WEEKLY WATER NEWS

31 July-4 August 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:

• Eye on the tropics ---
  • In the Western North Pacific, former Typhoon Kaemi (a Western Pacific counterpart to a hurricane) made landfall in southeastern China early last week. Before making landfall, Kaemi had intensified to become a category 2 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. As of late last week, at least 25 people had died and more than 50 were missing in China due to former Typhoon Kaemi. [BBC] A visible image generated by Japan's satellite shows Typhoon Kaemi as it made landfall in China. [NOAA OSEI]
  • In the Central North Pacific, the former Hurricane Daniel moved toward the Hawaiian Islands, but was weakening in strength and in forward speed as it moved from the eastern to central sections of the Pacific. Earlier, this hurricane had reached a major Category-4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. [USA Today] A satellite image made from NOAA's GOES-11 satellite shows Tropical Depression Daniel 800 miles to the east-southeast of Hilo, HI late last week. [NOAA OSEI]
  • In the Eastern North Pacific, Tropical Storm Emilia moved to the northwest paralleling the Mexican coast last week before weakening to a tropical depression off Baja California. Tropical Depression Emilia is shown in this satellite image from sensors onboard NOAA's GOES-11 satellite late last week. [NOAA OSEI]
• Flooding causes problems across the US
  • Heavy rains from thunderstorms at the end of last week resulted in flooding in northern Ohio near Cleveland. One man drowned when he fell into Lake Erie at a marina. Numerous homes were either damaged or destroyed by the flooding. [USA Today]
  • Torrential rain across southern Arizona and northern Mexico late last week necessitated the rescue of 34 illegal immigrants along a flooded drainage tunnel at Nogales, AZ. Four migrants were believed lost in the floodwaters. [USA Today]
  • Severe thunderstorms developed across southern Wisconsin late last week, accompanied by strong winds and flooding rain. Between three to five inches of rain fell in sections of Madison, resulting in flooding on sections of the campus of the University of Wisconsin. [USA Today]
• Flood death toll continues to rise in North Korea -- A South Korean human rights group reported that as of last week and estimated 3000 North Koreans were either dead or missing as the result of floods and landslides caused by torrential rains associated with the summer monsoon circulation regime, along with remnants of at least one typhoon. [USA Today]
• More than half the nation is too dry -- A climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln who helps prepare the National Drought Monitor said that as of the end of last week that more than 60 percent of the US was either abnormally dry or experiencing drought conditions. The heat wave that has brought 100 degree or higher temperatures to the Plains has contributed to the misery of farmers and ranchers across the nation's midsection. Some sections of the Dakotas are experiencing conditions similar to the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. [USA Today]
• Origins and development of hurricanes investigated -- A one-month field campaign called NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses 2006 will begin shortly and consist of scientists from NASA, NOAA and a variety of universities and international agencies using data collected from satellites, aircraft and conventional surface weather stations to study how winds and airborne dust from Africa can influence the birth of hurricanes over the Atlantic Ocean. Story with images [NASA GSFC] or news item without images [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Active hurricane season contributed to a red tide -- Scientists suggest that the very active 2004 hurricane season in the Southeast may have contributed to an extensive and long-lasting algae bloom (also known as red tide) in the coastal waters of Florida. [Story with images NASA GSFC or news item without images NASA Earth Observatory]
• Large "dead zone" is forecast for northern Gulf -- Scientists from the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and Louisiana State University are predicting that the "Dead Zone", an area in the northern Gulf of Mexico devoid of sufficient amounts of dissolved oxygen to support most marine life, will be larger than the average size of the annually occurring hypoxia-affected area since 1990. They base their forecasts on the nitrate loads that have been in rivers that flow into the Gulf this past spring, along with loads from last year. [NOAA News]
