Serving the Quantitative Finance Community

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 8
 
User avatar
bobdobbs
Posts: 0
Joined: August 2nd, 2007, 1:40 pm

Extreme Weather

August 3rd, 2007, 1:43 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeQuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsQuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeQuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsThis letter in the FT asks the question:QuoteSir, In your editorial "It's time to plan for the next deluge" (July 25) you say that "it is now scientifically incontrovertible that global warming is making heavy rain fall more frequently across the world's temperate latitudes". But less than a year ago, on August 10 2006, you reported: "This year's hot, dry summer will be repeated many times in the future and will become normal in the next 40 to 50 years if climate scientists are correct."Please could you make up your mind as to the effect of global warming?So what's it to be? Floods or drought?Both.In the same (tiny) country? Over the same period?Yes. It's weather extremes ppauper. When systems move away from equilibrium, chaos can & does ensue. I thought you, of all people, would know this with your background in fluid dynamics. Or maybe that's another deception?First - I'm not the guy with FIFTEEN THOUSAND posts to my name.Second - I don't believe the climate has ever been in equilibrium. It's always been changing.Third - I have no strong opinion one way or the other but I would like to see some convincing science (i.e not the Stern report)
 
User avatar
ppauper
Posts: 11729
Joined: November 15th, 2001, 1:29 pm

Extreme Weather

August 3rd, 2007, 1:49 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsQuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeQuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsThis letter in the FT asks the question:QuoteSir, In your editorial "It's time to plan for the next deluge" (July 25) you say that "it is now scientifically incontrovertible that global warming is making heavy rain fall more frequently across the world's temperate latitudes". But less than a year ago, on August 10 2006, you reported: "This year's hot, dry summer will be repeated many times in the future and will become normal in the next 40 to 50 years if climate scientists are correct."Please could you make up your mind as to the effect of global warming?So what's it to be? Floods or drought?Both.In the same (tiny) country? Over the same period?global warming is the bogeyman on which these chicken littles blame everything.I've addressed this before:weather gets warmer: blame global warmingweather gets cooler: blame global warmingweather gets wetter: blame global warmingweather gets drier: blame global warmingthe dog farts: blame global warming
 
User avatar
ppauper
Posts: 11729
Joined: November 15th, 2001, 1:29 pm

Extreme Weather

August 3rd, 2007, 1:51 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsFirst - I'm not the guy with FIFTEEN THOUSAND posts to my name.hey, I worked hard for that !you'll get there soon enough, you've got what, 12 already today and the day's still young
 
User avatar
TraderJoe
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: February 1st, 2005, 11:21 pm

Extreme Weather

August 3rd, 2007, 2:15 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsQuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeQuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsQuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeQuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsThis letter in the FT asks the question:QuoteSir, In your editorial "It's time to plan for the next deluge" (July 25) you say that "it is now scientifically incontrovertible that global warming is making heavy rain fall more frequently across the world's temperate latitudes". But less than a year ago, on August 10 2006, you reported: "This year's hot, dry summer will be repeated many times in the future and will become normal in the next 40 to 50 years if climate scientists are correct."Please could you make up your mind as to the effect of global warming?So what's it to be? Floods or drought?Both.In the same (tiny) country? Over the same period?Yes. It's weather extremes ppauper. When systems move away from equilibrium, chaos can & does ensue. I thought you, of all people, would know this with your background in fluid dynamics. Or maybe that's another deception?First - I'm not the guy with FIFTEEN THOUSAND posts to my name.Second - I don't believe the climate has ever been in equilibrium. It's always been changing.Third - I have no strong opinion one way or the other but I would like to see some convincing science (i.e not the Stern report)You might try starting here www.realclimate.org. "Climate science from climate scientists".
Last edited by TraderJoe on August 2nd, 2007, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
User avatar
bobdobbs
Posts: 0
Joined: August 2nd, 2007, 1:40 pm

Extreme Weather

August 3rd, 2007, 2:30 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeYou might try starting here www.realclimate.org. "Climate science from climate scientists".Seems there are multiple threads with this debate.The problem I and I'm sure the majority of laymen have is that every argument and counter-argument I have seen usually involves "cherry-picking" facts. There is now so much noise out there that one cannot stay abreast with all the arguments so it comes down to a political and philisophical choice:1) We've got to do something just in case2) Why worry? we're all dead in the long runI'm not sure which camp I'm in but I'm damned sure that neither side in the expert debate are financially disinterested.
 
