Weather history miscellany

[Randi]

https://www.weather.gov/abr/This_Day_in ... ory_Mar_05

4-6, 1959: In Iowa, the record-breaking snowstorm on March 4-6 began with light snow in western Iowa on the morning of the 4th, then spread across the state and intensified with heavy snow falling from the night of the 4th through the 5th and into the early morning on the 6th in eastern Iowa. The snowfall and its subsequent effects were less severe in western Iowa and grew progressively worse, moving eastward. In central Iowa, snowfall amounts were generally 6 to 10 inches. In contrast, in eastern Iowa, a swath of about 12 to 20 inches of snow fell roughly from Appanoose County through Tama County and northeast to Allamakee County. Reported storm total snowfall amounts included 12.9 inches at Waterloo, 14.5 inches at Decorah, 16.0 inches at Oelwein, 17.0 inches at Oskaloosa, 17.6 inches at Dubuque, 19.8 inches at Marshalltown, where 17.8 inches fell in just 24 hours, and 22.0 inches at Fayette where 21.0 inches fell in 24 hours. Winds strengthened steadily during the storm, with speeds reaching 30 to 50 mph at times and causing extensive blowing and drifting of snow. Drifts 6 to 10 feet deep were common, and in northeastern Iowa, a few locations reported drifts 15 to 20 feet deep.


1959: Near blizzard conditions occurred over northern and central Oklahoma. Up to seven inches of snow fell and winds up to 50 mph created snow drifts 4 to 8 feet deep. In Edmond, a bus slid off the road into a ditch and overturned, injuring 16 people. The image below is from Storm Data.

[Randi]

NASA Earth Observatory - February Puzzler Answer

August 1, 1994

August 11, 2024

A Proliferation of Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau

When researchers look to satellite data for insight into how the world’s lakes have fluctuated in recent decades, there’s one region that stands out for its rapid changes: the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau. While lakes in many parts of the world have lost water over the past three decades, the number and size of lakes in this part of the “roof of the world” have risen sharply.
Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau are particularly prone to size variations because they mostly lie within endorheic basins, meaning water flows in but has no natural outlet. Factors such as precipitation levels, the rate of evaporation, and the intensity of seasonal thawing of frozen soils and melting of glacial ice thus play key roles in controlling the number and size of the plateau’s lakes.

https://www.geonames.org/9073782/yongbo-cuo.html

[Randi]

https://www.weather.gov/abr/This_Day_in ... ory_Mar_06

1875: Heavy snow fell in much of Arkansas, with the highest amounts in the central and west. Twelve inches of snow fell at Little Rock, which remains the highest calendar day snowfall on record in the capital city. 30 inches fell near Mena. The image below is from a tweet by the NWS Office in Little Rock, Arkansas.


2017: Early data from the GOES-East satellite warned forecasters from the NWS office in Dodge City, Kansas, about a wildfire before any 911 calls were made. As a result, they were able to start planning evacuations sooner and saving lives. Click HERE for a tweet from NOAA Satellites.

[Randi]

MODIS Image of the day



Iceberg A23a is Stuck Once Again(3/4/2025)

The largest and oldest iceberg currently on Earth’s oceans has once again ground to a halt, this time off of the remote South Georgia Island.
The iceberg first calved from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986, where it promptly grounded. After sitting still in the Weddell Sea for more than 30 years, A23a broke free in 2020 and has been drifting on the currents that sweep many icebergs from the icy Antarctic to warmer waters of the Southern Ocean. This drift was interrupted in 2024, when A23a got stuck again—this time, captured in a swirling column of water over a mountain on the sea floor. After a short spin, A23a escaped and began a leisurely drift towards South Georgia Island.
According to satellite images, the iceberg has been sitting in place since March 1. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) confirmed that the iceberg now appears to be grounded on the continental shelf of the sub-Antarctic Island and sits about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from land. This location is not expected to interfere with breeding of penguins or harm wildlife found on the island—a real possibility had the iceberg grounded closer to or on the shoreline of South Georgia Island.

https://www.geonames.org/3426223/south-georgia.html

[Randi]

https://www.weather.gov/abr/This_Day_in ... ory_Mar_07

1717: A series of snowstorms between February 27 and March 7 blanketed the New England colonies with five or more feet of snow. Click HERE for more information from the New England Historical Society.

