2011...A Year Of Extremes...The Year That Was
2011 was a landmark year for extreme weather phenomena. Tornados, floods, fires, droughts, hurricanes and tsunamis swept the globe, reeking havoc on a scale of historic proportions. But was it the worst year ever?
WeatherBell Chief Forecaster Joe D�Aleo, who served as the Weather Channel's first director of meteorology in May 1982 says there is nothing usual about the severe weather.
"We've had extreme weather for centuries. We experienced incredible heat waves and hurricanes during the Middle Ages, Little Ice Age, and throughout modern times. In the mid 1950s, we had five hurricanes hit the East Coast in just two years - 1954 and 1955.
D'Aleo notes in September 1993, Life Magazine ran a cover story, 'The Year of the Killer Weather: why Has Nature Gone Mad?' describing the many natural disasters . . . blizzards, droughts, floods, wildfires . . . that year. He says, "The recent outbreaks of severe weather are nothing out of the ordinary."
As ordinary as the severe weather may be, 2011 was one of the most active, deadliest and costliest Tornado seasons on record. An F3 Tornado on the ground for 39 miles in Massachusetts was the biggest tornado in New England since the great Worcester tornado in 1953. It also had Hurricane Irene up the east coast into New England...the first one since Hurricane Bob in 1991. Also Let's not forget the blizzards providing over 80" of snow, and unusual warmth lasting from September right through the end of the year making 2011 one of the warmest and wettest on record with over 52" of total precipitation. This all makes 2011 a very note worthy season to remember...but as is usually the case...there is always a bigger fish in the sea to put things in perspective.
The Guinness World Records 2012 book has compiled a list of the harshest weather events ever recorded that we thought would be relevant and interesting to read as we close out the year that was.
- Longest Lasting Tropical Cyclone: Hurricane/Typhoon John formed on August 11, 1994 in the eastern Pacific Ocean, lasted for 31 days, and covered the Farthest Distance Records for a Tropical Cyclone: 8,250 miles. It traveled from the eastern to the western Pacific; as the two regions use different label for tropical cyclones, it's know as both a hurricane and a typhoon.
- Longest Tornado Path Length: On March 18, 195, a tornado traveled at least 218 miles through the states of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. It killer 695 people, more than any other tornado in US history. The tornado also lasted 3.5 hours, longer than any other in history.
- Highest Recorded Temperature: The highest shade temperature every recorded in 136 degrees F in the Sahara Desert, Libya, on September 13, 1922.
- Deadliest Heat Wave: In the summer of 2010, the northern hemisphere suffered from a series of freak heat waves. The most devastating effects were felt in Russia, where as many as 56,000 people perished from overheating, droughts, forest fires and smog. As estimated 11,000 people died in Moscow alone.
- Worst Damage Toll for a Snowstorm: A total of $1.2 billion worth of damage was caused by a storm that traversed the entire east coast of the USA on March 12-13, 1993. In all, 500 people perished in this monumental winter storm, which has been described by one meteorologist as "a storm with the heart of a blizzard and the soul of a hurricane."
- Greatest Rainfall in 24 Hours: A record 73 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in Cilaos, Reunion, Indian Ocean, on March 15 and 16, 1952. This is equal to 8,327 tons of rain per acres.
- Heaviest Hailstones: The heaviest hailstones accurately recorded weighed up to 2 lb and are reported to have killed 92 people in the Gopalganj area of Bangladesh on April 14, 1986.
- Largest Ice Fall: The largest ice fall ever reported was a 20 ft long mass (technically known as a "megracryometeor") that fell in Ord in Scotland, UK, on August 13, 1849.The hailstone was composed of smaller pieces of ice or hail fused together.
- Widest Tornado Damage Path: On May 22, 2004, 56 tornados hit the Midwestern USA. One, the Hallam Nebraska tornado, left a swathe of destruction up to 2.4 miles wide.
- Largest Tropical Cyclone: At its maximum strength on October 12, 1979, Typhoon Tip had a diameter of around 1,370 miles in the Pacific Ocean. During this period, Tip's gale-force winds covered an area of around 1.2 million miles squared. Typhoon Tip was studied in detail by the US Air force, who flew some 60 research missions in to the cyclone.
