Tag Archives: history

Weather History: Death Valley Heat Record

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One hundred years ago today, the temperature at California’s Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park soared to 134°F.  To this day, that is the highest air temperature ever recorded on Earth.

Situated in the Mojave Desert and 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley is the lowest and driest place in the United States.  Its unique geography traps hot desert air and helps to heat it even further.  While the area does have seasons, summer is extremely hot.  From June through August, daytime highs in the triple digits and over-night lows in the 90s are not uncommon.

The heat wave that gripped the southwestern U.S. last month had some people thinking the Death Valley record might be broken, especially when the temperature reached 129°F on June 30th.  While this set a new monthly record for June, the century old world record still stands.

Death Valley, CA

Death Valley, CA

Image Credit: NPS

Weather History: 80 Years of Weather at Mt. Washington

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On this date, October 15th, back in 1932, the Mt. Washington Observatory was founded in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Located at 6,288 feet above sea level, this weather station sits on the highest peak in the northeastern United States. Given this unique position, the observatory experiences some of the wildest weather on the planet. With an average annual temperature of only 27.3°F, it is not unusual to see snow in the summit region year round.  The mountain, however, is most famous for its winds. In fact, until recently, it held the record for the fastest wind gust ever recorded, 231 mph in 1934.  The new record of 253 mph was reported on Australia’s Barrow Island in 2010 during Cyclone Olivia.

Having personally made it to the summit of Mt. Washington twice, I can attest to its cold and blustery conditions – even during the summer months. It is a challenging environment, but nonetheless an amazing place.

Cloudy summit of Mt. Washington, NH:  6, 288 feet

Image Credit: The Weather Gamut

Weather History: Hurricane Gloria

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On this date back in 1985, Hurricane Gloria made its second landfall on the western end of Long Island, NY.  The storm’s strong winds and heavy rain pounded the area, including New York City.

Peaking as a category-4 hurricane in the tropical Atlantic, Gloria weakened to a category-1 storm as it moved northward.  Despite its downgraded status, this storm packed a serious punch.  Battering the eastern seaboard from North Carolina to the Canadian Maritimes, Gloria claimed the lives of eight people and caused $1.94 billion (2012 USD) worth of damage.

Recognizing this storm’s widespread and destructive impact, the WMO retired the name Gloria from the Atlantic Basin’s list of tropical storm names in 1986.

Image Credit: NOAA

Koppen System of Climate Classification

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Climate, the long term statistical average of weather conditions, helps describe the character of a region.

Technically, every place on Earth has its own climate. To deal with such tremendous variety, scientists set up categories.  They organize locations with similar characteristics into groups. The ancient Greeks were among the first to attempt climate classification.  They divided the world into three zones: torrid, temperate, and frigid.  Today, the most widely used scheme is the Koppen Climate Classification System.

Wladimir Koppen (1846-1940) was a German climatologist working at the turn of the 20th century.  He developed a climate system based on monthly and annual averages of temperature and precipitation. Koppen also believed that a region’s vegetation was its best expression of climate. So, the natural distribution of native plants heavily influenced his zonal boundaries.

The Koppen system recognizes five principle climate groups, each with various sub-categories.  They are:

  • Tropical: Tropical Rainforest, Tropical Monsoon, Tropical Savanna
  • Dry: Semi-arid, Arid
  • Temperate: Mediterranean, Humid Sub-tropical, Marine West Coast
  • Continental: Warm Summer, Cool Winter, Sub-arctic
  • Polar: Tundra, Ice Sheets

Over the years, people have expanded this system to better suit their needs.  While the number of sub-categories differ, most are based on Koppen’s original idea.

Weather Journal of Lewis and Clark

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I recently came across the book, Lewis and Clark: Weather and Climate Data from the Expedition Journals, edited by NWS meteorologist Vernon Preston.

Ever since my visit to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) in St. Louis, Missouri, I have been interested in the amazing journey of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.  Between May 1804 and September 1806, these explorers traveled 4,162 miles from the Mississippi River to the Oregon Coast. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the “Corps of Discovery” had goals that were both scientific and commercial. Following their mandate, the expedition journals record the geography, flora, fauna, weather, and climate of the then uncharted territory of the American West.

Preston’s book focuses in on the weather and climate data found in the well-ordered journals.  It highlights both the positive and negative impacts the weather had on the expedition as well as how the explorers dealt with the elements. The book also supplements the journal data with route descriptions and historical maps.

A highly detailed book, it would be at home in the library of anyone interested in both meteorology and history.

Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Paleoclimatology

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Weather records, in some form or another, go back to early human civilizations.  There are, however, other longer-term records captured in nature. Today, scientists read these proxy weather sources in an effort to better understand the causes of previous climate changes and make forecasts about our future climate.

Tree ring sections provide excellent climatic histories of specific regions, usually going back several hundred years.  Generally, the rings are thicker in warm, wet growing seasons and thin during periods of drought.  They can also display evidence of wildfires.

Glacial ice is an excellent environmental record keeper.  Formed in seasonal layers, each band conveys information about the climatic conditions that existed when the ice formed.  The air bubbles trapped in the ice are particularly valuable, as they provide direct samples of past atmospheric compositions.  Some ice cores provide climate information dating back more than 100,000 years.

The rock record is another window that allows scientists to look into prehistoric climates. Sedimentary rocks are valuable sources of information as they often capture the environmental character of a region from millions of years ago.  Their composition, as well as the fossils found within them, can indicate the rise and fall of ancient sea levels.

The diverse research of Paleoclimatology has given us a detailed view of how Earth’s climate has changed throughout its long history. We have also come to understand that climate and human activities have a significant relationship.  Our activities influence climate and, in turn, climate effects how we live.

Weather and Art: Crossing the Delaware

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“Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Emanuel Leutze, is an iconic image of the American Revolution. The weather depicted in the painting, however, may not be accurate.

A new version of this celebrated subject by artist Mort Künstler explores some of these inaccuracies.  Through the research of historical documents, Künstler learned that the actual crossing took place under the cover night and in the midst of a nor’easter.  The artist also learned that the troops and equipment were probably transported on flat-bottomed ferries attached to cables that helped stabilize them in the storm.  Depicted in more realistic conditions, the painting’s main subject is still a determined George Washington.  However, it shows the general in the pragmatic posture of holding on to a cannon as he braces himself against the elements, which included strong winds, snow, and freezing rain.

Leutze created his better-known image in 1851, seventy-five years after the courageous events of December 1776.  His painting is an artistic interpretation that emphasizes the heroic status of General Washington. This is evident in the way he portrays the general illuminated by sunlight and standing tall in a rowboat as he crosses the icy Delaware River. The shape of the ice, in fact, is another questionable aspect of this classic painting. When frozen, the Delaware tends to form broad sheets of ice as opposed to the chunky crags that Leutze chose to illustrate.

After four years of renovations to its American Wing, the Metropolitan Museum Art returned Leutze’s work to public display earlier this week.  Künstler’s new painting entitled, “Washington’s Crossing: McKonkey’s Ferry, Dec. 26, 1776”, was unveiled at the New York Historical Society last month.

Emanuel Leutze's 1851 "Washington Crossing the Delaware"

Image Credit: Emanuel Leutze via Metmuseum

Mort Künstler's 2011, "Washington's Crossing: McKonkey's Ferry, Dec. 26, 1776”

Image Credit: Mort Künstler via AP