• Historic images released -- NASA scientists recently released the initial images of clouds and aerosols obtained by instruments onboard the orbiting CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) spacecraft, which was launched in April 2006. The lidar device provided a vertical profile of aerosols injected into the atmosphere by the Montserrat volcano in the Caribbean. [NASA Earth Observatory] Images were also released from the sensors on the CloudSat satellite also launched by NASA in April to form part of NASA's A-train with the CALIPSO satellite. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Rain changes around desert cities -- Using a century-long precipitation record from Phoenix, AZ and data from NASA satellites, a climatologist from the University of Georgia, Atlanta concludes that the rainfall in and around desert cities as been altered by the effects of the urban heat island and pollution, as well as by changes in irrigation practices and population. [Story with images NASA GSFC or news item without images NASA Earth Observatory]
• New technology used to monitor water cycle -- Researchers at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa have been employing remote sensing technology to monitoring components of the water cycle, including precipitation and evapotranspiration, as well as soil moisture. [Iowa State University]
• African water resource authorities receive training on satellite tools -- Water resource personnel from Africa met last week at the European Space Agency's Earth Observation Centre in Frascati, Italy to be trained on using satellite radar data in helping manage water in their respective jurisdictions. This training session is part of the Space Agency's TIGER Initiative launched in 2002 following the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. [ESA]
• Study of arsenic in ground water is funded -- Researchers at Columbia University have received a $16.9 million National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences award to continue investigations of how arsenic and manganese in groundwater of New England and South Asia affect human health. [EurekAlert!]
• Cosmic dust found in ice cores could reveal clues to past climate -- Researchers from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research have analyzed an ice core from Antarctica to construct a chronology of cosmic dust fall on Antarctic ice over the last 30,000 years. The isotopic concentration of the helium-3 isotope in the dust was measured and used to see if changes in the helium flux occurred between glacial and interglacial epics. They have also improved this technique to show how dust reaching Antarctica from continental sources changed due to climatic changes. [EurekAlert!]
• New project to help Brits solve water shortage problems -- A three-year project was recently funded at the University of Liverpool that is designed to help alleviate problems associated with water shortages in southeast England caused by pollution and low rainfall totals. [EurekAlert!]
• Could ice sheets drive atmospheric carbon dioxide levels? A noted environmental scientist at the University of Virginia, William Ruddiman, has proposed a novel theory that describes the changes in ice sheets associated with the rhythmic variations in incoming solar radiation on time scales associated with the astronomically-driven Milankovitch cycles. He suggests that the periodic variations in ice sheets at time scales from the 41,000-year obliquity cycles to the 100,000-year eccentricity cycles appear to drive periodic variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide, while the carbon dioxide could control ice sheet variations on the shorter 23,000-year precessional cycle. [EurekAlert!]
• Water quality in the Colorado River Delta is monitored -- An international project led by a University of Arizona researcher has begun monitoring the water quality of the wetlands that comprise the Colorado River Delta in the Cienega de Santa Clara in Mexico. [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 -- [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

• 31 July 1769...Hail fell 12 inches deep and lasted for 30 hours at Scituate, MA. (Intellicast)
• 31 July 1861...Numerous world rainfall records were set at Cherrapunji, India as of this last day of July. These records include: 366.1 inches for a single 31-day month (during July 1861); 502.63 inches for two months (June-July 1861); 644.44 inches for three months (May-July 1861); 737.72 inches for four months (April-July 1861) and 1041.78 inches for 12 months (Aug. 1860-July 1861). (WMO, NWS)
