WEEKLY WATER NEWS

3-7 July 2006

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

Water in the News:

• WELCOME to the weather and ocean educators attending the Seventh International Conference on School and Popular Meteorological and Oceanographic Education (EWOC 2006) and the 2006 Project Atmosphere-DataStreme Workshop that are being held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder CO from 3 to 7 July 2006. (EWOC=Education: Weather, Oceans, Climate)
• Way out there!...The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun early this evening (officially at 23Z on Monday, 3 July 2006, which is equivalent to 7 PM EDT or 6 PM CDT). At aphelion, the earth-sun distance is 152,089,000 km, or 3.4% greater than the distance at perihelion, the smallest earth-sun distance, which occurred earlier this year on the morning of 3 January.
• New GPS satellite software may aid in timely tsunami warnings -- Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno and other institutions have been using GPS (Global Positioning System) software developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to monitor ocean floor and ocean waves from satellites, thereby shorting the time that an ocean-wide tsunami warning is issued to 15 minutes. [NASA JPL]
• NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory turns 50 -- The NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory on top of the Mauna Loa volcanic peak on Hawaii's Big Island made famous by the well-known monitoring of atmospheric carbon dioxide marked its 50th anniversary last week. In addition to measuring carbon dioxide, this atmospheric monitoring facility also measures more than 50 other trace gas species such as methane, as well as radiation. [NOAA News]
• Lightning and summer activity can be deadly -- Officials with the National Weather Service caution the public that summer is a time for increased lightning activity that could be deadly in light of the numerous outdoor activities that are held. These officials indicate that 43 people died in the US during 2006, with 13 fatalities occurring in July, 11 in June and 9 in August. [NOAA News] National Weather Service officials are debunking a myth that cell phones attract lightning. [NWSFO Milwaukee-Sullivan] [Editor's note: Although cell phones do not necessarily attract lightning, people with corded phones should refrain from using this equipment during a thunderstorm, since a lightning surge could travel along the wire and through the corded phone and seriously injure or kill the person on the phone. EJH]
• Lightning and water do not mix -- Two teenagers were struck and injured by lightning last week while they were on a paddle boat on a lake in northern Indiana. [USA Today]
• Monitoring the Greenland ice sheet from space --Images obtained from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument onboard NASA's Terra satellite indicate that the areal extent of melting of the Greenland ice sheet has been on a record pace as of late June 2006, following a record melt in June 2005. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Heavy rain produces flooding across the Middle Atlantic States --Widespread and persistent heavy rain fell across a large section of the Middle Atlantic States last week, resulting in major flooding that extended from the Washington, DC metropolitan area northward into the Delaware Valley of New York and New Jersey.
  • Assessment from space -- The Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis program, developed at the Goddard Space Flight Center, estimated that over six inches of rain fell across Maryland and Delaware using rainfall estimates obtained from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. [NASA Earth Observatory]
  • Northeastern floods were deadly -- The torrential rains of early last week caused massive flooding across sections of Upstate New York and adjoining sections of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, especially in the Delaware, Mohawk and upper Susquehanna Valleys. As of late last week, at least 10 people had died because of the floods across the Northeast, more than 100,000 people displaced and millions of dollars in property damaged or destroyed. [CNN]
  • Floods damage roads and bridges in Vermont -- More thunderstorms at the end of last week caused additional flooding that resulted in mudslides, washed out bridges and damaged highways across the Green Mountain State. [USA Today]
  • Floods endangered artifacts in the nation's capital -- Flooding in Washington, DC resulted in the closing of some of the museums and other governmental buildings. While no historic artifacts or documents were damaged due to the floods at the National Archives, the electric wiring was damaged because of 8-feet of water in the basement, resulting in increased humidity levels when the climate control devices shut down. [USA Today]
  • Floods could stress Chesapeake Bay -- The heavy rain that fell across Pennsylvania and the Susquehanna River watershed produced a near record flood on the river that empties into Chesapeake Bay. This flood water could be extremely harmful to the crab and shellfish populations in the Bay, the nation's largest estuary. [USA Today]
• Tropical ice cores document abrupt shifts in global climate -- Researchers at the Ohio State University, the University of Texas, the University of Connecticut and the University of Louisville have reconstructed a climate record from tropical ice cores obtained from the high altitude glaciers in the South American Andes and the Asian Himalayas that indicate major abrupt changes in the global climate at approximately 5000 years ago and again during the second half of the 20th century. [Ohio State University News]
• Groundwater permeability of rock changes after earthquakes -- Using a long record of water levels in wells, scientists at several of the University of California campuses have discovered that the permeability of some rocks to subsurface water and other fluids is increased following an earthquake because of the shaking from the seismic waves. This discovery could have implications involving oil extraction. [EurekAlert!]
• A new and improved water-purification method could be on the horizon -- Researchers at the Delft University of Technology are developing a new aerobic granular sludge technology method for purifying water that could be compact and environmentally-friendly. [EurekAlert!]
• Memories of Ice Age floods are slated to be saved -- The US Congress may establish hiking trails in eastern Washington State that could allow the public to view the ripples that were made in terrain of the region by a large catastrophic flood with up to 1500 feet height that occurred approximately 15,000 years ago during the last Ice Age. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
• 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:

