Water Spouts

                Water spouts are fascinating weather phenomena that occurs over a body of water and are connected to cumuliform clouds.  Essentially, water spouts, or water funnels, are water forms of tornadoes.  “Waterspouts do not suck up water; the water seen in the main funnel cloud is actually water droplets formed by condensation”.  Water spouts are most commonly occurring around the tropics although they do sometimes occur around Europe and the Great Lakes.  Most water funnels are weaker than their land counterparts and are caused by different factors.  They generally develop as the parent cloud forms into a storm and there is a shift in the horizontal wind shear causing an updraft rotation.  The most common type of water spout is the fair-weather water spout that generally occurs in tropical climates.  This mini water tornado usually lasts 20 minutes or less and is generally associated with flat-bottomed cumulus clouds.

              Water spouts are a very cool weather phenomenon to watch.  They can pose a danger when too close, but are generally fairly easy to avoid if you monitor weather updates.  My family and I used to vacation to central Mexico around Cozumel and Playa del Carmen.  On one such trip to Cozumel, my family and another family were out on a deep sea fishing trip in the ocean.  My dad and two of the other guys caught a giant wahoo fish on a line and were frantically trying to get it in the boat as someone had spotted a water spout in the distance.  Although we were far enough away to incur any real danger, we packed up and headed back to shore.  Though I was a very small child, I still remember seeing the water spout in the distance and being perplexed by how it appeared to be connected to the sky and the water at the same time. Ever since then, I have been very interested in water spouts and their formation and would like to see one again someday. 

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Water Spout

Storm Chasers

               Storm chasing has revolutionized modern-day thrill-seeking.  Whether for work, play, intense adventure, or scientific research, storm-chasing is sure to thrill.  Though the pursuit of tornadoes is the most common form of storm-chasing, many engage in tracking thunderstorms, hail storms, lightning storms, and few even venture into rough hurricane situations.  Many who pursue such storms do it for photography and entertainment, but some may be collecting information and reporting and recording data for scientific purposes.  Some people have even built businesses around “storm-chasing” tours.  In 1972, the University of Oklahoma sponsored the first storm-chasing expedition to obtain more concrete data on tornado activity.  From this successful adventure, a new culture of storm-chasers were inspired to chase the thrill and make contributions to the meteorological field.  Inherent risks such as road flooding, airborne debris, lightning strikes, hail damage, and high winds seem to be small prices to pay for witnessing some of nature’s greatest furies.  Though most storm chasers do it for the thrill of the adventure, several have made valuable contributions to understanding the nature, structure, and formation of large-scale storm systems.

                I think when we hear the word “storm chasers” we all either jump to Twister or the Discovery Channel show.  While Twister is perhaps a fairly unrealistic portrayal of the hobby and study of storms, it did ignite an interest in the 1990s about the behavior of tornadoes.  Unless pursuing storms for valid scientific research, I think that storm chasing is overall a pretty ridiculous concept.  It also seems to not to be proportionally rewarding for the time, energy, and money one has to put into it.  The article stated that storm-chasers often drive hundreds of miles to sites of reported funnel activity only to see it has dissipated before their arrival.  Having grown up in tornado alley, I feel the true impending danger of a tornado and thus I will not likely participate in a storm chasing outing anytime soon. 

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Storm Chasers 

New Levee to Protect Washington, D.C.

               A new $9.6 million project will soon be under way to erect a levee on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.  City planners feel it is necessary in the event of a major flooding event.  The city has been under threat of severe flooding multiple in the past and apparently engineers have been working on this project for several years and are set to kick off the building at the end of this month.  After a detailed review following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, city planners carefully evaluated the antiquated 70-year old drainage system and resolved to improve it.  According to logistical FEMA reports, the area surrounding the riverbanks and several major monuments could be under as much as ten feet of water if the drainage systems failed in a major storm.  At present sandbags are used to reinforce the narrow barrier and prevent flooding down Constitutional Avenue. 

