Historical Facts For Your Entertainment

Thought it would be interesting to give you some history facts about TODAYS (February 26) weather from 1910-2004. Some interesting stuff and interesting trends. 


Ten years ago February 26, 2002 the Weather in Starkville looked much like today high of 68F and a low of 53F.  BELOW is the annual average precip for 2002.

1910 - Parts of Washington State were in the midst of a storm which produced 129 inches of snow at Laconia between the 24th and the 26th, a single storm record for the state. A series of storms, which began on the 23rd, led to a deadly avalanche on the first of March. By late on the 28th, the snow had changed to rain, setting the stage for disaster. (The Weather Channel)

1972 - The Buffalo Creek disaster occurred in the Buffalo Creek Hollow of Logan County in West Virginia. A coal slag dam on the Middle Fork of Buffalo Creek burst sending a fifty foot wall of water down a narrow valley killing 125 persons and causing 51 million dollars damage. Three days of rain atop a six inches snow cover prompted the dam break. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

1987 - A slow moving storm in the southwestern U.S. spread heavy snow from the southern and central Rockies into the Central High Plains Region. Totals in Colorado ranged up to 62 inches at Purgatory. Colorado Springs CO reported a February record of 14.8 inches of snow in 24 hours. Lander WY received four inches in one hour, 13 inches in seven hours, and a record storm total of 26 inches. High winds created near blizzard conditions at Colorado Springs. Fairplay CO reported 43 inches of snow, with drifts ten feet high. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1988 - Eight cities in the central and western U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date, including Lamoni IA with a reading of 67 degrees. Temperatures in North Dakota were as warm as those in Florida. (The National Weather Summary)

1989 - An upper level weather disturbance brought snow to parts of the central U.S. which just one day earlier were enjoying temperatures in the 60s. Snowfall totals in Missouri ranged up to nine inches at Rolla. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

1990 - Unseasonably cold weather followed in the wake of the winter storm in the northeastern U.S. Ten cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Syracuse NY with a reading of 10 degrees below zero. Freezing temperatures in southeastern Virginia caused considerable damage to plants and fruit trees. The barometric pressure reading of 30.88 inches at Wilmington NC was February record for that location. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

2004 - A major snowstorm dumps up to 20 inches of snow in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Charlotte's third largest snowstorm on record accumulates 11.6 inches at the airport.


Some beautiful weather pictures-

I hope you all have enjoyed your weekend! Have a great week! I'll be updating on Starkville's weather tomorrow! (Monday)

LA NINA

Things I didn't really understand about LA NINA that you may find interesting!! We are currently in a La Nina winter for those of you who did not know. 

"La Niña is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, compared to El Niño, which is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. "

"In the continental US, during El Niño years, temperatures in the winter are warmer than normal in the North Central States, and cooler than normal in the Southeast and the Southwest. During a La Niña year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the Southeast and cooler than normal in the Northwest."

So I would say our weather this year, even though it is not very characteristic of "winter weather", is actually very common for this time of year. 

I'll be updating on our weather for this upcoming week if you want to come back later! We are going to have a pretty good week except for a maybe a few pop up showers on Tuesday and Wednesday! I hope you all have a great day!

Used site: www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov  

February 6, 2012- February 11, 2012 "When Thunder Roars Go Indoors"

In light of me having FOUR tests this week... I thought I would give you some interesting information that I've learned from my "Natural Hazards" class. It was rather enlightening and also interesting how much lightning does effect us as human beings.

Lightning:
Lighting causes an average of 85-100 deaths per year and also an average of 300 injuries. Lightning also causes on average $200 million per year in damages. Lightning contributes to 15,000 forest fires, usually out west.

The ratio of Male vs. Female in who gets stuck by lightning more is 84:16. The place most people get struck at is in open fields.

The highest number of deaths due to lightning strikes is in Florida- at a record 455.

Those who get stuck by lightning usually suffer chronic illnesses:
Depression (32%) Memory Loss (52%) Attention deficit (41%) Inability to sit long (32%) Sleep disturbance (44%)
Physically: External burns (32%) Numbness (36%) Severe headaches (32%) Dizziness (38%) Fear of crowds (29%)

You are more likely to get struck by lightning then to win the power ball.


Lightning could extend 10 miles out from a cloud.


Lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun (5,500° Celsius)-- 50,000° Celsius.


There are 16 million thunderstorms a year- 18,000 thunderstorms at any given moment.


LIGHTNING MYTHS:
-Never strikes in the same place twice- the Empire State Building get struck 22-25 times per year.
-Rubber tires are isolated- lightning can jump 10-20 feet.
-When boating...you need to seek shore- Tress on shore might be more dangerous.
-Caves are safe- Not if shallow
-Injured people carry a charge- no, they can be handled immediately after strike.


LIGHTNING SAFETY:
You need to learn the "lighting safe position" aka "LSP"

(Sad video of a girl who got stuck by lightning and is completely changed forever.)

(This is the position you should take!)

Well I hope you all learned a valuable lesson about lightning. It is nothing to take lightly. So next time there is a thunderstorm definitely be AWARE.

STARKVILLE, MS- 5 DAY FORECAST:

-We will be cooling up a bit from what you have seen the past few weeks. The winds are now starting to come more from the North- bringing in colder temperatures.

Monday: high 56- partly cloudy

Monday Night: low 35- clear

Tuesday: high 59- chance of rain in the afternoon- partly sunny

Tuesday Night: low 39- mostly cloudy- chance of rain most likely after midnight

Wednesday: high 56- mostly sunny

Wednesday Night: low 36- partly cloud

Thursday: high 56- sunny- with a few clouds here and there

Thursday Night: low 35- partly cloudy

Friday: high 55- cloudy

Friday Night: low 32- cloudy

I hope you all enjoy the weather this week! It'll be pretty out it looks like for most of the week. But make sure to watch out for the temperature lows. Have a great week!