The Tropics have become increasingly active over the past week and bear watching to see if any of the systems pose a threat to the East Coast later this week and into the upcoming Labor Day weekend. Back in 1971, Tropical Storm Doria had a significant and damaging impact on the Tri-State Region. It was the 5th tropical storm of the 1971 season. On August 15th, it began as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa. It tracked westward for several days while slowly organizing itself. By August 23rd, the storm had become a tropical depression as it passed through the northern Lesser Antilles. It continued moving north of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and The Bahamas. At this time, it began to show further signs of organization. The storm finally reached tropical storm status early on August 27th about 230 miles east of Daytona Beach, Florida and was given the name Doria. It reached it's peak of 65 mph winds during the day on the 27th as it made landfall near Morehead City, North Carolina. From there, the storm had eyes for our region as it quickly raced up the eastern seaboard toward our area. During the evening of the 27th into the morning hours of the 28th, Doria paralleled the eastern portion of New Jersey bringing torrential rains and strong gusty winds over 40 mph.
The storm dumped record amounts of rain throughout the Tri-State Region. Newark, New Jersey had a record 7.84 inches in a 24 hour period from the 27th-28th. Central Park, New York had a record 5.78 inches in the same 24 hour period. The winner for the most rainfall went to Little Falls, New Jersey with a whopping 10.29 inches. These record rains led to record-breaking river levels and widespread damaging floods throughout New Jersey. Streets and subways were flooded throughout New York City. The storm caused over 138 million dollars worth of damage in New Jersey alone in 1971 dollar values and 3 deaths. The storm capped off an active summer. The summer of 1971 went down in the top ten wettest summers at Central Park with a total of 18.88 inches of rainfall. Although the summer of 2010 overall has had below normal rainfall in our region, as Doria showed us in 1971, we can make it up in a hurry.
Meteorologist Iggy Camporeale
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A July To Remember
July 2010 went down in the Central Park record books as the second warmest July on record as well as the second warmest month on record. According to official statistics maintained by the National Weather Service's Upton New York Office, the average temperature for the month was 81.3 degrees. This was an astounding 4.8 degrees above the normal monthly temperature of 76.5 degrees. The warmest July on record and the warmest month occurred eleven years ago in 1999 when we averaged 81.4 degrees. The records at Central Park date back to 1869.
If it is any consolation, we were not the only ones suffering through the brutal heat and humidity this past month. Most of the United States had prolonged periods of oppressive heat and humidity. The high pressure ridge that caused the heat pretty much covered most of country, including the Northeast. This ridge continues to block any significant cooler air from invading the country from Canada. Thankfully, over the last week of July, we have experienced a break from the worst of the heat as the ridge has shifted further to the south and west of our region, allowing for some cooler air to drop down from eastern Canada. People have been asking me what will August bring?
In looking at the long range trends, I still see some more bouts of heat and humidity through a good part of the country, including our area. However, I do not think we will see the severity of heat we experienced in July. As we progress through August, the days will continue to get shorter and the nights longer. We will experience some breaks from time to time. Also, there are indications that the Tropics are about to get active as we approach what is traditionally the most active part of the hurricane season from mid August through late September. Any weakness in the ridge along the East Coast can make us vulnerable to a direct strike from a hurricane or tropical storm. This will be something I will be watching closely during the remainder of this hurricane season. This is how I see it, but as I always say, we'll see what Mother Nature has in store for us.
Meteorologist Iggy Camporeale
If it is any consolation, we were not the only ones suffering through the brutal heat and humidity this past month. Most of the United States had prolonged periods of oppressive heat and humidity. The high pressure ridge that caused the heat pretty much covered most of country, including the Northeast. This ridge continues to block any significant cooler air from invading the country from Canada. Thankfully, over the last week of July, we have experienced a break from the worst of the heat as the ridge has shifted further to the south and west of our region, allowing for some cooler air to drop down from eastern Canada. People have been asking me what will August bring?
In looking at the long range trends, I still see some more bouts of heat and humidity through a good part of the country, including our area. However, I do not think we will see the severity of heat we experienced in July. As we progress through August, the days will continue to get shorter and the nights longer. We will experience some breaks from time to time. Also, there are indications that the Tropics are about to get active as we approach what is traditionally the most active part of the hurricane season from mid August through late September. Any weakness in the ridge along the East Coast can make us vulnerable to a direct strike from a hurricane or tropical storm. This will be something I will be watching closely during the remainder of this hurricane season. This is how I see it, but as I always say, we'll see what Mother Nature has in store for us.
Meteorologist Iggy Camporeale
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