User avatar
TraderJoe
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: February 1st, 2005, 11:21 pm

Extreme Weather

August 3rd, 2007, 3:11 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: bobdobbsQuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeYou might try starting here www.realclimate.org. "Climate science from climate scientists".Seems there are multiple threads with this debate.The problem I and I'm sure the majority of laymen have is that every argument and counter-argument I have seen usually involves "cherry-picking" facts. There is now so much noise out there that one cannot stay abreast with all the arguments so it comes down to a political and philisophical choice:1) We've got to do something just in case2) Why worry? we're all dead in the long runI'm not sure which camp I'm in but I'm damned sure that neither side in the expert debate are financially disinterested.Blinded by power & greed, eh? That's why we should leave the debate to the scientists.
 
User avatar
JWD
Posts: 13
Joined: March 2nd, 2005, 12:51 pm
Contact:

Extreme Weather

August 5th, 2007, 3:20 pm

Welcome to the global warming debates, bobdobbs. You have good questions. Here are a few responses: So what's it to be? Floods or drought?Global warming is providing increasing extra energy to the weather system, and the tails of the distributions of weather events are therefore being widened. Increased evaporation and increased precipitation, and therefore increased probability of flooding, can occur during the rainy season at a given location. Rain does not occur much during the dry (summer) season, but increased evaporation from the soil still occurs, which may lead to drought conditions. Drought in the dry season may take place in similar locations as flooding during the wet season. While we cannot attribute a given large flood or severe drought to global warming, global warming increases the probabilities, and it is certainly noteworthy to mention such tail events. I don't believe the climate has ever been in equilibrium. It's always been changing. Correct. It is moreover critical to understand that weather and climate are not the same. Climate is basically weather averaged over space (large regions) and time (e.g. one year). Weather is chaotic and highly dependent on initial conditions. Climate is a boundary value problem, and for climate we are neither interested in the sequencing of individual weather events in time nor in localized weather. Still, the climate of the earth is not in equilibrium. The best example is in fact the huge increase in anthropogenic (human) carbon emissions in the last 30 years, which is causing the climate to react in a non-equilibrium fashion with a upward trend of temperatures – this is what is called global warming. I would like to see some convincing science The best documentation of convincing science is in the three large (1,000 page) IPCC reports, which document the published peer-reviewed literature; there are also summary documents. The IPCC reports are available free online as pdf files. New IPCC reports are coming out this year. The second stop is to read about the global climate models, e.g. the GFDL models at Princeton University, from the original sources. The RealClimate.org website, run by in-the-field scientists, has excellent pointed discussions and references to the science, which you can use for orientation. There are also references and discussions in the various Global Warming threads on Wilmott. Seems there are multiple threads with this debate. Yes. The three core threads are Global Warming Science, Global Warming Impacts, and Global Warming Mitigation. This follows the classification of the IPCC reports, and was an attempt to organize the discussions at Wilmott. A fourth thread, Global Warming Contrarians, is for discussions of contrarian claims, which attempt to argue against the mainstream consensus science. A variety of other threads express enthusiasm and interest, along with some notable discord, that this subject has generated. The problem I and I'm sure the majority of laymen have is that every argument and counter-argument I have seen usually involves "cherry-picking" facts. The best defense is to read enough so that you understand the arguments and counter-arguments. Cherry-picking the exceptions is indeed a characteristic of contrarian arguments. TV and other media coverage often exist with sound-bite factoids, which doesn’t help. In characterizing events and placing them in perspective, it is relevant to consider how extreme the event is relative to past history, whether the event time period is long or short, whether the region in which the event occurred is large or small, and whether the time is recent (e.g. within the last 30 years) or historical. It is especially important to consider the trends. And, it is most critical to know whether the source is a recognized in-the-field expert or not. There is now so much noise out there that one cannot stay abreast with all the arguments Yes, very difficult indeed. A lot of the noise is deliberate, intended to derail rational debate. Your best bet is a good grounding with the RealClimate.org website and the IPCC reports. It does take time and some considerable work to get a solid perspective. it comes down to a political and philisophical choice: 1) We've got to do something just in case 2) Why worry? we're all dead in the long run The first is the “risk manager” choice. The second is the ostrich “head in the sand” choice. The philosophical choice is basically between long term planning and equity for future generations (our children and grandchildren), versus ignoring the potentially severe consequences of global warming that can be visited on our children and grandchildren. The political choices involve whether or not we have the will to do anything substantial to counter the impacts of global warming. I'm not sure which camp I'm in Good. Glad to hear it. You’re starting with an open mind. I'm damned sure that neither side in the expert debate are financially disinterested. The potential impacts and possible mitigation of global warming are huge complex subjects full of financial and economic considerations. It is relevant to note that some contrarians are partially supported by right-wing think tanks that are in turn supported by the energy industry, and are not unbiased observers. Individually, university and laboratory scientists generally have standard salaried positions. Hope that helps.---------
Last edited by JWD on August 5th, 2007, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jan Dash, PhD

