Global Weather & Climate Center - Weather History Topics

The Frigid January of 1989 in Alaska (Credit: NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis, Anchorage Daily News, NWS, Iowa State)

2/1/2019

Discussion: As the Midwestern United States begins to warm up, 30 years ago much of Alaska was following suit in what was a brutal end to the month of January.

During the latter half of January 1989, temperatures across the interior portions of the state were reported as low as the negative mid-70s degrees Fahrenheit, which is shy of the record low of negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the state, but nonetheless an impressive and dangerous feat. Wind chills were even worse as an example below will illustrate. During this cold air outbreak, the highest pressure ever documented in North America (at the time) was recorded on January 31, 1989 in eastern Alaska at Northway. The pressure read 1078 mb (a reanalysis image shows the high pressure in red situated over Alaska). To put this in perspective, Siberia, where the highest pressures on Earth are typically recorded has maxed out in the mid 1080 mb range.

The above image was taken from Iowa State’s ASOS archive site. This is an observation from Cantwell, Alaska on January 28th, 1989. Notice the strong north/northeasterly winds with the temperature -43 degrees Fahrenheit making for treacherous wind chills.

What was the setup for this cold outbreak? High pressure leaked into Alaska from Siberia and the Beaufort Sea, locking cold air in place for about two weeks. This, along with a strong surface low pressure system (cool colors) to the south and a bit east of Alaska during the 28th created a difference in pressure which lead to a strong and persistent northerly to northeasterly wind (surface pattern and setup featured above). The observation above from PATW outlines what this particular day (the 28th) was like in central Alaska. To put this in perspective, a temperature of -43 degrees Fahrenheit and winds gusting up to 40 knots correlates to a treacherous wind chill of around -91 degrees Fahrenheit based on the National Weather Service Wind Chill Temperature calculator.

The last image shows the averaged 500 mb height anomalies across the region from the two-week period between January 17th to January 31st of 1989. A huge negative anomaly, signifying the polar vortex, has parked itself right over Alaska and areas to the north keeping the brutal and long-lasting cold air across much of the state. This was an impressive cold stretch, even for Alaska’s standards.

Be sure to stay tuned to GWCC for more interesting historical weather here!

©2018 Meteorologist Joe DeLizio

Sources:

https://www.adn.com/features/article/recalling-frigid-1989-alaska-winter/2011/11/21/

Looking Back On The Explorer I Launch of 1958 (Credit:NASA)

1/31/2019

On January 31, 1958, the United States successfully launched the Explorer I satellite. As the country’s first successful satellite, Explorer I effectively marked the beginning of the U.S. Space Age. Additionally, the launch of Explorer I came as a direct response to the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik 1 & 2, launching the U.S into what was known as the Space Race. Following the success of Explorer I, the U.S. began developing and launching additional satellites, eventually paving the way for the satellites used in meteorology today.
In October of 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I, prompting the United States to quickly develop a satellite in response. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was given the task of designing and building a satellite that would serve as the payload for the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency’s Jupiter C rocket. On the Explorer I satellite was a cosmic ray detector which was designed with the purpose of measuring the radiation environment in Earth’s orbit. Following the success of this launch, additional Explorer satellites were launched, some being successful launches and some not. Eventually, satellites such as Explorer VI and Explorer VII included weather related experiments.
On February 2, 1959, roughly a year after the successful launch of Explorer I, the first weather satellite, Vanguard 2, was launched. However, this satellite was not considered to be a major success as the poor axis of rotation coupled with the elliptical orbit limited the amount of useful data collected. The following year on April 1, 1960, the first successful weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched. In the years since then, numerous different weather satellites have been launched, leading up to the GOES satellites currently used in meteorology. All of these satellites were made possible due to that first successful satellite launch on this day in 1958.

To learn more about other past historic weather and science events from around the world, be sure to click here!

©2019 Meteorologist Stephanie Edwards

Wet Weather in 2018 Makes Record-Breaking History (Credit: The Washington Post, NOAA, WMO, The Weather Channel, GlobalChange.gov, xmACIS2, Live Science)

12/29/2018

Image: Credit The Washington Post

Discussion: 2018 has been another active weather year featuring more extreme droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, extreme flooding events, and tornadoes. As 2018 comes to a close, the topic of discussion is how many cities broke their record for total precipitation this calendar year. Many are wondering if the wet weather will continue and for just how long.

