Haven’t done this in a long time but I love numbers and stats. Have tried to cut down on my number of posts lately because of the high traffic tropical material.
* 4 is how many named storms in progress at one time in recent days, including Gustav after he made landfall. (Gustav, Hanna, Ike and Josephine) Is that a record?
* 5 is the record number of named storms in progress at one time in the Atlantic Basin but I am not certain. I believe it was about the mid 1990s. Maybe our HHP (Hurricane History Professor, also known as Bill Murray) can clarify.
* 8.94 inches was the largest rain total we could find in Alabama during Gustav’s visit. That was at Tillman’s Corner which is on the SW edge of Mobile. (Don’t confuse it with Toomer’s Corner in Auburn where football fans roll the trees with the lowest-priced toilet paper they can find after every Auburn victory) I would love to see that. I have never seen a football game at Auburn.
* 8.59 was the Gustav total seven miles SW of Foley, 7.87 at Fairhope and 7.62 at Saraland, all in Extreme SW Alabama. (Thanks to ABC 33/40 Skywatcher, Michelle Miklik, for digging up these totals. She is my self-appointed RO (Rain Officer). She was also able to find some Louisiana storm totals so far.
* 16.37 inches was the storm total so far at Bunkie, La., but, remember, that is not the final score. It was still pouring rain in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas this morning and even into Missouri.
* 10.37 was one of the largest amounts at Monroe, in NE La., as of early this morning. A lady named Patti C., writing in the comment section of the 33/40 weather blog said this: “My parents are in Monroe and the bayou they live on is WELL over the seawall. Snakes and gators are becoming a real threat in town. Please pray for all those still being hit by Gustav!” I told Patti that I certainly would do that because I believe strongly that prayer works!
Check out also these added remarks from a weather observer 2 miles WNW of Monroe. “Continual torrential rain between 4:30 and 8:05 last evening with 3.98 inches of rain just during that time. Major street flooding as the city of Monroe pumps could not keep up with the rain. Had to manually clear out debris from several storm sewer inlets in the street several times to keep the drain flow moving. Water at one time backed up the front steps about 30 feet from the street. Once rain subsided, the street flooding was gone by 10:00.”
* 5.72 inches was the total for Hot Springs, Arkansas just in the last 24 hours. Monticello, Arkansas reports 4.70 inches.
* 3.33 inches in just the last 24 hours in Baton Rouge. All rain reports from the New Orleans metro area still missing including New Orleans International Airport. I feel sure the New Orleans NWS Forecast Center at Slidell will send out a summary later.
* 28 counties were under a Flood Warning this morning in Arkansas. One county, Hot Springs, was under both a Flood Warning and an Aerial Flood Warning. There is also a Flash Flood Watch, an Aerial Flood Watch and a Flood Advisory. It can get very bewildering.
* 1 is how many iphones Brian Peters dropped into the Gulf of Mexico while reporting on Gustav. He quickly retrieved the phone and dried it off and it seems to be working fine. I dare say that is a nationwide record for the number of iphones dropped into the Gulf of Mexico.
* 29 was the low in Yellowstone National Park this morning as September is trying to scratch out a foot hold over the Northern USA. Our change in season can be very subtle.
* 87 will be the normal high temperature in Birmingham starting Friday and it drops to 80 by the end of September. It slips up on us. It wasn’t too long ago that we were going through a long stretch with 91 as the normal daily high. (Actually, we should probably say the average high instead of the normal high, because the weather is hardly ever normal.) In winter, our average daily high is only 52.
* 24 days back in September 1925 had highs of 90 or higher in Birmingham.
* 7 days in a row had 100 or hotter.
* 5 is how many additional days later in the month had 100 or higher. That means that 12 days during September 1925 had 100 or higher and September, as far as we weather humans are concerned, is the first month of Autumn.
* 4 days had 105 or hotter, including 106 on both the 5th and 6th.
* 112 was the official high in Centreville on September 5. That is still the highest official temperature ever recorded in the State of Alabama. I don’t think there was any air conditioning at the time. I grew up in West Alabama (Hale County) and I remember some “old codgers” saying that some people actually planted kudzu on the south and west side of their house to soften the impact of the afternoon blistering sun. Don’t know if that is true or not, but I did see some houses like that. By the way, I use the term “old codgers” with absolutely the greatest respect. Those guys were the salt of the earth.
* 1927 saw another big September heat wave just two years after the 1925. It was sort of a double whammy. In Birmingham, it reached over 100 for 5 days, including 4 in a row. It appears that an unusually strong cold front arrived during the third week. It was 101 on September 18, 1927, but the high the next day was only 75.
* 21 was how cold it was at Alert at mid morning–the northernmost weather station in North America. Resolute, in the same section of Canada, was reporting snow showers. Another hint of a changing season.
