6-10 June 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.

• NOAA Storm Tracker unveiled -- In anticipation of the upcoming 2005 North Atlantic hurricane season, officials with NOAA unveiled a new website called NOAA Storm Tracker that will have live links to advisories, tracking maps and satellite images of those storms that are projected to strike the United States or other nations in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean. [NOAA News]
• "Break the Grip of the Rip™" -- NOAA officials have designated this upcoming week of 5-11 June 2005 as the first national Rip Current Awareness Week. Using the theme, Break The Grip of the Rip™, efforts are meant to heighten public awareness of rip currents at surf beaches that claim the lives of as many as 100 people in the United States annually. [NWS Rip Current Safety]
• Flooding is deadly in China -- Torrential rains over the mountains of central China early last week resulted in floods that killed at least 11 people and caused the evacuation of 60,000. [USA Today]
• Australia experiencing a major drought -- Australia's National Climate Centre recently reported that the agricultural areas of Australia were experiencing the worst drought in more than 60 years, adversely affecting the region's economic growth. [USA Today]
• A very dry spring in the Sooner State -- According to the Oklahoma State Climatologist, preliminary statewide precipitation data across the Sooner State indicate that the just concluded meteorological spring season (March, April and May) was the second driest since reliable climate records began in 1895. Because of the lack of thunderstorms, only one tornado was reported in the state during the month of May, which is also a record for a state that is in "Tornado Alley". [USA Today]
• Caribbean nations bracing for a new hurricane season -- Amidst the continued recovery from last year's hurricanes, officials in several Caribbean nations were preparing for the possibility of hurricanes this season. [USA Today]
• Climatic change could cause arctic lakes to disappear -- A researcher with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks recently reported that after tracking over 10,000 large arctic lakes across Siberia and Alaska's Seward Peninsula from satellite data, he points to continued warming across the Arctic as being responsible for the shrinkage and possible disappearance of some of these lakes. [EurekAlert!]
• Water quality study funded -- A $14 million grant was awarded to the Superfund Basic Research Program at the University of Arizona for several research projects that are aimed at detecting, removing and preventing water contamination in the Southwest. [EurekAlert!]
• Spread of invasive aquatic species linked to more reservoirs -- Scientists at Southwest Missouri State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison indicate that construction of reservoirs around the world may also cause an increase in the spread of various invasive aquatic plant species at a much faster pace than in natural lakes and waterways. [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.