Image: NOAA GOES GeoColor satellite image taken on December 15, 2018

Hurricane Florence dumped 24.06” of rain in Wilmington, North Carolina which contributed to its three-digit total precipitation record of 101.45” for 2018. More cities that have already set records include Wilmington, NC at 101.45”, Asheville, NC at 75.00”, Washington, D.C. at 64.78”, Baltimore, MD at 70.05”, Green Bay, WI at 38.68”, and Mason City, IA at 49.98”. Several cities still have a shot of setting a new record before the ringing in the New Year. Pittsburgh, PA currently sits at 56.98”and its record is 57.38”, Raleigh, NC sits at 58.54” and its record is 59.10”, and Jackson, TN sits at 73.49”and its record is 74.76”. All of these stats were collected from xmACIS2on December 28, 2018.

So just what factors contributed to all of the rain in 2018? The Washington Postexplained that, “The extreme rainfall in the Mid-Atlantic has stemmed from a weather pattern unleashing a parade of storms through the region since May. Except for brief pauses in the first half of Julyand this month, it has seldom relented. The jet stream, which is the high-altitude air current along which storms track, has persistently directed moisture-packed storms through the region”. The Weather Channelfurther explained that an upper-level weather pattern has been another driving factor for wetter weather east of the Rockies. Furthermore, the federal government’s Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in November 2018, stated that “Extreme precipitation, one of the controlling factors in flood statistics, is observed to have generally increased and is projected to continue to do so across the United States in a warming atmosphere.”

Images: WMO estimated ENSO probabilities for December 2018-February 2019, The Weather Channel Precipitation Forecast adapted from NOAA’s January-March 2019 Precipitation Outlook, NOAA’s January-March 2019 Temperature Outlook

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), we are going into 2019 with a 75-80% chance for a weak El Niñoby February 2019. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is also predicting a weak El Niño in its 2018-19 Winter Outlook. An El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). If ENSO verifies, three-quarters of the U.S. will most likely experience warmer than average, as opposed to colder than average, winter temperatures. Additionally, wet weather will continue to dominate the southern states. So, keep your umbrella handy.

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© 2018 Meteorologist Amber Liggett

Weather History Revisits the Boxing Day Blizzard of 2010 (Credit: Erik Taylor and National Weather Service- New York WFO)

12/26/2018

On this day in #weather history 8 years ago the #BoxingDay #Blizzard. Over a foot of #snow from @TownofOceanCity north to #NYC. Only 1-3" amounts in #Baltimore. #mdwx Do you remember? pic.twitter.com/qt7qZLQXfb
— Erik Taylor (@WeatherErik) December 27, 2018

DISCUSSION: December through February is considered as the official meteorological winter season, so it is of no surprise that snow is the predominant precipitation type with winter weather systems. On this date back in 2010, most of the mid-Atlantic and New England states were dealing with the brunt of a rather powerful winter storm. Heavy blowing and drifting snow affected much of New Jersey, New York, and points north of that as the system rapidly made its way off shore and away from the U.S. mainland. The synoptic setup for this storm system was centered on the rapid deepening of a low pressure system that originally formed on the lee side of the Rocky Mountain range which quickly tracked eastward across the central Plains and southeast U.S. By late evening on the 26th, an upper-level jet streak maximum of near 150 kts (175 mph) was observed over northwestern Florida while significant pressure height falls were observed over the northeast. Moisture from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico was dragged northward along the poleward flank of the trough and observed radiosonde (weather balloon) data showed that the atmosphere through 600 hPa was at near-full saturation. This high amount of low-to-mid-level moisture, coupled with the already present favorable frontogenesis dynamics, set the stage for a significant snowfall event while the system tracked north and east through the mid-Atlantic and New England states.

The result was significant snowfall totals ranging from 20-30” with higher totals primarily along the New York City-New Jersey-Hudson Valley corridor. Heavy convective snow bands trained over the same areas for many consecutive hours, compounding on the snow already on the ground. In addition, a very tight pressure gradient was focused over much of the mid-Atlantic as the low pressure system advanced and upper-level winds sustained winds of 25 to 40 mph with higher gusts at the surface. which led to hazardous conditions for travel and infrastructure. Storms of this nature can occur during this time of year so it is always important to be vigilant to developing winter weather systems and alert to the latest forecasts from local weather forecast offices and the Weather Prediction Center.

