October 2012 is the 332nd consecutive month with an above-average temperature. If you were born in or after April 1985, if you are right now 27 years old or younger, you have never lived through a month that was colder than average.
State of the Climate: Global Analysis October 2012 (NOAA). While $50 billion Sandy has had the spotlight, the biggest natural disaster of 2012 (in the US) has been the
Great Drought still ongoing which is expected to cut America's GDP by 0.5 to 1% for the year. The death toll from the heat waves that accompanied this year's drought will exceed that of Sandy. This Sunday and Monday, Ken Burns premiers his new documentary
"The Dust Bowl", on PBS. (
via)
posted by stbalbach
on Nov 16, 2012 -
42 comments
A massive rare 'superstorm' is currently
bearing down on Alaska, with hurricane force winds (100+mph gusts), blizzard, sea-surge flooding. "This is going to be one of the worst storms on record over the Bering Sea". The storm passed through an area of unusually high sea surface temperatures. "This may
help explain why the storm is turning from an ordinary Bering Sea disturbance into a ‘superstorm’."
[more inside]
posted by stbalbach
on Nov 9, 2011 -
69 comments
Those who judge hurricane risk merely by their Saffir-Simpson category number (1-5) are not getting the entire picture. Another (coincidentally-named)
IKE (
Intergrated
Kinetic
Energy) proposes an improved method of classifying hurricanes, one that takes into account their size and separates the danger components of sea surge (which kills 9 out of 10 hurricane victims) and wind.
By that measure, Hurricane Ike is the most dangerous storm in 40 years. Ike's path reminds many of the greatest natural disaster in U.S. History, the Great Hurricane of 1900 (
91 minute History Channel video on Google) which killed thousands due mainly to the great
sea surge. After that the 17' Galveston sea wall was built and it has never been topped since by hurricane waves.
Hurricane Ike may change that as current wave heights (WVHT) being reported by
buoy data in the vicinity of Ike are well over 20 feet. A computer-simulated "Hurricane Carly" shows the results of various sea surges for the Galveston area (with
grap
hic grap
hics): Play with real-time data and forecasts for the western gulf with the experimental
nowCoast.
posted by spock
on Sep 12, 2008 -
84 comments
A.D. (After The Deluge) is a serialized webcomic about what it was like in the days leading up to, during & immediately after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans. The story is true, all dialogue taken from direct quotes. An ongoing project with updates monthly (scheduled to run from Dec 06 - Dec 07), the most recent chapter takes place right at the end of the storm, prior to the collapse of the levees, but to get the full effect,
read from the very beginning. For those who want to know more about the project, there's an
FAQ.
posted by jonson
on Sep 5, 2007 -
20 comments
Last Chance. "It took the Mississippi River 6,000 years to build the Louisiana coast. It took man (and natural disasters) 75 years to destroy it. Experts agree we have 10 years to act before the problem is too big to solve."
[Via First Draft.]
posted by homunculus
on Mar 5, 2007 -
19 comments
"This is
a major innovation...and in places that are affected by high winds and earthquakes, it looks like it's going to make a big difference." And it only adds about $15 to the cost of an average 2000 sq. ft. house - the Bostich
HurriQuake nail.
posted by jaimev
on Nov 28, 2006 -
42 comments
A little more than a year after leaving New Orleans, I miss the culture of sophisticated drinking. Sure, maybe not on Bourbon Street, home of the sickly sweet
hurricane and
Hand Grenade. But you head off Bourbon and you can get a very pleasant
Pimms cup at the
Napoleon House. And just down the street is a military antiques store that was once the pharmacy where
Antoine Amadie Peychaud invented the
sazerac, which lays claims to being the word's oldest cocktail. Any good bartender in New Orleans will be able to make you one; finding a sazerac-capable bartender outside the city is almost impossible. Of course, just outside the French Quarter, in the Fairmont Hotel, is the
Sazerac bar, but, surprisingly, their specialty is not the sazerac, but the favorite drink of
Huey Long, the delicious
Ramos Gin Fizz. Nearby, back in the Quarter, on an upper floor of the
Pharmacy Museum, was the former home of the
Museum of the American Cocktail -- now seemingly in transit after Katrina. At the opening, cocktail chef
Dale Degroff served up his specialty --
pre-Prohibition cocktails, including a
brandy crusta that still makes me weep from the pleasure of it. Sure, up here in Minneapolis we
invented the
cosmopolitan, but somehow a drink that's also become popular as a
perfume doesn't have that same Crescent City je ne sais quoi.
posted by Astro Zombie
on Sep 4, 2006 -
36 comments
Stress building in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina anniversary could spark more problems Like many other New Orleanians nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina, John McCusker was experiencing the
overwhelming
stress of rebuilding his life. McCusker, a
photographer who was part of The Times-Picayune's 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning staff(reg. required, but worth it. Trust me.), was seen driving wildly through the city Tuesday, attracting the attention of police. He
eventually
was arrested, but not before he was subdued with a Taser and an officer fired twice at his vehicle. During the melee,
he begged police to kill him. For some, it's still
Katrina every day.
posted by ColdChef
on Aug 10, 2006 -
141 comments
Flash flood! A New Orleans Times Picayune flash animation of exactly how, and where, and when the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Here's the
accompanying article. Even as a local, I had no idea how weak the levee systems were. And apparently
still are. Here's some
more info from a
local grassroots group fighting for better levee protection.
posted by ab3
on May 18, 2006 -
18 comments
National Hurricane Center and the Likelihood of Hurricanes. In December 2003 the NHC predicted a 68% chance of a major (Category 3-4-5) hurricane hitting the US, in fact there were three major hits on the US (Charlie, Ivan, and Jeanne). In December 2004 the NHC predicted a 69% chance of a major hurricane, in fact there were four major hists (Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma). The odds of that happening are about 0.9% (see link for math), or "statistically very significant evidence" the NHC predictions are understated.
Forecast for 2006: 81% chance of a major hurricane.
posted by stbalbach
on Mar 15, 2006 -
34 comments
Mascots helping Mascots High schools across America have witnessed the devastation brought about by several recent natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An outpouring of sympathy and concern, and a desire to help, have come forth from high schools wanting to assist those in need. To enable schools to help other schools, the National Federation of State High School Associations has initiated a fundraising program called the Mascot Adoption Program.
posted by ColdChef
on Mar 13, 2006 -
3 comments
