WEEKLY WATER NEWS

9-13 July 2007

Water in the Earth System will return for Fall 2007 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 27 August 2007. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

Water in the News:

• Mountain snowpack diminished by dust -- Images of the snowpack on southwestern Colorado's San Juan Mountains obtained from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite in 2005 and 2006 show a diminished snowpack. The reduced snowpack lends credence to the finding of researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder that dust blown onto this snowpack from the drought regions of the Southwest has shortened the duration of the snowpack by up to one month. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Satellites monitor devastating floods across nation's midsection -- Two images obtained from the MODIS instruments on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites since mid-June show the flooding that has occurred along the Red River in north Texas and southern Oklahoma. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Records distinguish between too little and too much water -- Preliminary data indicate that Los Angeles, CA experienced its driest rainy season (1 July-30 June) in 130 years of records, while Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio and several other Texas communities received near record precipitation totals in June. [US Water News Online] [NWS Forecast Office, Los Angeles/Oxnard] [Note: The second link is a pdf file that requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. See below.]
• Drought accentuates need to fix Everglades -- The continuing drought across South Florida that has caused the level of Lake Okeechobee to drop to record low reading provides ample evidence that efforts need to be taken quickly to find alternate clean water sources and to restore the natural water system. [USA Today]
• Water conservation efforts encouraged across the country -- With drought conditions continuing across large sections of the West and the Southeast, water managers and municipalities across the country have been encouraging water conservation efforts by adopting mandatory or voluntary water restrictions. [USA Today]
• Australian floods seen from space -- Images of southeast Australia obtained from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Terra satellite in early and late June show the effects of the mud carried by flood-swollen rivers due to torrential rains that produced the worst flooding in nearly two decades. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Eye on the tropics -- Few tropical cyclone (low-pressure systems that form over tropical waters) activity was detected during the last week:
  • Tropical Storm Toraji developed over the South China Sea last week and moved to the northwest, making landfall along the coast of northern Viet Nam as a tropical depression. An image from the Japanese MTSAT satellite shows the clouds accompanying Tropical Depression Toraji at landfall. [NOAA OSEI]
  • Tropical Depression 4W developed on Sunday (local time) over the tropical western North Pacific and by Monday had become Tropical Storm Man-Yi. This minimal tropical storm was moving to the northwest passing to the south of Guam.
• Bloom in the North Atlantic -- An image obtained recently from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite shows large swirls of phytoplankton that were blooming in the near surface waters of the North Atlantic Ocean near Greenland and Iceland. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• More swimmers result in more waterborne pathogens -- Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found higher levels of potentially harmful waterborne microorganisms in those bodies of water crowded with swimmers. These researchers recommend increased water-quality testing especially during the busiest times. [Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health]
• Fire risk comes earlier in mountains around Los Angeles -- Researchers at the University of Utah, the University of California, Berkeley and the National Park Service’s Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area have developed a new method for predicting wildfire potential in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles, CA based upon springtime precipitation totals and the determination of the point when vegetation dries sufficiently to become vulnerable to large-scale wildfire. One of the researchers has noted that this year's forecast indicates the highest-risk fire season should commence in mid-July, weeks earlier than the average date. [EurekAlert!]
• Identifying the source of the Amazon -- Scientists using elevation data collected from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission have developed a digital map of water channels called HydroSHED to determine the source of South America's Amazon River, confirming that this river is longer than Africa's Nile River. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Monitoring logging operations in Africa -- High-resolution imagery from the commercial satellite Ikonos shows the impact that logging has had on the forested region of northern sections of Africa's Republic of Congo. Large-scale logging operations impact the region's ecosystem, especially in terms of changing the forest's water and carbon cycles. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• New drinking water standard adopted in China -- The Chinese government recently adopted a new national standard for drinking water that is designed to provide safer drinking water to hundreds of millions of its citizens. [US Water News Online]
• Old arctic ponds are disappearing -- Scientists at the University of Alberta and Queen’s University in Kingston, ON have found that approximately 40 shallow ponds in the northern Arctic region have shrunk during the last quarter century due to increased temperatures associated with changes in large-scale climate patterns. Some of these ponds have existed for more than 1000 years. [EurekAlert!] [EurekAlert!]
• Link found between urban growth and changing rainfall patterns -- Using Landsat satellite images over southeast Asia, scientists with Stanford University claim that they have found a link between rapid urban growth and changes in rainfall patterns. These researchers have also assessed the compliance of the Vietnamese government with an international treaty designed to protect wetlands. [EurekAlert!]
• The planet is smaller than previously estimated -- Geoscientists at the University of Bonn employing a technique involving the use of radio waves collected by an international network of radio telescopes have determined that the size of planet Earth is several millimeters smaller than previously assumed. They plan to use this technique, called "Very Long Baseline Interferometry," to monitor changes in sea level associated with large-scale climatic change. [EurekAlert!]
• Making waves to study tsunamis -- Researchers at the University College London have built a wave generator that produces water waves in a controlled environment, thereby permitting the study of the impacts to shorelines and surrounding structures by a future tsunami. [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.