To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, click here!

© 2018 Meteorologist Brian Matilla

The History and Relevance of the Doppler Effect (Credit: Physics Today)

12/1/2018

DISCUSSION: Over the last two centuries, there is little to no doubt that atmospheric science observational and forecasting capabilities have come quite a long way. One of the premiere technologies which is associated with how far atmospheric science over the past 200 + years is the invention of the world-famous Doppler Radar technology which is based upon the fundamental principle known as the Doppler Effect. The so-called “Doppler Effect” which is what the modern Doppler Radar observational platform is based upon was invented by Christian Doppler. This was a historic discovery during the earlier part of the 19th century since this was a discovery which would go on to forever change the course of history.

Attached below is an excerpt which is from a corresponding Physics Today article: “Born on 29 November 1803 in Salzburg, Austria, physicist Christian Doppler proposed the phenomenon that enables astronomers to determine the velocity of distant objects. He studied mathematics at the Vienna Polytechnic Institute and math, mechanics, and astronomy at the University of Vienna. Doppler had shaky health throughout his life, and he had trouble securing a stable professorship. Nonetheless he produced several important papers, none more influential than “On the colored light of the double stars and certain other stars of the heavens” in 1842. He theorized that the colors of two stars orbiting each other would appear to change slightly, due to one star moving away from the observer and the other moving closer. More generally, Doppler proposed that the apparent frequency of light or sound waves emanating from an object changes depending on the object’s motion toward or away from the observer. Scientists in many fields, particularly astronomy, depend on the Doppler effect. Stars and galaxies moving away from Earth shift toward the red part of the color spectrum (red-shifted), while astronomical objects moving toward Earth are blue-shifted. Scientists analyzing the distance to and motion of stars and galaxies have determined that the universe is expanding at an ever-faster rate.”

Upon discovering the Doppler Effect concept which is described in the excerpt attached above, this transformed the way in which mankind was able to interpret how sound and velocity works in the context of time and space in order to anticipate the movement of hydrometeors. Therefore, this is the concept which instigated the development of the modernized Doppler Radar which uses the Doppler Effect to produce velocity data to project and predict the speed and directional movement of different types of objects from a given distance.

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© 2018 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz

A look back on a monstrous late season tornado outbreak

11/17/2018

On this day in 2013, an unordinary late season tornado outbreak occurred across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio. This particular tornado outbreak was the deadliest and costliest in Illinois to occur in the month of November and the fourth largest in recorded Illinois state history. This event resulted in 73 tornadoes, with reports of over 100 injuries and 11 fatalities.

Forecasts for the development of this event had been well anticipated, with initial forecasts led by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center five days in advanced. These storms were associated with a strong trough in the upper levels of the atmosphere, as well as having forecasts of a potent mid-level jet moving across the Mississippi River valley. The pressure gradient force, or in other words the force which results when there is a difference in pressure across a surface, tends to bring stronger winds in November compared to the summer or spring months. This leads to greater wind shear. The morning of the outbreak showed there was a particularly strong vertical wind shear, providing the perfect setup for long-tracked tornadoes to occur.

Two of the tornadoes, both in Illinois, were rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. These were the strongest documented tornadoes during the outbreak resulting in five deaths. In addition to tornadoes the system also produced baseball sized hail peaking at 4.00 in (10.2 cm) in diameter in Bloomington, Illinois, as well as damaging winds estimated as strong as 100 mph (160 km/h) in three separate locations. There were also seven tornadoes rated EF3, 23 tornadoes rated EF2, 28 tornadoes rated EF1 and 13 tornadoes rated EF0.

Tornadic events, especially of this magnitude, are an uncommon occurrence in the month of November. Normally in late autumn and into winter there is not sufficient warmth and moisture for thunderstorm development. However, in this case, a low pressure system across the plains had pushed tropical warmth and moisture northward from the Gulf of Mexico for nearly two days. This moisture was akin to that typically observed during summertime, given dew point temperatures in the mid to upper 60’s. Combine this with air temperatures of around 70° F (21° C) and these combined factors aided in the generation of instability to get thunderstorms to form. The warmth combined with the high wind shear was the perfect setup for these supercell storms to develop. This is just a reminder that people should stay vigilant throughout the entire year because tornadoes can happen at pretty much any time especially throughout the midwestern portion of the United States.

To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here!

