2-6 May 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.

• Hurricane awareness tour to begin along East Coast -- NOAA "hurricane hunter" aircraft will travel to five East Coast cities from Maine to Florida this week on a mission designed to increase the public's awareness of hurricanes and to encourage greater preparedness in communities vulnerable to the effects of a land falling hurricane. National Hurricane Preparedness week will be in two weeks. [NOAA News]
• Study of Lake Erie "Dead Zone" commences -- Researchers with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory along with the US Environmental Protection Agency and 15 universities in the US and Canada began a two-year project called the "International Field Years on Lake Erie" that will study the lake, focusing upon the "dead zone", an area of low oxygen that develops each summer. [NOAA News]
• Hurricanes contribute to poor lake health -- Scientists and local residents report that last year's hurricanes churned the waters of Florida's Lake Okeechobee and contributed to its failing health in terms of water quality and aquatic life. [USA Today]
• Planetary energy budget out of balance -- Using data collected from ocean submersibles and satellites, along with statistics from computer models to study the earth's oceans, scientists from NASA, Columbia University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have concluded that an energy imbalance between the amount of sunlight absorbed by the planet and the infrared radiation emitted to space has resulted in an increase in ocean heat content over the past decade. [NASA]
• Utah braces for spring runoff -- The heavy winter snow along with a cold and wet spring could signal flooding in Utah, reminding some residents of the serious flooding in 1983. [USA Today]
• Drought shrinking the Big Muddy -- The six-year drought across the West has caused Missouri River levels to drop to near record levels, resulting in significant impacts upon a variety of industries in the river shed that covers seven states. [USA Today]
• Ice jams cause flooding in Alaska -- Last week's record warmth across Alaska caused ice jams to develop on some of the state's rivers, including the Tanana, which overflowed its banks. [USA Today]
• River restoration efforts noted -- Scientists from across the nation are developing the first comprehensive database listing the current nationwide river restoration projects, including those at:
• University of Maryland describing their efforts in Chesapeake Bay. [EurekAlert!]
• University of Georgia who report that 600 streams in Georgia fail to meet Clean Water Act standards. [EurekAlert!]
• Academy of Natural Science reporting on a stream in Pennsylvania. [EurekAlert!]
• University of Michigan describing their analyses of the ecological successes of restoration projects in Michigan. [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.

• 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 U.S. Air Forces vainly attempted to break up an 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 in. of rain over the metropolitan area in a couple of hours. Damage was set at $36 million. (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 in. 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 in. in 30 minutes and 5 in. in one hour across Dallas caused unprecedented flash flooding, resulting in 16 deaths. Total damage in Forth Worth alone was estimated at $2 billion, 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 $1 million in 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. The following account appeared 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 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 in. of rain in only 2 hours. Several locations had over 14 in. total ending early on the 9^th. Five people were killed in the flooding and damage exceeded $1 billion. (Intellicast)

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Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2005, The American Meteorological Society.