Historical Events:

• 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)
• 11 July1988...Thunderstorms produced heavy rain in southern Texas, with totals ranging up to 13 inches near Medina. Two men drowned when their pickup truck was swept into the Guadalupe River, west of the town of Hunt. (Storm Data)
• 11 July 1990...Most costly hailstorm in U.S. history battered the Colorado Front Range from Estes Park to Colorado Springs. A supercell dropped a swath of hail the size of baseballs which dented tens of thousands of cars, defoliated thousands of trees, knocked out power and phone service for thousands. Denver was hardest hit. Total damage reached $625 million. (Intellicast)
• 11 July 1992…Thunderstorms moving across Nevada contained torrential rain that resulted in flooding. Hawthorne, which normally receives 4.46 inches of precipitation annually and 0.26 inches in July, received 1.70 inches of rain in 20 minutes, ending at 4:05 PM. By 4:20 PM, all roads in and out of the city were closed due to flooding. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 12 July 1892...A hidden lake burst out of a glacier on the side of Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest mountain, flooding the valley below and killing around 200 villagers and holiday-makers in Saint Gervais. (Wikipedia)
• 12 July 1951...The Kaw River flood occurred. The month of June that year was the wettest of record for the state of Kansas, and during the four days preceding the flood much of eastern Kansas and western Missouri received more than ten inches of rain. Flooding in the Midwest claimed 41 lives, left 200 thousand persons homeless, and caused a billion dollars in property damage. Kansas City was hardest hit. The central industrial district sustained $870 million property damage. (The Kansas City Weather Almanac)
• 12 July 1988...Evening thunderstorms produced severe weather over the Dakotas, including baseball size hail at Aberdeen, SD and softball size hail near Monango and Fullerton, ND. Thunderstorms produced heavy rain in Arkansas and northeastern Texas, with 6.59 inches reported at Mesquite, TX in just an hour and fifteen minutes. Garland, TX reported water up to the tops of cars following a torrential downpour. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 12 July 1989...Early morning thunderstorms over eastern Kansas deluged McFarland with more than six inches of rain. Afternoon thunderstorms in Wyoming produced up to eighteen inches of dime size hail near Rock Springs, along with torrential rains, and a three foot high wall of mud and water swept into the town causing one death and more than 1.5 million dollars damage. Evening thunderstorms produced severe weather in Oklahoma and Arkansas, deluging Dardanelle, AR with 3.50 inches of rain in less than twenty minutes. About seventy cows were killed when lightning struck a tree in Jones County, TX. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
• 12 July 1996...Up to three inches of rain fell in one hour near Buffalo Creek, CO on forestland denuded by a May wildfire. The resulting 20 foot high wall of water uprooted trees and utility poles, buildings were moved from their foundations and bridges destroyed. Two people were killed when vehicles were washed away. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 12 July 2001...A nearly stationary supercell thunderstorm dropped large hail and between 3 and 6 inches of rain during one hour southeast of Cohagen, MT. Hail drifts up to ten feet deep were measured in coulees. Four days later, golf ball sized hail was still embedded in the mud and straw, along with drifts to four feet deep. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 13 July 1975...Dover, DE was deluged with 8.50 inches of rain to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the state. (The Weather Channel)
• 13 July 1996...Heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Bertha caused roads to washout in the Camden, ME area. Two people were hurt when they drove into a 600-pound boulder that had fallen onto the roadway due to the heavy rain. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 14 July 1886...Los Angeles had its greatest 24-hour July rainfall with 0.24 inches. (Intellicast)
• 14-15 July 1911...Baguio, Luzon, Philippines reported 46 inches of rain, which represents Asia's greatest 24-hour rainfall: (The Weather Doctor).
• 15-16 July 1916...A dying South Atlantic Coast storm produced torrential rains in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Altapass, NC was drenched with 22.22 inches of rain, a 24-hour rainfall record for the Tarheel State, and at the time, a 24-hour record for the U.S. (The current 24-hour rainfall record for the US is 43 inches set 25-25 July 1979 at Alvin, TX). Flooding resulted in considerable damage, particularly to railroads. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast) (NCDC)
• 15 July 1983...The Big Thompson Creek in Colorado flooded for the second time in seven years, claiming three lives, and filling the town of Estes Park with eight to ten feet of water. (The Weather Channel)
• 15 July 1989...Thunderstorms drenched Kansas City, MO with 4.16 inches of rain, a record for the date. Two and a half inches of rain deluged the city between noon and 1 PM. Afternoon thunderstorms in South Carolina deluged Williamstown with six inches of rain in ninety minutes, including four inches in little more than half an hour. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 15 July 1993...Four-inch diameter hail fell at Hot Springs, SD. In North Dakota, Jamestown recorded 6.40 inches of rain, Fargo 5.09 inches and Bismarck 4.08 inches. (Intellicast)
• 15 July 2001...Rain fell at 3.91 inches per hour in Seoul, South Korea, the heaviest amount since 1964. In total, 12.2 inches of rain fell in Seoul and Kyonggi. The rain was responsible for 40 reported fatalities. (The Weather Doctor)

Return to DataStreme WES Webpage

Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2007, The American Meteorological Society.