SKYWARNEWS National Weather Service State College, PA - Spring 2006 “Working Together To Save Lives” New Radar Displays on mosaics are available from the dark blue left-hand menu common to all of our the Webpage! pages. The mosaics are a really nice By Michael Dangelo, NWS CTP feature, as the radar echoes from all the Webmaster radars in a wide area are combined into one picture. The regional mosaics cover Many of you have been to our website about a dozen states each, and the (http://weather.gov/statecollege), and national one covers the lower 48 states. lots of you have mentioned the new These mosaic images can also be radar displays. Thank you for all of your looped! There are even two different comments and suggestions. I will pass sizes/resolutions of the national mosaic them along to the headquarters folks and loops. who create those displays. There is both an “Enhanced” version of There are many new features available, the individual radar displays, and a and I thought I could highlight some of “Standard” version of the displays. The them. Enhanced displays are for those with high-bandwidth internet connections “KCCX” is the identifier for the Central (cable/DSL), while the Standard displays PA WSR-88D Radar. KCCX is located are better for low-bandwidth (dial-up) in northern Centre County near Black users. Moshannon State Park, and operated and maintained by the staff at WFO CTP. The Enhanced display allows you to See our “All Local Radars” page toggle on and off some useful overlays (http://www.erh.noaa.gov/ctp/radar.php) of local warnings, a topographic for more info on the 88D and some background image, a legend, and various pictures of the site (from a tour that was maps. The Standard display is on a done many years ago for a PSU radar white background, which was found to class). A link to the radar Status be easier to print out. Both versions of Message is also available from this page. the display have looping capabilities. We issue Status Messages when the Look for links on the top left of the radar radar is having maintenance performed pages to switch between the Standard on it, or is not available for some reason. and Enhanced versions. Links to images produced by KCCX, as Using either the Enhanced or the well as the new regional and national Standard display, you can now view echo Velocity information - which is the of Environmental Protection (DEP). A biggest benefit of having a Doppler radar Watch calls for a voluntary 5% reduction system. It shows the speed and direction in water usage. A Drought Warning, the of the echoes with respect to the radar – second level of drought severity, is also “Are the echoes moving toward or away issued by the DEP Secretary, and calls from the radar?” Red colors indicate for a voluntary 10-15% reduction in that the echo is moving away from the water usage. A Drought Emergency, the radar site, and green shades indicate that most severe state of drought status, is the echo is moving toward the radar site. declared by the Governor of The Storm Relative Velocity information Pennsylvania. It includes bans on non- may be rather difficult for the average essential water use, and local water person to interpret, but can show rationing plans. Some bans include (but meteorologists the wind movement with some exceptions via a variance inside individual thunderstorms – which process) watering grass, watering can lead to better warnings. athletic fields, irrigating trees and landscaped areas, irrigating golf courses You can also now view the Rainfall without an emergency operations plan, Estimates produced by the radar for the washing paved surfaces, using water for past hour and for a storm-total. These ornamental purposes, washing mobile estimates can be useful to see how much equipment (e.g. cars) serving water in rain you can expect (from a storm restaurants except when requested, moving toward your area), or how much filling or topping pools, using water rain you have received recently. from fire hydrants except to fight fires. Full regulations can be found on the Enjoy the new radar displays! DEP web page at: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/subject/h The “What” and “Why” of otopics/drought/drought_regs.htm Droughts in Pennsylvania which link to applicable chapters in the Pennsylvania Code. By Peter Jung, Service Hydrologist Drought declarations in Pennsylvania are based on 4 criteria: Precipitation, After a very wet Fall of 2005, complete Stream-Flow, Ground Water and Soil with river and stream flooding, the Moisture. Winter and Spring of 2006 were very dry over much of Pennsylvania. The Precipitation - How far is recent general lack of wintertime snow, and • and historical precipitation (both light springtime rainfall, have caused rain and snow) above or below river levels, ground water levels, and soil normal? A sliding scale based on moisture