• Month of July 1861...The greatest one-month of precipitation ever measured globally (366 inches) was recorded at Cherrapunji, India. Total rainfall for the period 1 August 1860 to 31 July 1861 was the greatest rainfall in one year ever recorded (1,041.78 inches). (The Weather Doctor)
• Month of July 1931...The July- August 1931 flood in the Yangtze basin of China affected over 51 million people or one-quarter of China's population. As many as 3.7 million people perished from this great 20^th century disaster due to disease, starvation or drowning. (The Weather Doctor)
• 3 July 1992...At 11 PM EDT, several waves to heights of 18 feet crashed ashore at Daytona Beach, FL. Sailboats were tossed onto cars, 200 vehicles damaged and 75 minor injuries reported. While the exact cause was unknown, morning storms were moving parallel to the coast approximately 430 miles to the east. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4 July 1876...Severe thunderstorms hit the Midwest and a dam failed at Rockdale, IL. Flood destroyed a railroad bridge and swept through the town. Forty-two people perished. (Intellicast)
• 4 July 1956...A world record for the most rain in one minute was set at Unionville, MD with a downpour of 1.23 inches. (The Weather Channel) (The National Severe Storms Forecast Center)
• 4 July 1969...Severe thunderstorms produced winds to over 100 mph and very heavy rains across northern Ohio. From 4 to 15 inches of rain fell from late evening into the next morning producing major flash flooding. Forty-one were killed, 559 injuries and damage exceeded $66 million. (Intellicast)
• 5 July 1916...An early season hurricane produced 82 mph winds, an 11.6 foot tide, and a barometric pressure of 28.92 inches at Mobile, AL. (David Ludlum)
• 5 July 1989...Moisture from what once was Tropical Storm Allison triggered thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, which deluged Wilmington, DE with a record 6.83 inches of rain in 24 hours, including 6.37 inches in just six hours. Up to ten inches of rain was reported at Claymont, northeast of Wilmington. July 1989 was thus the wettest month in seventy years for Wilmington, with a total of 12.63 inches of rain. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
• 5 July 1993...Heavy rains deluged the Central Plains as one of the greatest floods in U.S. history began to unfold. Twenty-four hour totals included 5.90 inches at Columbia, IA, 5.15 inches at Centralia, KS and 4.80 inches at Haddam, KS. (Intellicast)
• 6 July 1986...Thunderstorm rains during the mid morning hours, and again during the evening, produced major flash flooding at Leavenworth, KS. The official rainfall total was 10.37 inches, but unofficial totals exceeded twelve inches. At nearby Kansas City, the rainfall total of 5.08 inches was a daily record for July. (Storm Data)
• 7 July 2001...Six people were injured by lightning in Rogaland, Norway, disproving the myth that polar latitudes have few lightning hazards. (NWS and 45th Weather Squadron, USAF).
• 8 July 1788...Hail fell at Canterbury, CT to a depth of 34 inches. Serious flooding resulted when it melted. (Intellicast)
• 8 July 1935...Ten inches of rain at Cortland, NY in 48 hours caused damaging floods on the Susquehanna and Hudson River Valleys. (Intellicast)
• 8 July 2001...Flash flooding produced 5 to 9 foot deep water that eventually wiped out most of downtown Mullens, WV. People trapped in their homes by the flooding saw caskets from the local funeral home floating down various streets. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 9 July 1950...The town of York, NE was deluged with 13.15 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a record for the Cornhusker State. (The Weather Channel)
• 9 July 1968...Columbus, MS received 15.68 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)
• 9 July 1988...The percentage of total area in the country in the grips of severe to extreme drought reached 43 percent, the fourth highest total of record. The record of 61 percent occurred during the summer of 1934. (The National Weather Summary)

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.