• 6-10 June 1816...Late season snow fell across New England and eastern Canada. The editor of the Bangor (ME) Register observed that individual snowflakes that fell on Bangor during the afternoon of the 6^th covered areas up to two inches in diameter. Snow fell near Quebec City, Quebec over a 5-day period accumulating to 12 inches with "drifts reaching the axel trees of carriages" during this infamous Year Without a Summer. The Montreal Gazette reported that this "Extraordinary Season" gave snow squalls to the city on the 6^th and 8^th. On the 7^th, a famous June snow fell in the northeastern U.S. Danville, VT reported drifts of snow and sleet twenty inches deep. The Highlands were white all day, and snow flurries were observed as far south as Boston MA. Waltham, MA reported a low temperature of 33 degrees and New Haven, CT had a low of 35 degrees (David Ludlum) (Intellicast) (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 6 June 1894...One of the greatest floods in U.S. history occurred as the Williamette River overflowed to inundate half of the business district of Portland, OR. (David Ludlum)
• 7 June 1972...Richmond, VA experienced its worst flood of record as rains from Hurricane Agnes pushed the water level at the city locks to a height of 36.5 feet, easily topping the previous record of thirty feet set in 1771. (The Weather Channel)
• 7-11 June 2001...Tropical Storm Allison made landfall along the Texas Gulf Coast near Galveston early on the 6^th and drifted northward before becoming stationary as a depression later in the day near Lufkin. Later, it began to drift back southward, moving offshore over the Gulf late on the 9^th at nearly the same place as it had made landfall. On the 11th, Allison became extratropical as it moved from near Morgan City, LA across southern Mississippi. Allison caused disastrous flooding across the Upper Texas Gulf Coast, especially in the Houston where a storm total of 36.99 inches fell at Port Houston. Twenty-three people lost their lives in Texas. Damage in the region amounted to $5 billion, which included 45,000 homes, 70,000 vehicles, and 2000 businesses. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 8 June 1960...Hail the size of chicken eggs fell for 45 minutes on Hooker, OK. Nearly four inches of rain also accompanied this storm. Much property and crop damage was reported. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 8-9 June 1991...Two days of rain at Bombay, India topped 30 inches, the heaviest in four decades for this western India city. (The Weather Doctor)
• 9 June 1966...Hurricane Alma made landfall over the eastern Florida Panhandle near Alligator Point during the evening-- the earliest land-falling hurricane on the U.S. mainland on record. Peak sustained winds were near 90 mph. Highest winds reached 125 mph and lowest pressure 970.2 millibars (28.65 inches) were reported at the Dry Tortugas on the 8^th. (Intellicast) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 9 June 1972...A cloudburst along the eastern slopes of the Black Hills of South Dakota produced as much as 14 inches of rain resulting in the Rapid City flash flood disaster. The rains, which fell in about four hours, caused the Canyon Lake Dam to collapse. A wall of water swept through the city drowning 238 people, injuring 2932, and causing more than 100 million dollars property damage. (David Ludlum)
• 9 June 1989...Severe weather abated for a day; however, showers and thunderstorms continued to drench the eastern U.S. with torrential rains. Milton, FL was deluged with 15.47 inches in 24 hours. Record heat and prolonged drought in south central Texas left salt deposits on power lines and insulators near the coast, and when nighttime dew caused arcing, the city of Brownsville was plunged into darkness. (The National Weather Summary)
• 9 June 1990...San Diego, CA set a new record rainfall amount on this date, as 0.38 in. of rain fell breaking the old record of 0.13 in. established in 1892. Moisture from the remains of Hurricane Boris was responsible for this rare rain event. (Intellicast)
• 10 June 1752...This day is believed to when Benjamin Franklin narrowly missed electrocution while flying a kite during a thunderstorm to determine if lightning is related to electricity. (David Ludlum)
• 10 June 1967...Fergus, Ontario received 3.4 in. of rain in one hour. (The Weather Doctor)
• 10 June 1990...Rains of between 0.75 to more than 1.5 in. in less than one hour caused flash flooding in Las Vegas, NV. Every underpass and most city streets were flooded. Two people died because of the floods, with one woman in a vehicle swept one mile down a concrete wash. A four-foot wall of water swept a bus with 15 people to within 40 feet of Flamingo Wash. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 11 June 1965...Heavy rains fell on unusually deep snowpack in the high Uinta Mountains of Utah. After local midnight, a flash flood roared down Sheep Creek Canyon, destroying three recreational areas, seven bridges and five miles of newly paved roads. Seven people were swept away while sleeping at Palisades Campground. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 11 June 1972...Heavy showers brought 1.64 in. of rain to Phoenix, AZ, a record for the month of June. (The Weather Channel)
• 12 June 1983...The state of Utah was besieged by floods and mudslides. Streets in downtown Salt Lake City were sandbagged and turned into rivers. The town of Thistle was completely inundated as a mudslide made a natural dam. (The Weather Channel)
• 12 June 1991...On the same day that Mt Pinatubo in the Philippines awakened from its 635-year slumber, Typhoon Yunya crossed Luzon province. Mudslides and flooding caused many deaths and when added to the impacts of Pinatubo left more than a million homeless. (The Weather Doctor)
• 12-13 June 2000...With 15 to 20 in. of rain falling on parts of Grand Forks County in North Dakota, flooding waters washed out a gravel road to a depth of 30 ft west of Larimore. Two men in a vehicle were killed when they drove into this newly-formed canyon. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

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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.