© 2018 Weather Forecaster Michael Ames

Reflecting on the 5th Anniversary of the Landfall of Super Typhoon Haiyan (Credit: MTSAT Imagery)

11/7/2018

Super Typhoon Haiyan 5 years ago today in the #Philippines, over 6K died. When I left the US Haiyan was just a tropical storm: https://t.co/4oNegSsA8s
— Jim Edds (@ExtremeStorms) November 8, 2018

DISCUSSION: It goes without saying that 5 years ago today there was history made over in parts of the eastern and central and eastern Philippines. To be more precise, 5 years ago today, the eastern and central Philippines bore witness to the full force of Super Typhoon Haiyan. Super Typhoon Haiyan was an intense tropical cyclone which formed in early November of 2013. This powerful tropical cyclone was particularly intimidating since this storm had nearly a perfectly symmetric structure associated with it right up to the point of landfall over in the eastern Philippines. To be more precise, this tropical cyclone had developed sufficiently clear characteristics to allow it to be referred to as an annular tropical cyclone. An annular tropical cyclone is a tropical cyclone which has a near-perfect to perfect energy distribution across the entire span of the system from north to south and from east to west.

Moreover, Super Typhoon Haiyan was also an incredibly large tropical cyclone which also increased the overall flooding as well as flash flooding threat (i.e., from both heavy rainfall and record-breaking storm surge levels). Having said that, the storm was ultimately quite destructive and unfortunately quite deadly as well in the wake of well over 6,000 people losing their lives during the impacts and aftermath of this powerful tropical cyclone. Thus, it in looking back to Super Typhoon Haiyan, there is absolutely no question whatsoever that this was a storm which will go down in history as one of the worst tropical cyclones of all-time.

To learn about just some of the many intimidating details associated with this storm, here is a quote from the article attached below which reflects just a portion of what Super Typhoon Haiyan did. “Super Typhoon Haiyan (locally named Yolanda) made its first landfall at 4:40 a.m. local time (20:40 Universal Time) on November 7. Preliminary reports suggested the storm roared ashore near Guinan (Samar Province), where ground stations recorded sustained winds of 235 kilometers (145 miles) per hour and gusts to 275 kilometers (170 miles) per hour. According to remote sensing data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, sustained winds approached 315 kph (195 mph) just three hours before landfall, with gusts to 380 kph (235 mph).”

Attached above is also a first-person perspective on this event from Award-Winning Storyteller and Cameraman Jim Edds from Pensacola, Florida.

To learn more about this historic tropical cyclone event, feel free to learn more about it from the NASA Earth Observatory link, which can be found right here!

© 2018 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz

The Deadliest Hurricane in U.S. History (credit: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and The History Channel)

10/30/2018

The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history struck the coast of the Gulf of Mexico devastating Galveston, Texas, an island located off the coast of Texas. On September 8, 1900, a category four hurricane reached land from the Gulf of Mexico. The people in the affected area were not aware of the hurricane in time to evacuate. This is due to the lack of weather knowledge during the early 1900’s according to the History Channel.

When the category four hurricane hit Galveston, it had winds greater than 135 mph. At this time, the highest point in Galveston was only 8.7 feet above sea level. Storm surges rose up to 15 feet, flooding the entire island. It destroyed more than 3,600 buildings. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated the death toll to be between 6,000-12,000 people (about 20% of Galveston’s population). Afterwards, Galveston was rebuilt but it did not continue to be a major port of weather call. This is because Houston became the new port of weather call after many people turned to Houston to rebuild their lives. Houston began to populate and the citizens of Houston provided assistance to Galveston. These rescuers found many survivors trapped under debris. About 30,000 people were left homeless. Not only was the public not aware of this hurricane, but it was a very populated place. From 1875 until the hurricane hit, Galveston was in what’s known as the Golden Era of Galveston. At this time the city’s economy was booming and there was a high population of around 37,000 people. A hurricane can be more devastating to a populated area because the higher the population, the more people affected.

In 1900, the Weather Bureau (now known as the National Weather Service) was only 10 years old and did not have a well-organized communication system. They were still developing the company and communication was extremely limited. After the hurricane hit and caused its devastation, the Weather Bureau began to improve their communication system nationally and internationally so that this never happens again.

This is a very important time in history because it was the beginning of hurricane science advancement. It is necessary for meteorology to be advanced so the public can be aware of the natural disasters and everyday weather that can affect their lives.

