Climate

Graphic of Texas shows the updated rainfall values in inches that define certain extreme events, such as the 100-year storm. Courtesy of NOAA

CLICK HERE - ENLARGED TEXAS MAP (1 page .PDF file)

New topographic and predictive rainfall data means more people in Harris County will be mapped in floodplains.

houstonpublicmedia.org - by Davis Land - November 26, 2018

When Hurricane Harvey left so much of Houston underwater, it highlighted a problem that’s been getting worse for years: Harris County’s existing floodplain maps just don’t work.

In the year since the historic storm, flood control officials have promised to change that, and they already had plans to redo the maps, but new data on the geography of the area and the amount of rainfall forecasters expect in the future means the new maps could look drastically different.

It’s crucial the maps are done right, as people are using the maps, meant to set flood insurance premiums, for more than they are intended . . . 

A Sept. 7, 2017, satellite image from NOAA shows the eye of Hurricane Irma, left, just north of the island of Hispaniola, with Hurricane Jose, right, in the Atlantic Ocean. Six major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic in 2017, including Harvey, Irma and Maria.  (Photo: AP)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Dominant effect of relative tropical Atlantic warming on major hurricane occurrence

usatoday.com - by Doyle Rice - September 27, 2018

The catastrophic 2017 hurricane season – which included such monsters as Harvey, Irma and Maria – was fueled in part by unusually warm ocean water, a new study suggests.

And because of human-caused global warming, the study said similar favorable conditions for fierce hurricanes will be present in the years and decades to come . . .

 . . . "We show that the increase in 2017 major hurricanes was not primarily caused by La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean, but mainly by pronounced warm sea surface conditions in the tropical North Atlantic," the study said.

CLICK HERE - NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER - TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT - HURRICANE HARVEY - 17 AUGUST - 1 SEPTEMBER 2017 (76 page .PDF report)

washingtonpost.com - by Jason Samenow - January 25, 2017

Hurricane Harvey unleashed a tropical deluge probably unsurpassed in U.S. history. The National Hurricane Center released its in-depth meteorological review of the storm Thursday and said it was unable to identify any past storm that unloaded so much rain over such a large area.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - NHC: Harvey caused $125 billion in damage; 68 deaths in Texas

ALSO SEE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE - Major Hurricane Harvey - August 25-29, 2017

CLICK HERE - NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER - TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT - HURRICANE HARVEY - 17 AUGUST - 1 SEPTEMBER 2017 (76 page .PDF report)

washingtonpost.com - by Jason Samenow - January 25, 2017

Hurricane Harvey unleashed a tropical deluge probably unsurpassed in U.S. history. The National Hurricane Center released its in-depth meteorological review of the storm Thursday and said it was unable to identify any past storm that unloaded so much rain over such a large area.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - NHC: Harvey caused $125 billion in damage; 68 deaths in Texas

ALSO SEE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE - Major Hurricane Harvey - August 25-29, 2017