Atmo336 - Spring05

typhoon web site

Drought

Much of the Western US has been going through a severe to extreme drought for several years while the Northeast has been somewhat cool and wet
Multiple landfalling tropical systems contributed to the moisture in the South and East, while less than average rain and snowfall was measured in parts of the West and the far Northeast. This dearth of rain in the West, especially during spring months, exacerbated drought conditions that have been persistent for up to 5 years in some locations. Short-term drought relief came to the region, especially the Southwest in the fall, with above average rain followed by early snow. While recent winter rains in the western U.S. have reduced the drought conditions somewhat, long-term drought remains across much the western U.S. See the NCDC annual drought summary for more information.

2004 Drought assessment

Flooding

The adjacent figure shows the percent of the contiguous U.S. that was very wet and the percent that was very dry during each of the past 35 months. During 2004, more than a tenth of the country was very dry in 3 months (March, May and September), with percentages in March exceeding 28%. In every month, except January and July the percentage area of very wet conditions exceeded ten percent, also exceeding 20% for October and November.

US Precipitation in 2004 was characterized by persistent moderate dryness in the West and above average wetness in the South and East. This follows a record wet year in 2003 for some of the East coast. Texas will likely have its wettest year on record, while portions of the Mid-Atlantic U.S., Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley will also be near record.

Wildfires

According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), wildland fires in 2004 had consumed over 8 million acres across the U.S. as of early December, which was well above the 10-year average of over 5.5 million acres. By far the majority of this year's fire activity in the U.S. occurred in Alaska, which had over 6.6 million a cres consumed across the state this year, making the 2004 fire season the worst on record for Alaska for acreage burned.

Pollution

LOS ANGELES TIMES, January 12, 2005,
SOUTHLAND'S RECORD RAINFALL: Rain Overwhelms Sewage System
Massive amounts of runoff cause wastewater to overflow from pipes and treatment plants, fouling Southland waterways and beaches.

By Jia-Rui Chong and Nancy Wride, Times Staff Writers
The series of powerful rainstorms sent millions of gallons of treated and untreated wastewater into Southern California waterways, overburdening sewage systems and polluting some beaches with more than 10 times the usual levels of bacteria. Sewage spills prompted health officials to close several beaches in Long Beach and along a large swath of the Orange County shoreline from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach, around where Santa Ana River empties into the sea

Most Deadly of the Natural Disasters: The Heat Wave

Natural disasters usually come rife with drama. Hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, earthquakes? all make for good headlines and even better visuals.

But it would be hard to make a blockbuster movie about a heat wave. Heat waves come on subtly, raising summer temperatures just a little higher than normal and then receding. But they kill more people in the United States than all other natural disasters combined.

The numbers are striking. According to the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Delaware, an average of 1,500 American city dwellers die each year because of the heat. Annual deaths from tornadoes, earthquakes and floods together total fewer than 200.

The worst recent heat wave disaster was in Europe centered on France over the first two weeks of August 2003. More than 11,000 people died in France alone as temperatures reached 104F in Paris.