to drop. This prompted the the time frame being reviewed is issuance of a Drought Watch for the used to assess these criteria. entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania NOAA’s NWS is the primary on April 11, 2006. agency that tracks this element. For some background information, a • Stream-Flow - How do current Drought Watch is issued by the river levels compare to long term Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department averages? The USGS is the primary agency that measures By all accounts the 2005 hurricane river levels. season will go down in the books as the • Ground Water - How are water most active in history. Twenty-eight (28) levels in ground water named tropical storms formed...breaking monitoring wells compared to the old record of 21 set back in 1933. seasonal long-term normals? The Fifteen (15) storms became hurricanes, USGS again is the primary breaking the old record of 12 set back in agency that measures levels in 1969. Seven of the hurricanes became these wells. major hurricanes, category three or • Soil Moisture - What is the higher on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane overall long-term soil moisture scale, including four, Emily, Katrina, indicator? NOAA’s NWS Rita and Wilma which reached category computes and publishes a weekly 5 intensity. This is the first time since Palmer Drought Severity Index 1851 that four category 5 storms have which takes into account a been known to occur in one season. number of meteorological and hydrological factors. This year the season got off to a furious and early start with the first storm, The DEP is the agency that examines Arlene named on June 8th. The record and assesses these criteria, consults other setting season continued into July when participating agencies, and ultimately 5 storms earned names. This was the makes declarations (or recommendations most ever for the month since hurricanes in case of Drought Emergencies) for the started being tracked in the mid 1800’s. Commonwealth. Combined with the 2 storms that formed in June, 2005 became the first year in For now, Precipitation, Stream Flow and history that so many storms had formed Ground Water are all below average, so early in the year. while soil moisture is near normal over most of Pennsylvania. The amount of When hurricane Dennis formed in July, rainfall which eventually falls during the it was the earliest storm to reach late Spring and Summer will certainly category 4 status in the Caribbean Sea affect the Drought status in (Saffir Simpson Hurricane scale, Table Pennsylvania. The latest Drought 1). It also was also the strongest Statement for Central Pennsylvania hurricane to ever form so early in the issued on the second and fourth season. Dennis moved over Cuba Wednesdays of the month, can be found causing heavy damage and eventually on web at: weather.gov/statecollege. made landfall on the Florida panhandle near Navarre Beach as a category 3 hurricane. The Record Setting 2005 Before Dennis dissipated, it was Hurricane Season followed by Emily, an even stronger storm. After forming east of Granada during the second week of the month, it By John La Corte, Senior Forecaster moved steadily westward through the Caribbean briefly strengthening to Category Damage 1 some damage to trees, shrubbery, and unanchored mobile homes 2 major damage to mobile homes; damage buildings' roofs, and blow trees down 3 destroy mobile homes; blow down large trees; damage small buildings blow down all signs; damage roofs, windows, and doors; completely destroy mobile 4 homes; lower floors of structures near shore are damaged by flooding extensive damage to homes and industrial buildings; blow away small buildings; structures within 500 meters of shore on the lower floors which are less than 4.5 m (15 5 ft) above sea level are damaged Table 1. Saffir Simpson Hurricane Scale 1926. Causing 80 billion in damage and category 5 status (the earliest category 5 devastating the economy of New storm ever) before slamming into the Orleans, this makes Katrina the most Yucatan Peninsula near Cozumel with expensive storm in history. 135 mph winds. The season remained active into the Several storms followed Emily that second week of September, but with either stayed below hurricane strength or storms of relatively little impact. Ophelia remained out over the open Atlantic, was the exception. It formed over the causing relatively few problems. Then in northern Bahamas and meandered the third week of August Hurricane slowly northward just off the Carolina Katrina formed. It started as a tropical coasts. It took until mid September to storm over the southern Bahamas and move away from the Mid Atlantic coast tracked southwestward across southern and head out into the north Atlantic. The Florida as a category 1 hurricane late on slow movement just offshore, and the August 25th.