Editor, World Scientific Encyclopedia of Climate Change:
https://www.worldscientific.com/page/en ... ate-change

Book:
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/ ... 71241_0053
 
User avatar
TraderJoe
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: February 1st, 2005, 11:21 pm

Extreme Weather

August 6th, 2007, 10:12 am

Extreme China.QuoteMeteorologists predict that the summer of 2007 will be Shanghai's hottest on record. Temperatures hit 39.6ºC on July 29th, matching the hottest day the city has suffered since 1934. The rest of the summer is forecast to bring another 22 days with temperatures above 35ºC, which will tax Shanghai's water and power resources severely. Other parts of China are experiencing different extremes of weather. The north of the country is suffering its worst drought in two decades, while floods continue to wreak havoc throughout much of the centre, south and east: more than 700 people have been killed by flooding this year.Economist.com
Last edited by TraderJoe on August 5th, 2007, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
User avatar
TraderJoe
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: February 1st, 2005, 11:21 pm

Extreme Weather

August 9th, 2007, 12:39 pm

Extreme India.QuoteMore Torrential Rain Hits IndiaAug 9, 2007 7:24 PMAs of Tuesday, torrential rain was still hammering parts of India in a week-long bout of unsettled weather instigated by a tropical cyclone off the Bay of Bengal. In the latest instance of extreme rainfall linked to the former cyclone, rainfall rose to 19.3 inches in the western city Bharuch, Gujarat. This was nearly one-half of the normal yearly rainfall for Bharuch. The former cyclone was still unleashing torrential rains Tuesday afternoon, local time, over the state of Gujarat and a little of neighboring Pakistan. The western city of Mumbai, which ended an exceptionally wet June with monthly rainfall of 39 inches, picked up another 4 inches of rain Tuesday. Far to the east, meantime, a new monsoon low gathered near the head of the Bay of Bengal triggering flooding cloudbursts over the state of West Bengal. These pounded the city of Kolkata (Calcutta), early Tuesday and again late Tuesday, leaving rainfall of 10.5 inches. Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Forecaster Jim Andrews.
 
User avatar
JWD
Posts: 13
Joined: March 2nd, 2005, 12:51 pm
Contact:

Extreme Weather

August 11th, 2007, 9:59 pm

The recent tornado in Brooklyn NY counts as a severe weather event, and global warming increases the probability of such events The 2007 Brooklyn tornado was the strongest tornado on record to strike in New York City. It formed in the early morning hours of August 8, 2007…The U.S. National Weather Service estimated its strength there as an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale…The storm system produced severe street flooding, and disrupted all modes of transportation throughout the city. Service was delayed or suspended on all 24 New York City Transit Authority subway lines during the morning rush hour, and nine lines were still not running by the evening rush…Meteorologists believed Wednesday's storm produced the first tornado in Brooklyn since 1889…Climate scientist James Hansen cautioned against linking any single event with global warming, but did say that probability of severe weather events is related. "You cannot blame a single specific event, such as this week's storm, on climate change, however, it is fair to ask whether the human changes have altered the likelihood of such events. There the answer seems to be 'yes.'", he was quoted as saying. Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Brooklyn_tornado -----------
Jan Dash, PhD

Editor, World Scientific Encyclopedia of Climate Change:
https://www.worldscientific.com/page/en ... ate-change

Book:
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/ ... 71241_0053
 
User avatar
TraderJoe
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: February 1st, 2005, 11:21 pm

Extreme Weather

August 18th, 2007, 12:12 am

Extreme USA.QuoteHeat wave kills 41 in South, MidwestBy BETH RUCKER, Associated Press Writer Fri Aug 17, 4:59 PM ET NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Residents across the South and Midwest were hopeful that the weekend would bring some relief from brutal temperatures that have killed more than three dozen people and set records for power demand. Forecasters expected temperatures in Memphis and other parts of the Mississippi Valley to drop slightly, into the 90s, by Saturday or Sunday, a relief from several consecutive days of triple digits.In Tennessee, the Shelby County medical examiner's office confirmed Friday that heat caused the death of a 77-year-old woman found in her home the day before, bringing the death toll in Memphis alone to nine.In all, 41 deaths in the South and Midwest have been confirmed as heat-related, and other deaths are suspected, authorities said.The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation's largest public utility, shut down one of three units at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Athens, Ala., on Thursday because water because water downstream in the Tennessee River was exceeding the 90-degree average limit set by environmental regulators.Cutting back on power production reduces the temperature of the water discharged by the plant into the river, and that helps keep the river cooler, said TVA spokesman John Moulton."We don't believe we've ever shut down a nuclear unit because of river temperature," Moulton said from headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn.The shutdown posed no safety threat, but it came as TVA hit records for power consumption in the last two weeks in its service area covering most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.The utility will compensate for the loss of power by buying it elsewhere.In north-central Arkansas, the temperature reached 112 degrees on Wednesday in a place called Evening Shade."It's miserable," said Sharp County Judge Larry Brown, the county's chief administrative officer. Road crews were working shorter hours, "coming in early and leaving at noon. By then it's already way over 100 anyway," Brown said.At midafternoon Thursday it was 107, Brown said. "It's still like an oven," he said. While things were a bit better Friday, the early afternoon temperature in Russellville already hit 100.Emergency physicians warned that days of heat-related stress can lead to problems such as nausea, dizziness, headaches, cramps and vomiting for people who otherwise are healthy. Those symptoms are the first signs of heat exhaustion."It is a cumulative thing," said Dr. Franc Fenaughty, an emergency room physician in the Memphis suburb of Germantown. "After four or five or six days you are going to see more people get dehydrated. And, the big problem is dehydration."Untreated, heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, which often causes death or disability. A fever of 101 degrees or higher, especially for older people, is cause for concern, and fever of 103.5 or more is considered an emergency."Every day the risk rises for those people who haven't had a break from the heat," said Dr. Mary Ellen McIntire, of the Baptist Minor Medical Centers.There were nine confirmed deaths in Missouri, eight confirmed deaths in Illinois, four each in Arkansas and Georgia, three in Alabama, two in South Carolina and one in Mississippi, as well as one death in Tennessee outside Memphis.Last summer, a heat wave killed at least 50 people in the Midwest and East. California officially reported a death toll of 143, but authorities last month acknowledged the number may have been far higher. A 1995 heat wave in Chicago was blamed for 700 deaths. yahoo news.com
 
User avatar
Hamilton
Posts: 1
Joined: July 23rd, 2001, 6:25 pm

Extreme Weather

August 18th, 2007, 12:45 am

QuoteDetroit's killer heat wave of 1936By George Cantor / The Detroit News When Detroiters began to die on the first day, the list was easily contained on the front page of the paper. Dora Brady, 89, in her home on Sanford. Nathan Derby, 97, in his home on West Philadelphia. A worker at Dodge Main, collapsing on the line. A man working in a laundry, another in a restaurant downtown. A night watchman found dead when the office was opened. An elderly man found in a field at Telegraph and Ann Arbor Trail. Another beneath the street sign at Burlingame and 14th.Edison Fountain in Grand Circus Park was a popular cooling off spot for city youngsters. There were 10 in all on the first day. No one could have known that it was only the beginning of one of the greatest and deadliest disasters in the history of Detroit. Sixty years ago, the most terrible heat wave ever recorded fell upon the city. At its end, one week later, hundreds were dead and the daily lists started on the front page and filled an entire column inside the paper. Healthy men and women would start off for work in the morning and never come home, falling in the streets or at work when they were overcome by the sun and heat. Weeping relatives besieged Receiving Hospital and the morgue, where the dead were lined up in corridors since no space remained on the slabs. Doctors and nurses collapsed at their stations, overcome by heat and fatigue. "It's as if Detroit has been attacked by a plague out of the Middle Ages," one observer wrote. And yet this disaster of 1936 is almost forgotten. Ask Detroiters who lived through it and they probably could not recall the dates or even the year. Those too young to have firsthand recollection very likely have never heard of the July when the summer turned killer. There was no great destruction of property, no visible aftermath, as is the case with most disasters with a death toll that high. Heat depends upon a cumulative impact to make an impression, not one quick and terrible strike that is seared into the memory. After it has passed, it blends in with all the other hot spells of a lifetime. This one was different, though, not only in the number it killed but in the very intensity of the heat. Records for high temperatures set during that summer still stand in 15 states, including Michigan. In Kansas and North Dakota, it reached 121 degrees, marks surpassed in this country only in the deserts of the Southwest. In Mio, Mich., the mercury leveled out at 112. In Duluth, Minn., which had never topped 100 degrees before, stifling, incredulous residents camped out on the Lake Superior shore. Detroit had counted only seven days of 100-degree readings in the 63 previous years since the U.S. weather station started official readings here. That mark would be equalled in the space of seven days.It was a Detroit tradition to camp out on Belle Isle when oppressive heat moved in. But on the weekend July 10-12, 1936, the island looked like a massive gypsy camp, with hundreds of thousands of families sleeping out in the open. Police reported traffic was backed up from the bridge along East Grand Boulevard all the way to Kercheval. In many regards, it was the last terrible blast of the climatic conditions that created the Dust Bowl of the Depression. The '30s are generally remembered as a time of heat and drought in the Midwest, as if the weather itself had malignantly altered along with the economy.A mounted policeman refreshes his horse with a bucket of water in Detroit. On Wednesday, July 8, 1936, the temperature registered 104.4 degrees. It would stay in the 100s for seven consecutive days. In the summer of 1936, as Franklin D. Roosevelt prepared to run for his second term against Gov. Alf Landon of Kansas, there were indicators that the Depression was nearing its end. The July Fourth holiday was described by the New York Times as "the most freespending since the Crash." Long-vacant hotel rooms filled up in resorts throughout the country. The Ambassador Bridge reported record crowds going into Canada. Finally, it was a holiday of the heart as well as the calendar. The Fourth fell on a Saturday and it was perfect weather across most of the country, warm and clear. That in itself was unusual because 1936 had already made its mark as a year of violent, unpredictable weather. February brought record snow levels. After the snow came the cold. In North Dakota, the temperature never rose above zero for 18 consecutive days. The month's mean temperature was 11 below. In St. Louis, it was only 12. The Arkansas River froze at Little Rock for the first time in memory. When the thaw came, it was alarmingly quick. A mild March sent snow-swollen rivers raging out of control. Every tributary of the Ohio overflowed and by month's end there were 171 dead and 430,000 homeless. Then came the tornadoes. On a muggy April 5, a band of twisters careened through Tupelo, Miss., rural Alabama and Gainesville, Ga., killing 419. No tornado system since has taken such a death toll. Unwelcome winds were also blowing farther west. The soil began to move on the Plains for the fourth consecutive year, destroying farms, blotting out the midday sun, ending a way of life for an entire section of the country. In the spring of 1936, from Oklahoma to the Dakotas, many Dust Bowl farmers who had tried to hold on decided they could stand no more and left the land for good. There are dozens of counties in these states that have never regained the population level of the 1930 Census. A certain anxiety accompanied all this, as if the turbulence of the weather mocked the hopes for better times. Yes, the politicians quoted statistics and things seemed better. But could anyone be sure? The Depression had shattered so many certainties. Was everything really back in place or was something else about to happen? This strange uneasiness pervaded America, and much of it focused on the weather.The fountains a Belle Isle got a workout in the summer of '36. Home air-conditioning was still a pleasure of the very rich. Only a few department stores and movie theaters were air-conditioned. Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace spoke of establishing a fireline at the 98th meridian to protect farmland to the east. Another New Dealer, Rex Tugwell, predicted that if deterioration continued, "St. Louis will become the capital of a new American desert." Sermons and editorials drew parallels between America and the vanished civilizations of the ancient Middle East. One analyst wrote that the greatest task facing Americans was to "make this a permanent land." Finally, in July, came the heat, rolling up slowly from the Southwest, as if the door to the Mojave furnace had swung open. A massive high pressure system off the Pacific coast pumped the hot air into the nation's midsection. On July Fourth, as crowds frolicked on the beaches in Chicago and New York, it was already 98 degrees in North Dakota. Two days later, it would reach 121 in the town of Steele. The temperature swing of 182 degrees, from the Feb. 15 mark of 60 below, would be unprecedented in U.S. Weather Bureau annals. "I was driving home that morning and there was some work going on along the road," retired farmer Ed Williams recalled years later. "You had to take a detour to the south. I got to the top of the first rise and the wind just stopped me. It felt like a blast from a furnace. I thought I'd felt hot weather before, but this was just awful hot, awful hot." On Wednesday, July 8, the heat reached Detroit. By 4:50 p.m., the mercury registered 104.4 degrees. And the dying began. The health department published some tips: Add a pinch of salt to each glass of cold water. Avoid over-exertion in direct sunlight. Eat lightly and avoid fats. Don't swim after excessive perspiration. The old-timers wore a cabbage leaf under their hats, but some golfers, more modern in outlook, used a cold towel under theirs.For those without refrigerators, keeping the ice box well supplied was vital to keep food from spoiling. Beyond that, what else could you do? Air-conditioning was still a pleasure of the very rich. Hudson's had become one of the first department stores in America to install such a system and Crowley's followed a few years later. But even their crowds were down, because few people wanted to brave the heat to get there. Many movie theaters were air-conditioned and ran ads that showed shavings of ice clinging to a sign that said, "It's cool inside." Some stayed open all night and people slept inside. The sleeping cars on many railroads also featured air. But home units were almost unknown. "The rest of us," intoned The News editorially, "like Joe Louis from the fourth round on must stay in there and take it." Many homeowners went down to their basements, spending the days in the cooler confines there. On Thursday, July 9, it was 102. A man was caught stealing an electric fan from Kinsel's downtown and demanded that it accompany him to his jail cell. The judge declined. On McNichols and Livernois, the pavement buckled and formed a concrete mound, four feet high, stopping traffic in all directions. The wrestling show was canceled at the Naval Armory and 22 were dead in the city. Friday was the first time in history that three consecutive 100 degree days had been recorded in Detroit. It reached 101. As the weekend began, crowds began to throng to Belle Isle. It was a Detroit tradition to camp out on the island when oppressive heat moved in. But never in such numbers. Police reported that there was not a parking space to be found on the island and traffic was backed up from the bridge along East Grand Boulevard all the way to Kercheval. The island looked like a massive gypsy camp, with hundreds of thousands of families sleeping out in the open, wherever there was an open piece of grass. The scene was duplicated in neighborhoods across the city as people took bedrolls out on their lawns to spend the night. By now, the heat wave had reached the East. In New York, the Olympic trials were being held and athletes were rushed to nearby hospitals after collapsing. All the bridges over the East and Harlem rivers stuck in the open position when the metal joints expanded, trapping thousands of motorists on Manhattan. Heat records fell in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, in West Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana.Pets' lives also were endangered by the heat, but this one had the problem licked. In Detroit, the death toll took a sudden jump as news came in from Eloise Hospital that 63 previously unreported victims had died during the weekend. Hospitals were not air-conditioned and heat-stroke victims brought in often found no relief. Heroic efforts were made to treat them as all rooms filled up. Doctors and nurses, working 18 hours without a break, administered treatment on cots or on benches in the waiting rooms. Hysterical relatives crowded the lobby, trying to find news of missing loved ones. Newborn infants died in the delivery room. Old people succumbed to heat-induced heart attacks. In a house on Magnolia, a mother and daughter died within 12 hours of each other. The morgue reported 90 deaths in the previous 24 hours.A girl leaves the Penny Ice Fund site at Canfield and 12th Street with several blocks of ice and her baby sister in tow. Still, the heat held on. It was 101 both Saturday and Sunday and 100 on Monday. Rain was expected anytime, moving in from the west. "The city looked like a deserted village," reported the Detroit Times. Nothing moved on the downtown streets as offices closed down. A schedule of sandlot baseball games went on but played to empty stands. Suddenly, on the seventh day, it ended in Detroit. The temperature reached 104 at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, then started to slide. A massive thunderstorm swept across the city. Crowds on Belle Isle were drenched by the sudden deluge as they ran for buses and cars. By midnight it was below 70 for the first time in a week, and at 5:30 a.m. it bottomed out at 61. It was over. There were 364 dead in Detroit, 570 dead in Michigan. Only Ohio had a higher death toll. Medical experts said the deaths were so numerous because the early summer had been mild and people hadn't had a chance to be gradually acclimated to the heat. Tourist officials used the death toll as an odd verification of Michigan's status as a summer resort. "People can't cope with heat because they're not used to it here." Elsewhere, the heat lingered until August. The Dakotas finally found their rainmaker, in the person of FDR. While Republicans grumbled about "Roosevelt luck," the long-awaited presidential trip brought with it rain and cool to the parched heartland. The final national toll was 5,000 deaths. The weather mechanics that produced the intense heat and drought of the '30s are still a puzzle to climatologists. There have been other such cycles since then, but never one so widespread or so intense. Or so deadly. We are a far less vulnerable land now. This disaster led directly to the conservation and economic measures that have cushioned the impact of severe heat and drought. Air-conditioning has changed the suffering equation. When the South baked for weeks in 100-degree heat in 1980, the death toll was half of the 1936 figure. Soon the memory receded and blended in with other heat waves. Just as the memories and fears raised by the Depression receded to the back of the minds of those who went through it. "It wasn't the best of everything," said Sam Phillips, a retired Detroit roofing contractor. "You ask about that record heat. Most people just wanted to get rid of it. We really didn't care about records. Those are good days to forget and I mean that."This story appeared in The Detroit News on July 6, 1986.
 
