WEEKLY WATER NEWS

THANKSGIVING WEEK: 21-25 November 2005

Water in the News:

Milestone reached by NASA's ICESat -- A laser altimeter instrument onboard NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) has fired its one-billionth laser shot toward the earth last week, precisely measuring the surface elevations of polar ice sheets, as well as clouds and topographic features. [NASA]
Earthquake near Indonesia does not produce tsunami -- A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra on Saturday night (local time), not too far from the site of the magnitude 9 earthquake last December that produced the deadly tsunami. While a tsunami alert was issued locally following Saturday's earthquake, no immediate reports of a tsunami, casualties or damage were made. [CNN]
New tropical storm proves deadly -- Tropical Storm Gamma, the 24th named tropical cyclone of the 2005 hurricane season in the North Atlantic basin, was responsible for the deaths of at least six people in Central America last Saturday, primarily due to the flooding from torrential rain. By Sunday, this tropical storm had weakened to a tropical depression that could move toward Cuba. [CNN]
ENSO should not affect the nation's winter weather -- Scientists with the Climatic Prediction Center recently released their final updated 2005-06 winter outlook for the nation. Their revised outlook indicates projected ENSO-neutral conditions, or even weak La Nina conditions for the next six months should have little impact on the US this winter, extending from December 2005 through February 2006. They call for a better than even chance of above average temperatures for much of the western two-thirds of the nation, while the eastern third of the country should expect nearly equal chances of below or above average temperatures. Much of the nation should also experience nearly equal chances of below or above average precipitation, while only Florida and adjoining sections of coastal Georgia appear to have a better than equal chance of drier conditions. [NOAA News]
October was soggy in the Northeast -- Scientists with the National Climatic Data Center recently reported that nine states in the Northeast experienced their wettest October on record during the recently-concluded October 2005. A series of storms that moved across the Northeast dumped in excess of 17 inches of rain on some locales. October 2005 was also warmer than average across the much of the nation. [NOAA News]
Review of NOAA's hurricane response -- As the extremely active North Atlantic hurricane season draws to a close, the role of all six of the line offices in NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in providing information and assistance to those affected by the hurricanes has been featured. [NOAA Magazine]
Increasingly acidic runoff leads to fish kill -- A report by the Kentucky Division of Water points to drainage from mines and road construction has increased the acidity of state waters, resulting in the killing of fish and insects. [ENN]
New dams could pose problems -- The environmental advocacy group, World Wide Fund for Nature, has recently reported that many of the new dams around the world that have been built to provide hydroelectric power and water for irrigation actually are destroying important water sources by destroying wetlands, resulting in economic disruption. [ENN]
Irrigation claimed to be a boon to Nebraska -- A study by the Nebraska Policy Institutes indicates that irrigation across the Cornhusker State has added approximately $4.3 billion to the state's economy and created 45,000 jobs in 2003. [US Water News Online]
Relaxed water standards considered -- The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is easing restrictions on the turbidity of waste water discharged into state waters by industry, including paper mills, factories and construction. [US Water News Online]
Problems with US weather satellite program -- The next generation of polar orbiting satellites that would be placed into orbit by the US to monitor clouds, sea surface temperatures and other atmospheric conditions especially in polar latitudes appears to be behind schedule and over budget. [The New Scientist]
Storms and floods in the Tarheel State featured -- A book, entitled "North Carolina Weather and Climate", has been published that features a variety of hurricanes, midlatitude storms, floods and tornadic thunderstorms that have battered the Tar Heel State. This book was authored by the former North Carolina State Climatologist. [EurekAlert!]
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.

Historical Events:

21 November 1967...Excessive rains in southern California caused the most severe flooding and the most damaging mudslides in 33 years. Downtown Los Angeles received 7.96 in. of rain, and 14 in. fell in the mountains. (David Ludlum)
21 November 1987...Truk Island (Federated States of Micronesia at 7.4 degrees N, 151.7 degrees E) was struck by the rapidly intensifying Tropical Storm Nina, as winds gusted to 95 mph. Five died and most buildings were destroyed. A storm of such intensity so close to the equator is somewhat unusual. (Accord Weather Calendar)
24 November 1981...Typhoon Irma, the worst typhoon in a decade hit the Philippines leaving 236 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
24 November 1982...Hurricane Iwa lashed the Hawaiian Islands of Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu with high winds and surf. Winds gusting to 120 mph caused extensive shoreline damage. Winds at Honolulu gusted to 81 mph. Damage totaled 150 million dollars on Kauai, and fifty million dollars on Oahu. The peak storm surge on the south shore was six to eight feet. It marked the first time in 25 years that Hawaii had been affected by a hurricane. (The Weather Channel)
26 November 1888...A late season hurricane brushed the East Coast with heavy rain and gale force winds. The hurricane passed inside Nantucket and over Cape Cod, then crossed Nova Scotia. (David Ludlum)
26-28 November 1898...The "Portland" storm raged across New England producing gale force winds along the coast and heavy snow inland. A foot of snow blanketed Boston, MA, and 27 inches fell at New London, CT. Winds at Boston gusted to 72 mph, and wind gusts to 98 mph were estimated at Block Island, RI. A passenger ship, the S.S. Portland, sank off Cape Cod with the loss of all 191 persons aboard, and Boston Harbor was filled with wrecked ships. The storm wrecked 56 vessels resulting in a total of 456 casualties. (26^th- 28^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
27-28 November 1905... Heavy snow and wind blasted the western Great Lakes with as much as seven inches of snow in northwestern Wisconsin and sustained winds of 42 mph were recorded at Duluth, MN for 29 straight hours and 65 mph winds for 13 continuous hours. Severe drifting resulted. Eighteen ships were destroyed or disabled on Lake Superior. The ship Mataafa was grounded and broke in two in Duluth harbor. Nine of the fifteen crew of the Mataafa froze to death despite running aground within 100 yards of the shore. (Accord Weather Calendar)
27-28 November 1912...Snowfall is a rare event for Florida. The record earliest snowfall for Florida, and the only November snowfall fell during the night across part of the interior counties in the far northwest (Madison to Gadsden) bordering Georgia. Up to 0.5 inches of snow was reported at Mt. Pleasant. (Accord Weather Calendar)
27 November 1930...A terrific sandstorm in Morocco supplied the dust for the "mud rain" on the following day that fell from northern France to southern England. In Belgium a number of people were asphyxiated near Liege due to poor air quality. (Accord Weather Calendar)