To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here!

©2018 Weather Forecaster Brittany Connelly

How Hurricane Florence Set Two U.S. State Rainfall Records (credit: Meteorologist Michael Lowry)

10/2/2018

Two state tropical cyclone rainfall records set in two days. Just incredible. My heart goes out to all affected by this disaster. #Florence #ncwx #scwx https://t.co/aPeNgFZodl
— Michael Lowry (@MichaelRLowry) September 16, 2018

DISCUSSION: Though it has already been a couple of weeks since Hurricane Florence barreled into the North Carolina and South Carolina coastal regions, there is still a ton of information which needs to be and is yet to be processed. It goes without saying that despite an incredibly accurate 5-day future track forecast for Hurricane Florence, major flooding concerns continued to loom over the Carolinas in the days leading up to the final approach and ultimate landfall of Hurricane Florence. The combination of a prolific storm surge as well as heavy rainfall led to widespread regional flooding and flash flooding over the course of several days.

In diving a little deeper into the story behind the impacts of hurricane Florence, it is important to note just a few more reasons for why Hurricane Florence will undoubtedly go down in history as of one of more historic U.S. natural disasters in recorded history. When it came to trying to anticipate the most likely flooding potential scenario associated with Hurricane Florence, the majority of forecasters had a very good inclination that there would most certainly be many areas across North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond which would end up receiving prolonged periods of heavy rainfall. However, what was not foreseen in the majority of rainfall forecasts was the scenario wherein adjacent U.S. states (i.e., North Carolina and South Carolina) would each break respective tropical cyclone event rainfall records. In fact, this is precisely what would end up happening across those respective states. This is reflected in greater detail by the context of the graphic suite attached above (courtesy of Meteorologist Michael Lowry).

With or without this tropical cyclone event rainfall record being broken, the flooding in and of itself was horrifying and the lasting impacts as well as aftermath of this tremendous flooding event has left many people in a state of disrepair and shock. The lasting message which can be taken from the impacts of Hurricane Florence is that even though Hurricane Florence only made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane (as previously stated many times recently across social media but absolutely deserves to be re-stated), this never meant that there was any less of a storm surge or flooding threat from Florence as everyone in the path of this storm went on to find out first-hand. Thus, as said many times before but bears repeating, it only takes one storm to make a life-changing difference for someone and everyone should always respect the natural power of an approaching tropical cyclone.

To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here!

© 2018 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz

The Anniversary of Hurricane Irma's Cuban Landfall. (credit: Meteorologist Brian McNoldy)

9/8/2018

One year ago tonight, #Irma made landfall on the northern Cuba coast as a Category 5 hurricane, their first in 93 years. Full radar loop from Cuba at https://t.co/ucPbEPtNBf pic.twitter.com/ou1SqoriXv
— Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) September 8, 2018

DISCUSSION: With as busy as the tropical Atlantic hurricane season has now gotten here in September of 2018, it is almost crazy to contemplate what was going on just a year ago today. More specifically, one year ago tonight, the heart of Hurricane Irma lashed out at the northern half of Cuba as a roaring Category 5 hurricane with sustained wind speeds along the immediate northern coastline in excess of 160 mph with even higher gusts at times. Moreover, look into this horrific tropical cyclone anniversary in even greater detail (courtesy of the Tweet from Meteorologist Brian McNoldy) this was the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall anywhere on the island of Cuba in a whopping 93 years. Thus, it goes without saying that this is not a common occurrence for Cuba by any stretch of the imagination.

It also goes without saying that the majority of people across the United States and the world more so remember Hurricane Irma being one of the infamous trio of storms (i.e., the namely trio being Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Maria) which all went on to impact the United States and/or United States territories at some point during their respective existence. In addition, people also remember Hurricane Irma for being the storm which earlier on was thought to be more of a threat along the eastern coastline (i.e., the Atlantic-side) of Florida. However, as the story went on to be written, Irma ultimately took a path towards northern Cuba and then up through the Florida Keys and on towards southwest and then western Florida before moving inland and dissipating before too long.

If nothing else, this 1-year anniversary of the landfall of what was a Category 5 Hurricane Irma in northern Cuba before moving on to the United States just goes to show that one storm can make all the difference in the world and to always be prepared regardless of the intensity of a given storm.

To learn more about other historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here!

© 2018 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz