Weather's Extremes

Hot or cold, wet or dry, sunny or stormy, everyone loves to talk about the weather, says Scott Stephens, a meteorologist for the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. (pop. 68,889).

Hot or cold, wet or dry, sunny or stormy, everyone loves to talk about the weather, says Scott Stephens, a meteorologist for the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. (pop. 68,889). The center has the world’s largest archive of weather data and tracks extremes based on the best data available.

"The weather affects everyone," Stephens says. "Everyone can relate.’’

Residents of Xenia, Ohio (pop. 24,164), still talk about the day their town entered the record books—decimated by one tornado among "the superoutbreak" of April 3-4, 1974. Xenia’s tornado, which killed more than 30 people, was one of 148 twisters—the most ever recorded—147 in the United States and one just across the border in Canada. In the U.S., 310 people died, while 8 were killed in Canada.

"People don’t live in fear of tornadoes,’’ says Bob Stewart, Xenia’s retired city manager. "I think people go about their normal lives. How do you prepare for something like a hurricane or tornado?’’ he asks.

Floridians get their share of extreme weather, too. With a tropical climate conducive to storms, the Sunshine State leads the nation in lightning-related fatalities and also faces the ever-present danger of hurricanes—getting more than any other state—as evidenced by last year’s record-setting season.

"Years ago, there was more loss of life because there was no warning,’’ Stephens says. "Now, with more warning, there’s less loss of life and more loss of property because there is more built close to the beach."

Chris Tucker, his wife Diane and their three children moved to Port St. Lucie, Fla. (pop. 88,769), last summer just in time for Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. "It’s no different from living with the threat of tornadoes in Nashville

(Tenn.) or earthquakes in Los Angeles,’’ Tucker says. "You learn what to do to prepare (stocking two weeks supply of water and food and covering windows with hurricane shutters). And you get a lot more warning than you do for a tornado or an earthquake.’’

A Nation of Extremes

From an average of 460 inches of rain a year on Mount Waialeale on Hawaii’s island of Kauai to less than 2 inches of precipitation annually in Death Valley, Calif., the United States has no shortage of extreme weather.

Temperatures range from blistering summer heat in the California desert to bone-chilling cold during an Alaskan winter. Alaska holds the U.S. record for the all-time coldest temperature. The mercury dropped to minus 80 degrees on Jan. 23, 1971, at an oil pipeline camp at Prospect Creek, Alaska. Meanwhile, California’s Death Valley National Park holds the nation’s record high temperature—a sizzling 134 degrees, recorded in 1913 at Greenland Ranch, which at the time provided supplies to borax miners in the area.

"It’s not uncommon to get several days above 120 degrees,’’ says Terry Baldino, a park ranger. Summer visitors mostly drive through and get out of their car to take a quick picture, but those who live and work in the park are more affected. Baldino says those who work outside, such as maintenance crews at the park and hotel, typically start their day at 6 a.m. so they can take off by 2 p.m. to avoid some of the scorching afternoon sun.

"Some folks really adapt to the heat well. They run inside and get their down coats when it drops below 90 degrees,’’ he jokes.

The payoff is great winter weather, with mid-60s in December and January, while November and March typically have highs in the 70s and 80s, Baldino says.

Besides holding the nation’s record high temperature, Death Valley is the driest place, too. It holds the record for the least seasonal precipitation, zero inches in 1929, as well as having an average annual rainfall of just 1.96 inches a year.

Compare that with the 43 inches of rain that Alvin, Texas, received in 24 hours. Tommy Peebles clearly recalls that torrential downpour and the sound of water lapping against the front steps of his parents’ home.

"It sounded like you were sitting on a pier," the city clerk says of the record-setting rainfall on July 25 and 26, 1979—the most rain ever recorded in a 24-hour period in the United States. The deluge, brought by Tropical Storm Claudette, flooded the town of 21,413. The wake from boats being used to evacuate residents trapped by the rising waters made the sound Peebles remembers.

"It’s one of those things that you think, what a way to get in the record books,’’ Peebles says. No one died, but four or five homes had some water damage, and livestock and crops were destroyed.

Cold, not rain, is the dominant weather factor in the frozen Last Frontier. With an average annual temperature of 10.4 degrees, Barrow, Alaska (pop. 4,581), holds the record for the nation’s coldest city.

"People in Barrow watch a lot of videos in the winter,’’ says Brian Watson, manager of King Eider Inn, a 19-room hotel in the nation’s northernmost city. Some people hunt or snowshoe, and tourists come to look for polar bears or see the northern lights, Watson says. Residents are accustomed to the cold and really don’t even dress all that warmly, because they are usually just outside to get from the car to a building, he says.

Sun, clouds and snow

While the arctic cold keeps some people indoors, folks in Yuma, Ariz. (pop. 77,515), are often outdoors, basking in the warmth of the nation’s sunniest city, which enjoys 90 percent sunny days.

"You can play golf every day," says Earl McMullen, assistant manager and golf pro at the Mesa del Sol course in Yuma. "You can plan to golf six months from now, and it’ll be a sunny day.’’

Meanwhile, sunshine is in short supply along the Pacific Northwest coast. In fact, Astoria, Ore., (pop. 9,813) and Quillayute, Wash., with an average of 239 cloudy days each year, are the cloudiest spots in the contiguous United States.

Washington state also has experienced record snowfall. Residents of Glacier, Wash. (pop. 90), enjoyed great skiing during the winter of 1998-1999 when 1,140 inches of snow fell on nearby Mount Baker—the most seasonal snowfall ever recorded in the United States.

"We knew something special was going on. It just kept snowing on the mountain,’’ says Tom Dedari, owner of Milano’s restaurant in Glacier, the closest town to Mount Baker.

In fact, Mount Baker Ski Area closed a couple of times when the snow got as high as the lifts, he says. Locals carried chainsaws in their cars so they could clear a path when trees weighed down by snow fell across the road, he says.

Extreme hailstones

Aric and Tamara Brophy got lots of attention when Aric found a record-setting hailstone—7 inches in diameter and 18.75 inches around—following a storm on June 22, 2003, at the home of Tamara’s parents in Aurora, Neb. (4,225).

"My husband put it in the freezer, because he didn’t think anyone he worked with would believe it was that big,’’ Tamara says, "but part of it broke off.’’

Brophy’s hailstone was larger in size than the one measuring 5.7 inches in diameter and 17.5 inches in circumference that fell in Coffeyville, Kan. (pop. 11,021), on Sept. 3, 1970, though the Kansas stone still holds the weight record of 1.67 pounds.

Windy Mount Washington

A world-record surface wind of 231 mph was recorded on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington on April 12, 1934. The average wind speed atop the 6,288-foot mountain is 35 mph.

Foggy Cape Disappointment

With an average of 2,556 hours (equivalent to 106 days) of fog each year, Washington’s Cape Disappointment is reported to be the nation’s foggiest spot at sea level.

For more U.S. weather records, log on to the National Climatic Data Center website at www.ncdc.noaa.gov.

 

Vicki Brown is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn.

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