• 31 July 1976...A stationary thunderstorm produced more than ten inches of rain in just four and one half-hours that funneled into the narrow Thompson River Canyon of northeastern Colorado. A wall of water six to eight feet high wreaked a twenty-five mile path of destruction from Estes Park to Loveland killing 156 persons. The flash flood caught campers, and caused extensive structural and highway damage. Total damage was $35.5 million. Ten miles of U.S. Highway 34 were totally destroyed as the river was twenty feet higher than normal at times. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 31 July 1978...A 50-yard wide waterspout came onshore at Kill Devil Hills, NC and destroyed a small house. One person died and four were hurt. Waterspouts are typically considered relatively benign. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 31 July 1982...Flash floods resulting from more than six inches that fell on Knoxville, TN caused three million dollars in damage. The World's Fair in Knoxville was hard hit by floodwaters on Second Creek. Water was waist deep at the Fair's north gate. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 31 July 1991...Roswell, NM closed out the month with a total of 6.68 inches of rain to set a new record for the month. (Intellicast)
• 1 August 1954...Mount Rainier in Washington State was still covered with sixteen inches of snow at the 5500-foot level following a big snow season. (David Ludlum)
• 1 August 1969...Severe hailstorm pummeled Montreal, Quebec. Hailstones measured from 0.5 to 0.75 inches in diameter. (The Weather Doctor)
• 1 August 1977...Excessive rains at Muduocaidang, China were responsible for establishing two world records, to include 33.07 inches in 6 hours and 55.12 inches in 10 hours. (WMO, NWS)
• 1 August 1985...A nearly stationary thunderstorm deluged Cheyenne, WY with rain and hail. Six inches of rain fell in six hours producing the most damaging flash flood of record for the state; a 24-hour precipitation record for the Cowboy State was also established with 6.06 inches. Two to five feet of hail covered the ground following the storm, which claimed twelve lives and caused 65 million dollars property damage. Ten of the deaths occurred along Dry Creek when people were swept away in cars while trying to cross flooded roads. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (Storm Data)
• 1 August 1986...A powerful thunderstorm produced 100-mph winds and large hail in eastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri causing 71 million dollars damage, and injuring nineteen persons. It was one of the worst thunderstorms of record for Kansas. Crops were mowed to the ground in places and roofs blown off buildings along its path, 150 miles long and 30 miles wide, from near Abilene to southeast of Pittsburg. Hail 3 inches in diameter fell at Sun City and Belvidere. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 1-3 August 1989...Hurricane Chantal made landfall along the Upper Texas coast about sunrise on the 1^st. Chantal deluged parts of Galveston Island and southeastern Texas with 8 to 12 inches of rain. Unofficial totals ranged up to twenty inches. Winds gusted to 82 mph at Galveston, and reached 76 mph in the Houston area. Tides were 5 to 7 feet high. The hurricane claimed two lives, and caused 100 million dollars damage. The remains of Hurricane Chantal also deluged north central Texas with heavy rain. Up to 6.50 inches drenched Stephens County, and Wichita Falls reported 2.22 inches of rain in just one hour on the 2^nd. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 2-3 August 1922...A typhoon hit the China Coast at Swatow on the night of the 2^nd. The wind and the storm surge killed as many as 50,000 of the city's 65,000 residents. Barometric pressure at landfall had dropped to at least 932.3 millibars (27.53 inches). (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 2 August 1954...Severe thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail for thirty minutes in north central Kansas. One drift measured 200 feet long, seventy feet wide and three feet deep. (The Weather Channel)
• 3 August 1898...Philadelphia, PA had one of its worst thunderstorms ever when 5.84 inches fell in just 2 hours. The hydraulic pressure in the city sewers due to the force of the accumulated runoff caused overflows in toilets, basins and sinks to rise to second-floor levels in some cases. (Intellicast) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 3 August 1970...Hurricane Celia made landfall near Port Aransas on the Texas coast, producing wind gusts to 161 mph at Corpus Christi, and estimated wind gusts of 180 mph at Arkansas Pass. Even at Del Rio, 250 miles inland, Celia produced wind gusts to 89 mph. The hurricane was the most destructive of record along the Texas coast causing 454 million dollars damage as 8950 homes were destroyed on the Coastal Bend. Celia also claimed eleven lives and injured 466 people. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 3 August 1987...A severe thunderstorm moved across Cheyenne, WY during the midafternoon. The thunderstorm produced hailstones up to two inches in diameter causing more than 37 million dollars damage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 3 August 1995...South Bend, IN received 4.83 inches of rain in 24 hours to set the city's greatest daily rainfall record. (Intellicast)
