27-31 December 2004

DataStreme Water in the Earth System (WES) will return for Spring 2005 with new Water News and Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 17 January 2005. All the current online homepage products will continue to be available throughout the break period.

• Tsunamis responsible for deaths of thousands -- A major 8.9-magnitude earthquake approximately 100 miles off the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra generated several large tsunamis early Sunday that were responsible for the deaths of nearly 10,0000 people, with Sri Lanka and India especially hard hit. [CNN]
• Austrian avalanche was deadly -- Three people, to include an American couple, died as the result of an avalanche in the Austria early last week. [USA Today]
• Seasonal Drought Outlook released-- Scientists at the Climate Prediction Center recently released their three-month outlook for water conditions across the nation through the end of March that indicates a improvement in soil moisture across main areas of the Southwest, while drought was expected to persist across the western Plains and the northern Rockies, to include Montana, the western Dakotas, Wyoming and southern Idaho. [Climate Prediction Center]
• Navajo urged to fight water deal -- A former chairman of the Navajo Nation Council urged the council to reject a water rights settlement with the state of New Mexico and take the battle for water rights to court. [ENN]
• Cabinet-level committee proposed for ocean policies-- President George W. Bush recently created a Cabinet-level committee that is intended to oversee national policies concerning the oceans and the Great Lakes. [ENN]
• High-flying monitor of desertification-- Scientists from the Carnegie Institution employed a high-flying surveillance aircraft equipped with sophisticated equipment to monitor the large-scale interactions between ecosystems in New Mexico during the process of desertification. [Carnegie Institution]
• Mercury from the air-- While concern had been voiced over the increased levels of mercury in the water and soil, University of Nevada scientists have found that plants also capture mercury directly from the air. [University of Nevada]
• 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.

• 28 December 1879...Seventy-four lives were lost when a passenger train plunged from the track as the middle section of the Tay Bridge at Tayside, England collapsed into the Tay Estuary. The failure of the bridge was believed to have been caused by two or three waterspouts that were sighted close to the bridge immediately before the accident. (The Weather Doctor)
• 28-29 December 1879...An extraordinary snowfall of 17 inches of snow fell in Palestine. In his 1883 report on the climate of Palestine, the U.S. consul reported snow (mainly light and quickly melting) falling on Jerusalem in only 14 of the previous 22 years. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 30 December 1955...Anchorage, AK reported an all-time record snow depth of 47 inches. (30^th-1^st) (The Weather Channel)
• 30 December 1972...The 86-foot high wave measured by the ship Weather Reporter was the world's highest measured wave. The wave was measured in the North Atlantic Ocean at 59 degrees North latitude and 19 degrees West longitude. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 30 December 1996-6 January 1997...Approximately 25 inches of rain and snowmelt flooded the Truckee River and other rivers along the eastern Sierra. The floodwaters made a temporary lake on the east side of Truckee Meadows. The airport at Reno, NV was flooded, with water reaching the fuselage of some airliners. The floods caused more than 500 million dollars in regional damage. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 31 December 1929...Greenland Ranch, in Death Valley, CA, went the entire year without measurable precipitation. (The Weather Channel)
• 31 December 1933...A 24-hour rainfall of 7.36 inches set the stage for the worst flood in Los Angeles and Orange County history. Flooding claimed 44 lives. (David Ludlum)
• 31 December 1962...Perhaps the worst blizzard in the history of the state of Maine finally ended. The storm produced 40 inches in 24 hours at Orono, and a total of 46 inches at Ripogenus Dam. Gale force winds produced snow drifts twenty feet high around Bangor. A disastrous ice storm was over Georgia and South Carolina. It ravaged the two states for days causing more than seven million dollars damage. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 31 December 1987...Torrential rains caused extensive flash flooding over eastern sections of the island of Oahu in Hawaii, resulting in many rock and mudslides. Rainfall totals ranged up to 22.89 inches in a 24-hour period, and property damage was estimated at 35 million dollars. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 31 December 1989...The year and decade ended on a soggy note in the eastern U.S. Thunderstorm rains pushed precipitation totals for the year to 88.32 inches at Baton Rouge, LA and to 75.37 inches at Huntsville, AL, establishing all-time records for those two locations. Dry weather continued in California. Sacramento and San Francisco finished the month without any rain or snow, and Santa Maria reported their driest year of record with just 3.30 inches of precipitation. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 1 January 1934...Heavy rain, which began on 30 December 1933, led to flooding in the Los Angeles Basin area of California. Flooding claimed the lives of at least 45 persons. Walls of water and debris up to ten feet high were noted in some canyon areas. Rainfall totals ranged up to 16.29 inches at Azusa, with 8.26 inches reported in Downtown Los Angeles. (The Weather Channel)
• 1 January 1987...A winter storm brought rain, snow and high winds to the Southern and Middle Atlantic Coast Region. The storm, which occurred in a period of unusually high astronomical tides, produced a tide of 9.4 feet at Myrtle Beach, SC (their highest since Hurricane Hazel in 1954) which caused a total of 25 million dollars damage in South Carolina. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 1-2 January 1992...Harsh winter weather raked the Middle East. At least 20 died when an avalanche crushed eight houses near Kuksekova, Turkey. Sixteen inches of snow fell on Jerusalem, in Israel, marking the most in 42 years. Rare flurries fell in Nicosia, Cyprus and Beirut, Lebanon.
• 1 January 1997...Two 12-foot waves generated by an intense Pacific storm swept 27 people into the Pacific Ocean from the King Harbor Breakwater at Redondo Beach, CA. All survived the ordeal. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 1 January 1999...An avalanche destroyed the wall of a school gymnasium where hundreds of people were celebrating the New Year in the Inuit village of Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec. Nine people were killed. The school had been built on a site known to be susceptible to avalanches. (Accord's Weather Calendar)
• 2 January 1910...A great flood in Utah and Nevada washed out 100 miles of railroad between Salt Lake City, UT and Los Angeles, CA causing seven million dollars damage. (David Ludlum)
• 2 January 1955...Hurricane Alice battered the Leeward Islands with sustained winds of 85 mph on this day. Alice was upgraded as a full tropical system on 31 December 1954, making Alice the latest and earliest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean. (Intellicast)
• 2 January 1987...A winter storm moving up the Atlantic coast brought heavy snow and high winds to the northeastern U.S. Total snowfall in the storm which began on the 1^st, by the morning of the 3^rd amounted to two feet at Salem, NH and Waterboro, ME, 22 inches at Lowell, MA, 14 inches at Worcester, MA, 22 inches at Nashua, NH, and 18 inches at Portland, ME. Wind gusts reached 82 mph at Trenton, NJ and Southwest Harbor in Maine. Significant coastal flooding occurred as the storm coincided with unusually high astronomical tides. (National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
• 2 January 1993...In the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, the Sugar Bowl ski patrol reported a snow depth of 90 inches at the 7000-foot level. A depth of 150 inches was measured at 7800 feet. Since 29 December 1992, a total of 72 inches had fallen at the 7000-foot elevation, with 93 inches at 8300 feet. (Intellicast)
  Cyclone Kina battered Fiji with wind gusts to 130 mph and heavy rain. Up to 21.65 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, resulting in the worst flooding in 60 years. Twenty-three people were killed and damage was estimated to be in excess of 547 million US dollars. (Accord's Weather Calendar)

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URL: WES/news.html

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