WEEKLY WATER NEWS

8-12 May 2006

Water in the Earth System will return for Fall 2006 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 28 August 2006. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Water in the News:

• La Niña should have little affect on 2006 Atlantic hurricanes -- Using sea-surface height and surface wind data from two NASA satellites in a coupled atmosphere-ocean land computer model, NASA oceanographers believe that the current La Niña event, with lower than average sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, should not have much of an impact on the number of hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin during this upcoming hurricane season. While La Niña events typically increase the number of hurricanes in that basin, the La Niña event appears to be waning. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Cyclone produces flooding -- NASA released two images, spaced a week apart, obtained from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor onboard the Aqua satellite showing the magnitude of the flooding in Myanmar (Burma) produced by Cyclone Mala that made landfall in this Southeast Asian country on 28 April 2006. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Waters where hurricanes form have warmed -- Scientists at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory have reported that the tropical Atlantic where many hurricanes and other tropical cyclones typically form has warmed by several tenths of a Celsius degree during the 20th century. These researchers claim that their climate model simulations appear to suggest that human activity has contributed significantly to this warming. [NOAA News]
• Satellite images of recent tropical cyclones -- NASA scientists recently posted several impressive satellite images of tropical cyclones with hurricane-force winds that have been moving across the tropical waters of the Eastern Hemisphere within the last week:
  • Tropical Cyclone Mala traveled to the northeast across the Bay of Bengal toward Myanmar (also known as Burma) with maximum sustained winds of over 130 mph. [NASA Earth Observatory] Early last Saturday (local time) Mala made landfall along the coast approximately 120 miles to the northwest of the capital city, Yangon (or Rangoon), resulting in damage to buildings and several deaths. [CNN]
  • Tropical Cyclone Monica, a category-5 system on the Saffir Simpson Scale, hit the coast of Australia's Northern Territory, accompanied by maximum sustained winds of at least 175 mph and gusts to 225 mph. [NASA Earth Observatory] An Australian weather forecaster claimed that Monica was possibly the worst cyclone (the Australian counterpart for a hurricane) to hit the country, even more powerful that Tropical Cyclone Tracy that hit Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974. [USA Today] [Reuters AlertNet]
• Unusually wet summer in southern Africa documented -- Two images made of northern Namibia by astronauts on the International Space Station show the increased flow of the Ekuma River into the Etosha Pan, a dry lakebed in the Kalahari Desert. The lake level and the river were above average as austral summer rains were nearly twice normal over the catchment. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Studying the North American Monsoon -- Scientists from NASA, NOAA, Mexico, Belize and Costa Rica are beginning to provide preliminary results from the North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) held across the Southwestern US and northwest Mexico, which collected extensive atmospheric, oceanic, and land surface observations from satellites, aircraft, radar and surface weather stations. [NASA GSFC]
• Update on CryoSat validation experiment -- The team of European scientists and students from the Climate Change College who are participating in the European Space Agency's CryoSat validation experiment have set up their base camp on the Greenland ice sheet. They are also using a satellite-based broadband global area network for communications worldwide. [ESA]
• Satellite imagery helps African wetland managers -- The European Space Agency has helped develop GlobWetland, a program that utilizes satellite imagery along with a variety of other products to provide wetland managers from around the world detailed and high resolution views of individual wetlands as an air conservation efforts. Recently, GlobWetland hosted a training seminar in Kenya for wetland managers from six African nations. [ESA]
• Climatic change could be slowing the tropical Pacific atmospheric circulation -- A scientist with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research claims that changes in the global climate associated with higher temperatures appear to be reducing the strength of an atmospheric circulation regime called the Walker circulation that parallels the equator, extending from Indonesia eastward across the Pacific to South America. He notes that observations since the mid-nineteenth century indicate a 3.5% weakening of this circulation. [EurekAlert!]
• A drought information system gets Congressional attention -- The National Integrated Drought Information System Bill that is aimed at helping state and local governments prepare for and respond to droughts was passed by the House Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards last week. The full Science Committee will hear the bill later this month. [US House Committee on Science] [Western Governors' Association]
• Spring rains appear to be a drought-buster in Illinois -- Above average precipitation in March and April across Illinois appears to have eliminated one of the worst droughts in recent history across much of the Prairie State. [USA Today]
• Dead Sea is vanishing -- During the last half-century, the surface area of the Dead Sea in the Middle East has shrunk by one-third and the surface level has dropped by 80 feet, the result of the diversion of Jordan River water flowing into the Dead Sea by Syria, Jordan and Israel for agricultural and hydroelectric purposes. Concerned with major ecological and economic disaster, officials are considering running water from the Red Sea by a canal. [BBC News]
• Spring comes to Alaska -- The ice on the Tanana River broke last Tuesday (2 May 2005) as eight winners were declared in the 90th annual Nenana Ice Classic, which had a jackpot of $270,500. The median date for ice-breakup is 5 May. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]
• 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.

Historical Events:

• 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)
• 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. The Liberian freighter SS Summit Venture 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) (Wikipedia).
• 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)
• 10 May 1977...An unprecedented spring snowstorm, hit southern New England and southeastern New York. This storm, which began on the 9^th, was an elevation storm. Twenty inches of snow fell at Norfolk, CT (elevation 1337 feet) while downtown Hartford received only 1.2 inches. The highest total occurred at Slide Mountain, NY (elevation 2600 feet) with 26 inches falling. Extensive damage to trees and power lines occurred with 500,000 people without power following the storm. This was the first May snow in 107 years of records at Boston, MA although only 1/2 inch fell there. However, in the nearby suburb of Bedford, 9.5 inches fell. Of particular interest is the fact that Concord, NH received all rain from the storm, demonstrating latitude farther north played no role in this snowstorm. (Intellicast)
• 10-11 May 1991...Floodwaters from Soldier Creek and White River washed out many roads and bridges, including 20 miles of railroad track and 42 railroad bridges in the Nebraska Panhandle. In Oral, SD, houses were carried several hundred feet by floodwaters. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 11 May 1833...The ship Lady of the Lake struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic while bound from England to Quebec, resulting in the loss of 215 lives. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 11-12 May 1965...The first of two cyclones that struck East Pakistan (now called Bangladesh) during the year made landfall. This system, along with the one on 1-2 June killed about 47,000 people.
• 12 May 1916...Plumb Point, Jamaica reported 17.80 inches of rain in 15 minutes, which set a world record. (The Weather Doctor)
• 12 May 1972...In Texas, a cloudburst dumped sixteen inches of rain north of New Braunfels sending a thirty foot wall of water down Blueders Creek into the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers washing away people, houses and automobiles. The flood claimed 18 lives and caused more than twenty million dollars damage. (The Weather Channel)
• 12 May 1989...Showers and thunderstorms associated with a low-pressure system stalled over New York State drenched Portland, ME with 4.50 inches of rain in 24 hours. Rains of 5 to 7 inches soaked the state of Maine over a four-day period causing 1.3 million dollars damage. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 13 May 1930...A man was killed when caught in an open field during a hailstorm 36 miles northwest of Lubbock, TX, the first, and perhaps the only, authentic death by hail in U.S. weather records. (David Ludlum)
• 13-14 May 1989...Heavy rain and snow fell along Colorado's Front Range and the north central mountains, with 20 inches of snow recorded at Echo Lake. A 30-ton boulder, loosened by the wet weather, tumbled onto Interstate 70 east of the Eisenhower Tunnel. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)

Return to DataStreme WES Website

Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2006, The American Meteorological Society.