1947: On March 7, 1947, not long after the end of World War II and years before Sputnik ushered in the space age, a group of soldiers and scientists in the New Mexico desert saw something new and wonderful in this grainy black-and-white-photos - the first pictures of Earth as seen from an altitude greater than 100 miles in space. The image below is courtesy of NASA.

[Randi]

NASA Earth Observatory





Iceberg Grinds to a Stop off South Georgia Island(March 4, 2025)

A-23A’s northward drift suddenly slowed around February 25, 2025, according to Christopher Shuman, a retired glaciologist with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Shuman has used satellite images to track A-23A’s drift since it wiggled free from the seafloor in the early 2020s after decades grounded in the Southern Weddell Sea. The berg is now parked more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) north of its birthplace at Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf, where it calved in 1986.

https://www.geonames.org/3426223/south-georgia.html

[Randi]

https://www.weatherforyou.com/weather_history/3-8

1717 - On Fishers Island in Long Island Sound, 1200 sheep were discovered to have been buried under a snow drift for four weeks. When finally uncovered, one hundred sheep were still alive. (The Weather Channel)

1909 - The town of Brinkley AR was struck by a tornado which killed 49 persons and caused 600,000 dollars damage. The tornado, which was two-thirds of a mile in width, destroyed 860 buildings. Entire families were killed as houses were completely swept away by the tornado. Tornadoes killed 64 persons and injured 671 others in Dallas and Monroe counties during the Arkansas tornado outbreak. (David Ludlum)

1987 - Thirty-two cities in the eastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date, including Madison WI with a reading of 71 degrees. Afternoon highs of 68 degrees at Houghton Lake MI and 72 degrees at Flint MI smashed their previous records for the date by fourteen degrees. (The National Weather Summary)

1989 - While arctic cold gripped the northeastern U.S., unseasonably warm weather prevailed across the southwestern states. Albany NY reported a record low of 2 degrees below zero. Tucson AZ reported a record high of 90 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)

[Randi]

NASA Earth Observatory



Alfred’s Strange and Destructive Journey(March 7, 2025)

After roiling off Australia’s northeast coast for over a week, Tropical Cyclone Alfred was poised to make landfall near Brisbane, the country’s third-most populous city, in early March 2025. It is rare for a tropical cyclone to hit Australia’s east coast this far south. The last one to reach land near the Queensland–New South Wales border was Tropical Cyclone Zoe in 1974.
Alfred was the equivalent of a tropical storm as classified by the U.S. National Weather Service, or a Category 2 storm on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale, as it crept toward the coast on March 7.
Despite its relatively low classification on the storm scales, Alfred posed serious hazards to areas in its path. Its slow pace exacerbated the damaging effects, allowing heavy rains, storm surge, and high winds to lash heavily populated coastal areas for several days leading up to landfall. Sustained wind speeds of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour were observed around the time this image was acquired.

https://www.geonames.org/2174003/brisbane.html

[Randi]

https://www.weather.gov/abr/This_Day_in ... ory_Mar_09

1891: From March 9 through the 13th, a blizzard struck southern England and Wales with gale-force winds. 220 people were killed; 65 ships foundered in the English Channel, and 6,000 sheep perished. Countless trees were uprooted, and trains were buried. Up to a foot of snow and snowdrifts of 11.5 feet were reported in Dulwich, London, Torquay, Sidmouth, and Dartmouth.
Click HERE for more information about this storm from the National Maritime Museum.

[Randi]

MODIS Image of the day



Wet Season at the Makgadikgadi(3/7/2025)

In early March, near the end of the annual rainy season, normally arid northern Botswana becomes a lush with moisture. Vegetation abounds, the savannah greens, and water seeps into one of the largest, driest salt pans on Earth, the Makgadikgadi.

https://www.geonames.org/11048842/makga ... -park.html