat usually flows from the human body to its cooler surroundings. Core temperaturerefers to the temperature of vital organs such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys.

When immersed in cold water, a body may lose heat at such a high rate that thermoregulatory processes cannot prevent a steady drop in core temperature and the victim may exhibit symptoms of hypothermia. These symptoms set in when a person's core temperature falls below 36 °C (96.8 °F). Shivering (a natural thermoregulatory process) becomes violent and uncontrollable and the victim has difficulty speaking and becomes lethargic. If the core temperature drops below 32 °C (90 °F), shivering ceases, muscles become rigid, and coordination deteriorates. At a core temperature of 30 °C (86 °F), a person may drift into unconsciousness and death may ensue at a core temperature below 24 °C (75 °F).

A person runs a greater risk of developing hypothermia when immersed in water than air at the same temperature. Water conducts heat at a rate that is more than 20 times greater than still air and water's specific heat is almost 6 times that of dry air. Whereas the risk of hypothermia due to low air temperature primarily occurs in winter, cold water immersion is possible anytime of year in many locations. Ocean or lake temperatures may remain relatively low throughout the summer months because of water's relatively great thermal inertia.

For more information on hypothermia, including expected survival time for various water temperatures, got to: http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/tourism/hypothermia.html.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Water is a [(much better)(poorer)] conductor of heat than still air.
Hypothermia is a potentially lethal [(rise)(fall)] in the temperature of the human body's vital organs.

Historical Events

14 September 1988...Pressure in eye of Hurricane Gilbert moving across the Caribbean Sea fell to 885 millibars (26.17 inches of mercury), the lowest recorded barometric pressure in the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately, 318 die in seven countries across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
15 September 1752...A great hurricane produced a tide along the South Carolina coast that nearly inundated downtown Charleston. However, just before the tide reached the city, a shift in the wind caused the water level to drop five feet in ten minutes. (David Ludlum)
16 September 1928...Hurricane San Felipe, a monster hurricane, which left 600 dead in Guadeloupe, and 300 dead in Puerto Rico, struck West Palm Beach, FL causing enormous damage, and then headed for Lake Okeechobee. Peak winds were near 150 mph. The high winds and storm waves broke the eastern dike on Lake Okeechobee, inundating flat farmland. When the storm was over, the lake covered an area the size of the state of Delaware, and beneath its waters were 1836 victims. The only survivors were those who reached large hotels for safety, and a group of fifty people who got onto a raft to take their chances out in the middle of the lake. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
16 September 1988...Hurricane Gilbert made landfall 120 miles south of Brownsville, TX in Mexico during the early evening. Winds gusted to 61 mph at Brownsville, and reached 82 mph at Padre Island. Six-foot tides eroded three to four feet of beaches along the Lower Texas Coast, leaving the waterline seventy-five feet farther inland. Rainfall totals ranged up to 8.71 in. at Lamark, TX. Gilbert caused $3 million in property damage along the Lower Texas Coast, but less than a million dollars damage along the Middle Texas Coast. During its life, Gilbert established an all-time record for the Western Hemisphere with a sea-level barometric pressure reading of 26.13 inches. Winds approached 200 mph, with higher gusts. Gilbert devastated Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel)
17 September 1963...Nearly two and a half inches of rain fell at Yuma, AZ in 24 hrs. This rain, from Tropical Storm Katherina, was the most intense rain for Yuma during the period between 1909 and 1977. (The Weather Channel)
17-23 September 1989...Hurricane Hugo hit the Virgin Islands on the 17th, producing wind gusts to 97 mph at Saint Croix. Hurricane Hugo passed directly over the island of Saint Croix causing complete devastation and essentially cutting off the island's communications systems. A storm surge of five to seven feet occurred at Saint Croix. The only rain gauge left operating, at Caneel Bay, indicated 9.40 in. in 24 hrs. Hurricane Hugo claimed the lives of three persons at Saint Croix, and caused more than 500 million dollars damage. A ship, Nightcap, in the harbor of Culebra, measured wind gusts as high as 170 mph. On the 18th, Hugo hit Puerto Rico, producing a storm surge of four to six feet, and northeastern sections of the island were deluged with more than ten inches of rain. Hugo claimed the lives of a dozen persons in Puerto Rico, and caused $1 billion in propery damage, including $100 million in crop losses. On the 21st, Hugo slammed into the South Carolina coast at about 11 PM, making landfall near Sullivans Island. Hurricane Hugo was directly responsible for thirteen deaths, and indirectly responsible for twenty-two others. A total of 420 persons were injured in the hurricane, and damage was estimated at eight billion dollars, including two billion dollars damage to crops. Sustained winds reached 85 mph at Folly Beach SC, with wind gusts as high was 138 mph. Wind gusts reached 98 mph at Charleston, and 109 mph at Shaw AFB. The higest storm surge occurred in the McClellanville and Bulls Bay area of Charleston County, with a storm surge of 20.2 ft reported at Seewee Bay. Shrimp boats were found one half-mile inland at McClellanville. On the 22nd, Hugo quickly lost strength over South Carolina, but still was a tropical storm as it crossed into North Carolina, just west of Charlotte, at about 7 AM. Winds around Charlotte reached 69 mph, with gusts to 99 mph. Eighty percent of the power was knocked out to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Property damage in North Carolina was 210 million dollars, and damage to crops was 97 million dollars. The greatest storm surge occurred along the southern coast shortly after midnight, reaching nine feet above sea level at Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach. Hugo killed one person and injured fifteen others in North Carolina. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
18 September 1926...The great "Miami Hurricane" produced winds reaching 138 mph which drove ocean waters into the Biscayne Bay drowning 135 persons. The eye of the hurricane passed over Miami, at which time the barometric pressure dropped to 27.61 inches. Tides up to twelve feet high accompanied the hurricane, which claimed 372 lives. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
19 September 1967...Hurricane Beulah deluged Brownsville, TX with 12.19 in. of rain in 24 hrs, to establish a record for that location. Hurricane Beulah made landfall on the 20th near the mouth of the Rio Grande River, where a wind gust of 135 mph was reported by a ship in the port. (19th-20th) (The Weather Channel)
20 September 1845...A tornado, called the "Adirondack Tornado" traveled 275 mi across Lake Ontario, New York and Lake Champlain, after starting as a waterspout over Lake Ontario and then traveling as a tornado through New York State to exit as a waterspout again on Lake Champlain. The treefall in the forest is still discernible. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987) (Intellicast)
20 September 1909...A strong hurricane made landfall in southeastern Louisiana. A 15-ft storm surge flooded the Timbalier Bay area. Some 350 people perished. (Intellicast)
20-23 September 1942 -- A torrential rainstorm hit Canada's Maritime Provinces. During these four days, 13.99 in. fell at Stellarton, Nova Scotia and 10.83 in. at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Halifax, Nova Scotia received 9.40 in. of rain on the 21 September. (The Weather Doctor)