State of Emergency Declared in Louisiana amid Tornado Attacks

Louisiana Gov declares state of emergency amid  severe weather

• Dozens of people have been injured, with more than 100 buildings damaged or destroyed.
• NASA’s Michaud Facility in New Orleans has been “severely damaged.”
• About 2.7 million people in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are at the highest risk of severe weather.
• SPC/NOAA has received 78 reports of severe weather across seven states, including 9 confirmed tornadoes, as of posting.

Additional details are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

What’s a Hydrokong?

A Shrinking World Series

Is it a mega-tropical storm system, or an extra-tropical cyclone (ETC), i.e., a non-tropical, large-scale low pressure storm system like a Nor’easter?

“Hydrokong” is a colossal atmospheric phenomenon. It’s an extreme precipitation event which is enhanced by circulation changes that increase and concentrate the distribution of water vapor.

Hydrokong! The Storm System as it appeared over the central United States June 12, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

Globally, as total precipitation increases, the duration or frequency of precipitation events decreases. However, warmer temperatures and regional variation can significantly affect those offsetting behaviors. For example, reduced total precipitation in one region, the Western United States, can significantly increase the intensity of precipitation in another region, the Midwest. Hydrokongs essentially create two extreme events, droughts in one region and flooding caused by mega-intense precipitation in another. As the global temperatures rise, more hydrokongs should be expected.

Another Hydrokong in the making? A new System as it appeared over the central United States June 27, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

An aviation color enhancement of a floater [updated periodically] satellite image GEOS Eastern U.S. Imagery, NOAA SSD. For full size image right-click on the image and select “View Image.”

In the words of Brian Pierce, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, describing the aftermath of flooding last week: “We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring.”

Are Extreme Precipitation Events Earth’s Natural Defense Mechanisms?

Related Links:

• Nature’s Defense Mechanisms
• www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/index.php [Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service!]
  

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Tornado Kills 4 Scouts

A Shrinking World Series

Deadly twister kills 4, injures 48

A deadly twister, one of about 30 that hovered over four U.S. Midwestern states Wednesday, hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa , where dozens of scouts were gathered for a “Pohuk Pride” training, killing four people and injuring about 40 others.

“We still have a threat of tornadoes, along with large hail and damaging wind gusts,” said a Storm Prediction Center meteorologist.

GOES Eastern U.S. Imagery Showing the Storm System Over the Central United States

An aviation color enhancement of a floater satellite image [this image is updated periodically.] GEOS Eastern U.S. Imagery, NOAA SSD.

The Storm System as it appeared over the central United States June 12, 2008 04:15 UTC. The still image is an aviation color enhancement of a satellite image.

Related Links:

• US Tornado Brief
• Deadly Storms Hit US Midsection
• Tornado kills four at Iowa boy scout camp

• Deadly Storms Hit US Midsection
• Powerful storms kill 8 in Iowa and Minnesota
• Will 2008 be year of the tornadoes, too?
• 2008: Year of the Fire

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Will 2008 be year of the tornadoes, too?

Tornadoes Wreak Havoc

About 105 people have been killed by tornadoes since the beginning of this year. According to the reports some 868 tornadoes have struck through May 18. The tally is on par with 2004, in which a record 1,819 tornadoes were reported, National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, in Norman, Okla., said.

“It will be one of the biggest years when all is said and done,” said Harold Brooks, a meteorologist at the center. “It’s been very, very active and very unusual.” The 136 tornadoes reported in January 2008 were about 7 times higher than the January average of 19 for the 1953 to 2005 period. The February record at 232 was 11 times higher than the previous February average of 21 tornadoes.

“Our work suggests that the trend, the sign, is that conditions for severe weather will increase,” said Robert J. Trapp, an associate professor of atmospheric science at Purdue University. (Source)

A sequence of images showing the birth of a tornado. First, the rotating cloud base lowers. This lowering becomes a funnel, which continues descending while winds build near the surface, kicking up dust and other debris. Finally, the visible funnel extends to the ground, and the tornado begins causing major damage. This tornado, near Dimmitt, Texas, was one of the best-observed violent tornadoes in history.

This sequence of three photographs was taken by a member of the VORTEX project outside of Dimmit, TX on June 2, 1995. Known to some as the most studied tornado of all time, multiple movies, radar images, photographs, and damage observations were made for this tornado’s entire lifespan by members of the VORTEX team. (Source)

What about the hurricanes?

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season will be active with up to 16 named storms, nine of which are expected to become hurricanes, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, said on Thursday.

to Up to five of the hurricanes forecast for the season starting June 1 will be major ones ranging from Category 3 to higher with winds exceeding 180 km per hour, NOAA said in its annual forecast. (Source)

Hurricane Noel. A satellite image taken November 2, 2007. REUTERS. NOAA Handout

Related Links:

• U.S. government sees active Atlantic hurricane season
• A Busy Year as Tornadoes Wreak Havoc
• 2008: Year of the Fire