Historical Climate Variability and Impacts in North America (eBook)

Editor Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux received her Ph.D. in Climatology and Geographic Information Systems from McGill University in 1996 and has since held a variety of professorships and research positions. Dr. Dupigny-Giroux currently serves as the Vermont State Climatologist and teaches at the University of Vermont. She has also authored and co-authored numerous scholarly publications and delivered many presentations. Dr. Dupigny-Giroux is additionally the member of such scientific affiliations as the American Associated of State Climatologists and the American Geophysical Union. Editor Dr. Cary J. Mock received a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Oregon in 1994; Dr. Mock has since served as a professor of various courses and has pursued his research interests of synoptic climatology and paleoclimatology among others. Dr. Mock has also written numerous scholarly articles, papers, and other publications. Dr. Mock currently serves as the Principle Investigator for both the National Science Foundation's Earth System History and Paleoclimate Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Climate Data Center.

Preface 4
Contents 6
Contributors 8
Introduction 10
References 13
Part I Regional Case Studies 14
The Great Flood of 1771: An Explanation of Natural Causes and Social Effects 15
1 Introduction 15
2 Historical Accounts of the Event 16
3 Synoptic Reconstruction of Weather Conditions in May 1771 22
4 Possible Linkages with Tropical Systems 25
5 Historical Socioeconomic Implications 27
6 Closing Thoughts on Extreme Weather Events and Human Affairs 31
References 32
Historical Changes to the Tennessee Precipitation Regime 34
1 Introduction 34
2 Methodology Study Area 35
3 Results 38
3.1 Monthly and Seasonal Precipitation 38
3.2 Decadal Variability 39
4 Interdecadal and Decadal Patterns 42
5 Conclusion 44
References 45
``Don't Want to See No More Like That!'': Climate Change As a Factor in the Collapse of Lowcountry Rice Culture, 1893--1920 46
1 Introduction 46
2 Hurricanes 47
2.1 Hurricanes of 1893 47
2.2 Hurricanes and Tropical Storms After 1898 49
2.2.1 The 1911 Hurricane 50
3 Freshets and Droughts 51
4 Human Changes to the Landscape 52
5 Collapse of Commercial Rice Culture 53
6 Effects of the Collapse of Rice Culture 54
7 Conclusion 55
7.0 Historical Papers 55
References 13
Climate in the Historical Record of Sixteenth Century Spanish Florida: The Case of Santa Elena Re-examined 57
1 Introduction 57
2 Santa Elenas Climate: 15661587 59
2.1 Role of Climate in Santa Elena--s History: 1566--1576 61
2.2 Role of Climate in Santa Elena--s History: 1576--1587 64
3 Conclusions 65
4 Notes 66
References 66
Part II Reconstructing Extreme Events and Parameters 69
Historical Accounts of the Drought and Hurricane Season of 1860 70
1 Introduction 70
2 Data and Methods 72
2.1 Drought Reconstruction 72
2.2 Hurricane Reconstruction 75
3 Results 76
3.1 Drought in 1860 and Its Impacts on the United States 76
3.2 Atlantic Tropical Cyclones of 1860 and Their Impacts on the United States 79
4 Discussion and Conclusions 82
References 84
Reconstructing 19th Century Atlantic Basin Hurricanes at Differing Spatial Scales 87
1 Introduction 87
2 Data 88
2.1 Newspapers 88
2.2 Diaries and Journals 90
2.3 Meteorological Data 90
3 Methods 91
3.1 Track Reconstruction at Sea 91
3.2 Intensity Estimation at Sea 91
3.3 Landfall Reanalysis Data Classification 92
3.4 Damage Mapping 93
3.5 Storm Surge Analysis 93
3.6 Wind Damage Analysis 94
3.7 Hurricane Intensity Estimation over Land 94
4 Results 94
4.1 Reconstruction Case Study of the 1850 Hurricane Season 94
4.2 Individual Tropical Cyclone Descriptions 95
4.3 Tropical Cyclone Suspects in 1850 98
4.4 Reanalysis Case Study of the Great Carolina Hurricane -- September 8, 1854 99
4.4.1 Meteorological Observations and Storm Track 99
4.4.2 Wind Damage 100
4.4.3 Flooding 101
4.4.4 Local Analysis 101
5 Discussion 103
References 104
The Sitka Hurricane of October 1880 106
1 Introduction 106
2 Historical Data 107
3 The 1880 Sitka Hurricane in Alaska 108
4 Track and Genesis of the October 1880 Storm 110
5 Conclusions 112
References 113
Daily Synoptic Weather Map Analysis of the New England Cold Wave and Snowstorms of 5 to 11 June 1816 114
1 Introduction 114
2 Study Area 115
3 The Synoptic Setting 115
3.1 Pressure Patterns 115
3.2 Fronts 117
3.3 Weather on 5 June 117
3.4 Weather on 6 June 118
