Although some meteorologists claim that the flood of 2011 was not a result of tropical storm Lee, I beg to differ. Sure, there was a large upper trough that captured the circulation of Lee and it never DIRECTLY affected PA until it pulled out Sunday afternoon and evening. However, without Lee, you would not have had the tropical infusion of moisture from deep in the tropics thanks to the sub-tropical jet. Below is a snapshot of the satellite imagry from the animation link seen below. This is a 7 day loop of the movement of TS Lee and Hurricane Katia off the east coast....this is awesome!
And here is the quicktime link that is incredible. What did we do without satellites?
http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/52000/52066/lee_goe_201109_sd.mov
And I stumbled across this image of the Susquehanna at Harrisburg. Looks like chocolate milk from the north dairy country!
Of course, all of this sediment must pass to the ocean in this endless cycle of the earth's systems. Here is the sediment suspended in the flow of the moving water that eventually emptied into the Chesapeake Bay. As many of you know, there is a tremendous amount of fine silt and mud in the flood waters as seen when the waters receed. Since the mass of the silt is so small, it takes very little current to keep the silt suspended and moving. Once the water remains still, the silt that was brought into an area deposits and many times in spades! The amount of silt and mud is simply amazing! The graphic below is high res so if you click on it, it may allow you to really scutinize the region.
You can locate many of these photos from the link at the right entitled Earth Observatory. And once you get there, take a few minutes to get lost in all of the connecting and related links.
From a personal standpoint, you can look at the graphic below that shows the incredible flood that occurred on the Swatara Creek. But to witness the widespread damage and destruction that occurred in the vicinity of the Swatty in the Hummelstown area was just unfathomable. This is a flood that the people who lived through the horrors of this event will be talking of for their remaining years no doubt. I saw debris on a tree adjacent to the stream approximately 20' above the creek's level today. In order for that to have occurred, a widespread flood of colassal proportions had to be in progress as suggested by the immediately surrounding topography. No wonder just this afternoon another body trapped in a car was found buried in the creek far from any access road. Just incredibly sad. Keep in mind, the previous high water record was 16.1 feet! And the Swatty stayed in flood for over 4 days! Wow............
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/09/missing_susquehanna_township_m.html
As for our upcoming weather, the cool surge from O Canada will be newsworthy. There is a possibility of a killing frost/hard freeze in the northern plains putting an end to an already short growing season. If you recall, the planting of grain crops in IA, MN, and WI was delayed by cold and wet conditions this past spring. If this outbreak materializes, it looks as if grain comoditites could once again surge to new records. Look at the anomalies for Thursday in the plains!
But as is so often the case in the middle of the continent, a week later, a surge of summer returns to the northern plains! From 20+ below normal to 20+ above normal! Wow!
I believe all of this is caused by global warming.....
Have a good Wednesday!
Smitty
AA: Some impressive satellite imagery of the recent flooding. Temperature flip-flops the next 2 weeks.....more so in the plains than in the east.
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