                Obviously this is a very important project to ensure the safety of our nation’s history and a very large metropolitan city.  The article mentioned that there was flood damage in the National Archives building in 2006.  This seems very irresponsible to me that city officials wouldn’t have already taken large strides to protect such invaluable material.  Given what we have learned in meteorology, it seems that Washington D.C. being such a coastal city and along the path of weakening hurricanes, they would be extremely susceptible to large-scale flooding.  With this in mind, it surprises me that city planners did not take action on this matter sooner.  The article also stated that in regards to the FEMA report’s estimations, flooding insurance drastically rose on account of the city’s old insufficient flooding procedures.  However I do find that this article is comforting in that we now possess the technology and awareness to better equip our cities for potential disasters.  We’ve obviously learned from Katrina’s damage and are making headway in ensuring such devastation is better handled and prevented. 

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Work to Begin on National Mall Levee 

Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

              Fortunately for the earthquake ravaged nation of Haiti, Tropical Storm Tomas did minimal damage to Port-au-Prince last week as it dissipated.  Eight people were killed as a result of the storm, which was considered a relief to officials who were expecting a much higher death toll. However, prior to Tomas’s arrival, Haiti officials were already fighting the imminent presence of a Cholera outbreak. So far there have been 7,700 cases and 500 confirmed deaths as a result of Cholera.  Due to the contaminated drinking supply and lack of sanitary conditions, the disease is rapidly spreading and expected to become even more rampant in coming weeks.  After the January earthquake devastated the country and displaced almost 1.5 million people, living conditions have been way below healthy levels and medical relief is failing to keep up. The World Health Organization has intervened and is attempting to set up portable camps to treat those infected with the disease, but since numbers are expected to spike, this might not be enough. Though officials are not sure of the source of the outbreak, they are making every effort to set up resources to eliminate it.

                I think it is devastating that the country of Haiti has to face another traumatic event. It has been a very long and arduous year for the small country that seems to continually be plagued with problems.  However, it is rather fascinating that we have been able to observe the long-term societal effects an earthquake of Haiti’s magnitude can have on a country.  Even with all of the technology and resources we have available to us today, there are still so many uncontrollable factors such as hurricanes, tropical storms, disease outbreaks, and earthquakes that can radically effect our nations and take years to recover from.  The chain of events associated with these disasters is incalculable even for our society, but hopefully we have mastered much more efficient ways to respond and rebuild after such occurrences. 

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Cholera Outbreak in Haiti 

The Parhelion

                 A sun dog, or parhelion, is an interesting meteorological phenomenon that has been observed for thousands of years.  When the sun is low and setting, bright lights to the left and right of your view of the sun may appear, giving the appearance of multiple suns.  These bright images are actually refracted hexagonal plate-like ice crystals in high, cold cirrus clouds. As ice crystals sink through the air, the light is horizontally refracted, causing the appearance of sun dogs, or parhelion.  Sun dogs can occur anywhere in the world, given the proper conditions.  A similar phenomenon, halos, occur when the ice crystals orient themselves randomly from the sun, refracted the light as a halo around it.  The sun light shining through ice crystals refracts the light similarly as refracted rain presents rainbows.

                The most interesting aspect I found of this phenomenon was its history. For thousands of years authors, playwrights, and philosophers have documented and attempted to interpret parhelion. I can imagine that without modern technology and advances in science, the appearance of multiple suns would be quite perplexing.  In Cicero’s play, On the Republic, he mentions parhelion in comparing the credibility of politicians.  Edward IV, convinced his troops in the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross in 1461, that the appearance of the parhelion was the presence of the Trinity, which then encouraged them to win a decisive victory. Jacob Hutter, a Christian martyr in the 1520s, also compared the parhelion observance to a Christian concept as he was being tortured and persecuted for acting out against the Roman Catholic Church. Many other pre-scientific age observations were made in an attempt to explain sun dogs, or parhelions, however it wasn’t until much later, in the 1800s and 1900s that a meteorological explanation based on understanding of clouds was able to accurately interpret the phenomenon. 

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Sun Dog