Yesterday, J.B. Elliott wrote about his old friend, the Gulf of Mexico. In the section he labeled “SOME HIGHLY UNSCIENTIFIC RESEARCH,” J.B. mentions that he and some of his NWS buddies tried to estimate how much of Alabama’s annual rainfall originated in the waters of the Gulf.
That sparked a memory of my Introduction to Meteorology class at Mississippi State University. It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years since I was in Intro, but I remembered Dr. Charles Wax, Mississippi’s State Climatologist telling my class how much of Mississippi’s rain came from the Gulf. I went back to check my notes, but I apparently didn’t write that little tidbit down. Somewhere in my brain, I also remembered hearing something about looking at the isotopes of the elements that make up water, Hydrogen and Oxygen, to determine where the water came from. (If you’re like me and you’re not up on your Chemistry, an isotope is defined here: Wise Geek.
Click here for an in-depth page on Isotopes in Water from the IAEA
With all that in mind, Dr. Wax says that 97% of Mississippi’s rainfall comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Ninety-seven percent!! Given how close Alabama is to Mississippi (geographically and climatologically), I’m going to make an assumption that our total is going to be somewhere around 97% as well. Of course, assumptions don’t always turn out to be pure fact, so don’t try to win an argument with this information…it’s purely for the fun of it.