User avatar
ppauper
Posts: 11729
Joined: November 15th, 2001, 1:29 pm

Extreme Weather

August 18th, 2007, 12:43 pm

More on the good old days.......QuoteD.C. resident John Lockwood was conducting research at the Library of Congress and came across an intriguing Page 2 headline in the Nov. 2, 1922 edition of The Washington Post: "Arctic Ocean Getting Warm; Seals Vanish and Icebergs Melt."The 1922 article, obtained by Inside the Beltway, goes on to mention "great masses of ice have now been replaced by moraines of earth and stones," and "at many points well-known glaciers have entirely disappeared.""This was one of several such articles I have found at the Library of Congress for the 1920s and 1930s," says Mr. Lockwood. "I had read of the just-released NASA estimates, that four of the 10 hottest years in the U.S. were actually in the 1930s, with 1934 the hottest of all."
 
User avatar
TraderJoe
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: February 1st, 2005, 11:21 pm

Extreme Weather

August 19th, 2007, 12:18 am

Lucky they didn't have global warming those days, it would have been even hotter !!
 
User avatar
Hamilton
Posts: 1
Joined: July 23rd, 2001, 6:25 pm

Extreme Weather

August 19th, 2007, 1:29 am

QuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeLucky they didn't have global warming those days, it would have been even hotter !!You mean 1934 wasn't the hottest year of the 20th century?Does NASA know this?