3-7 May 2004

Water in the Earth System will return for Fall 2004 with new Water News and Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 30 August 2004. All the current online homepage products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

• The Federal government could impose water restrictions -- Faced with a continued drought, the US Department of Interior is posed to place additional restrictions on the use of Colorado River water by Arizona and other states if adequate state water conservation plans are not prepared within the next several years. [The Arizona Republic]

• 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.

• 3 May 1761...Large tornadoes swept the Charleston, SC harbor when a British Fleet of 40 sails was at anchor. It raised a wave 12 feet high, leaving many vessels on their beam-ends. Four people drowned. (Intellicast)
• 5 May 1945...The US Air Forces vainly attempted to destroy ice jam near Bishop Rock on the Yukon River in the Yukon Territory with 33 250-kg bombs and 44 50-kg bombs. (The Weather Doctor)
• 5 May 1981...Mobile, AL had its worst flash flooding ever as thunderstorms unloaded 8 to 16 inches of rain over the metropolitan area in a couple of hours. Damage was set at 36 million dollars. (Intellicast)
• 5 May 1990...A strong Pacific cold front moving rapidly inland caused weather conditions at the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington State to quickly change from sunny and calm to westerly winds of 60 mph and ten-foot waves. Three recreational fishing boats capsized in heavy seas off Port Angeles resulting in five deaths. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 5 May 1995...A supercell thunderstorm rapidly developed just ahead of a fast moving bow echo squall line and blasted Tarrant County, Texas. Large hail up to 5 inches in diameter, driven by 80-mph winds, caused a tremendous amount of damage. As many as 10,000 people were caught out in the open at Mayfest in Downtown Forth Worth, resulting in 109 injuries from the large hail. Torrential rains of up to 3 inches in 30 minutes and 5 inches in one hour across Dallas caused unprecedented flash flooding, resulting in 16 deaths. Total damage in Forth Worth alone was estimated at 2 billion dollars, making this the costliest thunderstorm event in U.S. history. This was the third severe hailstorm to strike the area in only a little over a month. (Intellicast)
• 6 May 1937...The hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg crashed at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed of the 97 onboard. Static electricity in the air from a nearby thunderstorm may have been a factor in the disaster.
• 7 May 1988...A powerful storm in the north central U.S. produced up to three feet of snow in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming and the mountains of south central Montana. Up to five inches of rain drenched central Montana in less than 24 hours, and flash flooding in Wyoming caused a million dollars damage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 8 May 1360...Thousands were reported killed in a severe hailstorm at Chartres, France. (The Weather Doctor)
• 8 May 1784...A deadly hailstorm in South Carolina hit the town of Winnsborough. An account was found in the South Carolina Gazette: "hailstones, or rather pieces of ice measured about 9 inches in circumference: it killed several persons. A great number of sheep, lambs, geese, and the feathered inhabitants of the woods without number". Piles of hail were reported still in existence 46 days later. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• 8 May 1981...The Dallas/Fort Worth area experienced its worst hailstorm of record as baseball to grapefruit size hail, accompanied by 100-mph winds, caused nearly 200 million dollars damage. Two homes were destroyed and many more were damaged. These figures made it the worst severe thunderstorm in American weather history until 1990. Hail accumulated eight inches deep at Cedar Hill, TX. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 8 May 1992...A vigorous upper level low-pressure system stalled out over the Carolinas for the previous three days unloaded tremendous amounts of snow over the western North Carolina mountains above 4000 feet. Mt. Pisgah (elevation 5721 feet) recorded an incredible 60 inches over the 3-day period, tying the all-time single storm snowfall record for the state. Mt. Mitchell (elevation 6684 feet) was buried under 30 inches of very wet snow. On the previous day, the Greenville-Spartanburg Weather Service Office in Greer, SC had snow mixed with rain, making this the latest date and the first time in May that snow had fallen at this location. (Intellicast)
• 8 May 1995...Thunderstorms with torrential rains struck the New Orleans, LA area. Audubon Park recorded 8.5 inches of rain in only 2 hours. Several locations had over 14 inches total ending early on the 9^th. Five people were killed in the flooding and damage exceeded one billion dollars. (Intellicast)
• 9 May 1980...A blinding squall, followed by dense fog, reduced visibility to near zero at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida. A ship hit the bridge piling, causing a 1200-foot section of the bridge to fall 150 feet into the bay. Several vehicles, including a bus drove off the edge of the span, resulting in 35 deaths. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 9 May 1990...A tropical cyclone hit the southeast coast of India, killing 1000 people, even though 400,000 people evacuated because of early warning of the storm. More than 100 miles of coast were devastated as winds reached 125 mph and a storm surge measured at 22 feet flooded inland as far as 22 miles. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

Return to WES Homepage

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.