• 3-4 August 1978...The remnants of Tropical Storm Amelia produced up to 32 inches of rain on Schackelford County in Texas, an incredible amount of rain for a far-inland and non-mountainous area. A twenty-foot wall of water killed six during the evening of the 4^th in Albany, resulting in 89 percent of the city being covered by water. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4(?) August 1609...A tempest struck the western Atlantic Ocean scattering small British convoy headed to Virginia. Two vessels sank; another, the Sea Venture was presumed lost. However, a ship made landfall on Bermuda, shipwrecking the crew. After a ten-month stay to build two small rescue boats, they sailed to Jamestown (Virginia) Colony. Incident accounts may have provided William Shakespeare with background material for The Tempest. (The Weather Doctor)
• 4 August 1666...A violent hurricane raked the island of Guadeloupe, destroying all boats along its coast, including a 17-ship fleet with 2000 troops. The island's batteries, with 6-foot thick walls, were destroyed and the 16-pounders (large cannons) were washed away. (The Weather Doctor) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 4 August 1995...Thunderstorms generated 5 to 6-foot waves on Flathead Lake, a 26-mile long lake in northwest Montana. Some of the waves generated by a distant thunderstorm crashed ashore at Lakeside, damaging boats, sea walls and docks. At the time, calm conditions were reported at Lakeside. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5 August 1843...A spectacular cloudburst at Chester Creek, near Philadelphia, PA turned the small creeks and streams entering the Delaware River into raging torrents. As much as sixteen inches of rain fell in just three hours at Concord, which still stands as the greatest amount of precipitation in a three hour span in the U.S. Flooding destroyed thirty-two county bridges, and caused nineteen deaths. Several small tornadoes are believed to have accompanied the torrential rains, one of which upset and sank more than thirty barges on the Schuylkill River. Fifteen inches of rain also fell at Newark, NJ. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
• 5 August 1983...One of many Western Plains thunderstorms dumped 2.89 inches of rain in 38 minutes at Denver, CO. (Intellicast)
• 5 August 1988...Floods ravaged parts of Sudan during August, the result of 8.27 inches of rain that fell in Khartoum in 13 hours on the 4^th and 5^th. The previous 24-hour record at Khartoum was 3.46 inches. More than one million people were made homeless. At least 96 died in Sudan's worst flooding sine 1946. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 5-7 August 1997...Although far to the southwest, Hurricane Guillermo generated surf to 12-foot heights along the beaches of southern California. In Newport Beach, lifeguards made almost 300 rescues on the 5^th and 6^th. Rip currents were responsible for one death and three injuries. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 6 August 1890...Thunderstorms left four inches of hail covering the ground in Adair County and Union County in Iowa. The hail drifted into six-foot mounds, and in some places remained on the ground for twenty-six days until the end of the month. (The Weather Channel)
• 6 August 1905...Princeton, IN received 10.50 inches of rain, which established a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Hoosier State. (NCDC)
• 5-6 August 1959...A bucket survey showed that thunderstorms dropped 16.70 inches of rain on parts of Decatur County, IA. The total was accepted as Iowa's 24-hour rainfall record. (The Weather Channel)
  Hurricane Dot crossed Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands producing sustained winds of 103 mph and gusts to 125 mph. Over 6 inches of rain fell there and over 9 inches on the island of Hawaii. The sugar cane crop on Kauai sustained $2.7 million in damages. (Intellicast)
• 6 August 1987...Afternoon thunderstorms deluged Milwaukee, WI, breaking all previous rainfall records for the city. Among the records: 1.10 inches in 5 minutes, 3.06 inches in 1 hour, 5.24 inches in 2 hours, 6.24 in 6 hours and 6.84 inches in 24 hours. Floodwaters were four feet deep at the Milwaukee County Stadium, and floodwaters filled the basement of the main terminal at the airport. Flooding caused 5.9 million dollars damage, and claimed the life of one person. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

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