WEEKLY WATER NEWS

5-9 May 2008

Water in the Earth System will return for Fall 2008 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 25 August 2008. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

A NEW MOON AND HIGH TIDES -- The moon will reach new moon phase on Monday 5 May 2008 at 1218 Z or 8:18 AM EDT or 7:18 AM CDT, etc.). Because lunar perigee (closest moon-earth distance) follows the new moon by approximately 15 hours, especially high ocean tides can be expected.

Water in the News:

• Eye on the tropics -- In the North Indian Ocean basin, Tropical Cyclone Nargis formed at the start of last week in the Bay of Bengal and drifted to the northeast. After reaching category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Intensity Scale, this major tropical cyclone made landfall this past weekend near Yangon in Myanmar (also known as Burma), resulting in the deaths of more than 350 people. [Associated Press] A MODIS image from NASA's Terra satellite shows the spiral bands of clouds surrounding the characteristic central eye of Nargis late last week. [NASA Earth Observatory] Additional images obtained from the sensors on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite show the precipitation bands around the eye. [NASA Hurricane Page]
• Pacific remains cool -- NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently generated an image of the sea-surface temperature anomalies (differences between actual and long-term average temperatures) for mid April 2008 obtained from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS on NASA’s Aqua satellite and announced that much of the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean remained lower than average due to a lingering La Niña and a cool phase Pacific Decadal Oscillation. [NASA Earth Observatory] [Editor's note: These findings are consistent with those described here last week that were based on that recent sea-level height data collected by sea level data collected by the U.S.-French Jason oceanographic satellite. EJH]
• Return of Indian summer monsoon causes green-up -- An image that shows the health of vegetation obtained from the French SPOT satellite during early April shows denser than average plant growth all but northern India due to abundant rain associated with the start of the summer rainy monsoon season across south Asia. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Global vegetation distribution monitored from space -- The MODIS sensor on the NASA satellites can detect reflected sunlight in various wavelength bands in the visible and near infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, which can be used to determine the health of vegetation on the land surface. One of the products produced from the MODIS data is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). An image of the NDVI shows the global distribution of vegetation for November 2007, with the darker green shades representing the most dense and usually healthiest vegetation, while the lightest green or tan areas indicate little vegetation. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Efforts begin to integrate ocean observation data -- NOAA officials have announced that observational data such as ocean temperature, salinity, water level, current, wind and wave data from a wide variety of federal and non-federal sources have been linked through the Agency's Integrated Ocean Observing Program [NOAA News]
• Upcoming satellite mission designed to map planetary water cycle -- An engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been selected to lead the science team that will design NASA's Soil Moisture Active-Passive mission (SMAP) scheduled to be launched in December 2012. This mission will make measurements of global soil moisture and freeze/thaw in an attempt to improve mapping of the planetary water cycle, as well as the carbon cycle. [MIT Civil & Environmental Engineering News]
• Urban stream restoration shown to reduce nutrient pollution -- A team led by researchers from the University of Maryland has determined that nitrogen levels were reduced by 40 percent in the waters of an urban stream in the Baltimore (MD) metropolitan area following stream restoration. [EurekAlert!]
• New ocean pattern is discovered -- A new pattern called the "North Pacific Gyre Oscillation" has been discovered by scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology that explains observed oscillatory changes in the salinity, nutrients and chlorophyll of the waters in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. These researchers suggest that the amplitude of these changes appears to be increasing, suggesting a possible relationship with increased global temperatures. [Georgia Tech]
• Diatoms can remove phosphorous from seawater -- Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology report discovery of a natural method for removing polyphosphates, or dense concentrations of phosphorous compounds, from ocean water that involves diatoms. [Georgia Tech]
• Composting seaweed could help in marine pollutant disposal -- Researchers in China and Japan report that bacteria feeding on composted seaweed could aid in the disposal of pollutants found in the world's oceans. [EurekAlert!]
• Water properties could affect carbon-based nanoparticles -- Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology claim that subtle differences in the solution properties of water carrying tiny particles of a carbon compound could affect the ability of municipal filtration systems to remove these particles from the water. [EurekAlert!]
• Did duststorms worsen the Dust Bowl drought? Researchers with Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and NOAA have run simulations on the GISS General Circulation Model of the atmospheric conditions across the central United Stated during the 1930s to substantiate the role of dust in worsening of the drought that resulted in the Dust Bowl. They also used the sea surface temperatures of the 1930s associated with a La Nina (or cold phase) episode, which appears to have initiated the drought across the Plains. [Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory]
• Better than even chance of record low Arctic sea ice this summer -- Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder are forecasting a three-in-five chance that the extent of the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean will shrink to a new record low, breaking the previous record set last summer. They base their forecast on satellite data and temperature records that show higher temperatures, along with thinner and younger sea ice. [University of Colorado at Boulder]
• Ice core expedition will study Alaska's climate -- Scientists from the University of New Hampshire and University of Maine have traveled to Alaska's Denali National Park to recover ice cores from the park's glaciers that could help decipher the long-term changes in climate across the 49th State, as well as the Pacific Northwest in the lower 48. They are attempting to see if changes in the North Pacific Ocean over the last 20,000 years may have occurred before those in the North Atlantic basin, which previously thought to have driven global climate changes. [EurekAlert!]
• World's largest freshwater lake is affected by climate change -- Russian and American scientists have discovered that the temperature of Russia's Lake Baikal, the world's largest lake located in Siberia, has been rising for 60 years, along with changes in the lake's food web that appear to be responding strongly to global climate change. [NSF]
• 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:

• 5 May 1945...The U.S. Air Forces vainly attempted to break up an ice jam near Bishop Rock on the Yukon River in the Yukon Territory with 33 250-kg bombs and 44 50-kg bombs. (The Weather Doctor)
• 5 May 1981...Mobile, AL had its worst flash flooding ever as thunderstorms unloaded 8 to 16 in. of rain over the metropolitan area in a couple of hours. Damage was set at $36 million. (Intellicast)
• 5 May 1990...A strong Pacific cold front moving rapidly inland caused weather conditions at the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington State to quickly change from sunny and calm to westerly winds of 60 mph and ten-foot waves. Three recreational fishing boats capsized in heavy seas off Port Angeles resulting in five deaths. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 5 May 1995...A supercell thunderstorm rapidly developed just ahead of a fast moving bow echo squall line and blasted Tarrant County, Texas. Large hail up to 5 in. in diameter, driven by 80-mph winds, caused a tremendous amount of damage. As many as 10,000 people were caught out in the open at Mayfest in Downtown Forth Worth, resulting in 109 injuries from the large hail. Torrential rains of up to 3 in. in 30 minutes and 5 in. in one hour across Dallas caused unprecedented flash flooding, resulting in 16 deaths. Total damage in Forth Worth alone was estimated at $2 billion, making this the costliest thunderstorm event in U.S. history. This was the third severe hailstorm to strike the area in only a little over a month. (Intellicast)
• 6 May 1937...The hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg crashed at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed of the 97 onboard. Static electricity in the air from a nearby thunderstorm may have been a factor in the disaster.
• 7 May 1988...A powerful storm in the north central U.S. produced up to three feet of snow in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming and the mountains of south central Montana. Up to five inches of rain drenched central Montana in less than 24 hours, and flash flooding in Wyoming caused $1 million in damage. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 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.

Return to DataStreme WES Website

Prepared by AMS WES Central Staff and Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
ã Copyright, 2008, The American Meteorological Society.