Storm season brings winds, floods to other parts of U.S.

Summer may mean hot, dry weather here, but in other parts of the world it means storms -- fierce ones.

June 1 marked the official beginning of the hurricane season in the Atlantic. Almost immediately, Tropical Storm Allison formed in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas, and then dissipated as it moved inland on June 5. The eastern Pacific region's season also got under way right on time with Hurricane Adolph during the last week of May.

Without a La Niña or El Niño to influence the tropical storm season, forecasters are expecting a typical year in the Atlantic. They are forecasting that 12 storms will reach tropical-storm intensity, with winds of more than 38 mph, and seven of these will reach hurricane strength with winds of more than 73 mph. Three storms will become intense hurricanes with winds of more than 110 mph, and there's a 69 percent chance that one of these will hit the U.S. mainland.

Allison was a minimal tropical storm that lasted only about 12 hours, but it still dumped an average of a foot of rain and caused major flooding in the Houston area. West Houston got three feet of rain in three days.

Such storms rarely make it this far north. The cold waters off the California coast kill any eastern Pacific hurricanes that move northward from Baja, and we usually get only some summertime thunderstorms. However, in 1939 a tropical storm with winds of 50 mph made it as far north as Long Beach, resulting in 45 deaths and extensive flooding.

A new study of hurricane-related fatalities shows that about 60 percent of the deaths between 1970 and 1990 were due to inland flooding. Winds accounted for only 12 percent of the fatalities, the same percentage of deaths due to surf and storm surges.

This year's storms have yet to form, but they already have names. In the eastern Pacific, the storms that follow Adolph will be christened Barbara, Cosme and Dalila. The next three in the Atlantic will be called Barry, Chantal and Dean.

For a complete 2001 list of storm names, visit www.nhc. noaa.gov/aboutnames.html.

For resources to monitor and learn about hurricanes, check out ggweather.com/hurricane.htm.

Q  I've recently read your article on wireless weather stations (Nov. 21, 2000), and I have a few questions. Are you aware of any such stations that allow the user to have both the wireless sensor transmitter and the receiver attached together, but also provide for both units to be separable? Are the units that you wrote about new technology? Would you consider these weather units integral for the average household?  Anthony Brown - San Jose

A  To the best of my knowledge, you can get them only wired and wireless. I think the latter gives you more flexibility, and you can always place them next to each other as if they were connected. I didn't see any I'd consider ``new'' technology, as similar functions have been available on high-end commercial units for some time. It's more a matter of evolutionary technology, with added features and ease of use.

As for being an integral part of a household, this comes down to the distinction between needing something and wanting it. Obviously, it would be nice to have all elements of a weather observation station (temperature, humidity, wind, visibility, cloud height, barometric pressure and precipitation). However, I would consider temperature and rainfall essential, with wind, humidity and pressure being secondary. Cloud height and visibility are very expensive to add and are usually found only with airport-observing systems.

Q  I saw your article on weather systems and found it very helpful. After evaluating all the choices, I determined that the Vantage Pro from Davis Instruments, which you said ``stands out,'' was the one I wanted. Davis said it wasn't shipping yet but would be soon. Christmas came and went. Every time I checked, Davis said they were a few weeks from shipping it. Two weeks ago, I finally gave up and bought from RainWise. I just thought you'd like to know that six months after your article, the Vantage Pro is still not available. Charles Landau - Santa Clara

A  I, too, have been chagrined by this situation. However, I have just verified that the wireless version of the Vantage Pro is now shipping, although the wired version is not.

Q  Why hasn't increased volcanic activity throughout the world during the last 10 to 15 years been discussed regarding the influence on weather? I remember reading that, historically, volcanoes played a large role in causing droughts and floods, specifically the eruption in the Pacific in the late 1800s. Has that theory been disproved? Pat Blair - Santa Clara

A  It is well-documented that volcanic eruptions can disrupt climate, but they need to be fairly large events, and the primary impact is global cooling on the order of 0.5 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit. The last two eruptions that have had such an impact were Mexico's El Chicon in 1983, and the Philippines' Pinatubo in 1991. Both eruptions ejected large quantities of sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere, where it combined with water and oxygen to produce droplets of sulfuric acid. They tend to be highly reflective and keep sunlight from reaching the earth's surface.

Ben Franklin, a great observer of meteorological phenomena, noted this effect from the 1783 eruption of Iceland's Laki volcano. The 1815 eruption of Indonesia's Tambora volcano is credited with giving New England a year without summer -- snow was reported in June and frost in July and August. The 1886 eruption of Krakatau near Sumatra was exceptionally rich in sulfur and decreased northern hemisphere temperatures by about a half-degree.