3.5 Weather on 7 June 120
3.6 Weather on 8 June 121
3.7 Weather on 9--11 June 121
4 Hurricane Weather 123
4.1 Weather on 4 June 123
4.2 Weather on 5 June 123
4.3 Weather on 6 June 124
4.4 Weather on 7 June 124
5 Conclusion 125
6 Notes 126
References 127
6 Manuscript Sources Cited in Text 126
March 1843: The Most Abnormal Month Ever? 129
1 Introduction 129
2 The Historical Data 130
3 Methods 134
4 An Outlier Month 136
4.1 Mean Temperature Anomalies 136
4.2 Daytime and Nighttime Temperature Anomalies 139
5 The Weather During March 1843 141
5.1 Temperature Thresholds 142
5.2 Synoptic Maps 144
6 Summary of the Month 149
References 150
Part III The Role of Station History in Understanding the Instrumental Record 152
Weather Station History and Introduced Variability in Climate Data 153
1 Introduction 153
1.1 Metadata and History 154
2 The Main Observational Networks in the United States 154
2.1 Surgeon General Network 155
2.2 Smithsonian Institution Network 155
2.3 Signal Service Network 155
2.4 Weather Bureau Network 156
2.5 National Weather Service Network 156
3 Documentation of Station History 156
3.1 Pre-1891 Station Histories 156
3.2 Weather Bureau Station Histories 157
3.3 National Weather Service Histories 157
3.4 Content of Station Histories 158
3.4.1 Site Maps and Diagrams 159
4 Observation Site Selection Criteria Changes 159
4.1 Surgeon General Network Sites 160
4.2 Smithsonian Network Sites 161
4.3 Signal Service Network Sites 161
4.4 Weather Bureau Network Sites 161
4.5 National Weather Service Network Sites 162
5 Station Location Changes 162
5.1 Station Number Assignment 164
5.1.1 The Basic Pattern of Station Numbers 164
5.2 Station Heritage 165
6 Instrumentation Changes 165
7 Instrument Exposure Changes 166
7.1 Site Diagrams 166
8 Observer Changes 166
8.1 Observer Qualifications 167
8.1.1 Observers by Occupation 168
9 Observation Time Changes 168
9.1 Time of Beginning the Observational Day 169
9.2 Local Time Determination Prior to 1883 169
9.2.1 Surgeon General's Observations Times Before 1883 169
9.2.2 Smithsonian Observation Times 170
9.2.3 Signal Service Observation Times 170
9.3 Standard Time 170
9.3.1 Weather Bureau and Time 170
9.4 Time Considerations 170
10 Subjective Observations 171
10.1 The Remarks Section of Observer Reports 171
11 Changes in the Calculation of Mean Temperature 171
12 Summary 172
References 173
Monitoring the Climate of the Old Northwest: 18201895 174
1 Introduction: Historical Perspective 174
2 Army Medical Department Weather/Climate Network 177
3 Smithsonian Weather/Climate Network 182
4 Other Weather/Climate Networks 183
5 US Army Signal Service 184
6 US Weather Bureau 188
7 Conclusions 189
References 190
Spatial Metadata for Weather Stations and the Interpretation of Climate Data 192
1 Introduction 192
2 Spatial Metadata 193
3 Data 195
4 Analysis 198
4.1 Case I: Highlighting Topographical Forcings Through Paired Comparisons 199
4.2 C ase II: Searching for Analog Stations Using Multiple Comparisons 202
5 Conclusion 207
References 208
Part IV Methodologies and Other Analyses 210
A Seasonal Warm/Cold Index for the Southern Yukon Territory: 18421852 211
1 Introduction 211
2 Study Site 212
2.1 Climate of the Yukon 213
2.2 A Brief History of the Posts 214
3 Creating the Warm/Cold Index 215
3.1 Step 1: Why, Who, When, Where and What? 216
3.2 Step 2: Coding Scheme 217
3.3 Step 3: Quantification of the Qualitative Record 219
3.4 Step 4: Creation of Seasonal Warm/Cold Index 220
4 Results and Discussion 222
4.1 Verification of the Index 223
4.2 Notable Seasons from 1842--1852 224
4.2.1 Winter 1843/44 224
4.2.2 Winter 1844/45 225
4.2.3 Winter 1850/51 226
4.2.4 Coldness of 1849 226
5 Conclusion 228
References 228
Backward Seasons, Droughts and Other Bioclimatic Indicators of Variability 232
1 Introduction 232
2 Data and Methods 235
3 Quantifying the Characteristics of Backward Seasons 235
3.1 Phenology Variations During Backward Seasons 240
3.2 Frost and Snow Occurrences During Backward Seasons 241
4 Drought Characteristics, with Special Reference To Backward Seasons 243
5 Maple Sap and Sugar Production 245
6 Conclusion 248
References 250
The Challenge of Snow Measurements 252
1 Introduction The Characteristics and Importance of Snow 252
2 Measurements of Snow 255
3 Obstacles to Snow Measurements 257
4 Procedures for Measuring Snowfall, Snow Depth and Water Content 257
4.1 Precipitation Amount 258
4.2 Snowfall 260
4.3 Snow Depth 264
4.4 Snow Water Equivalent 264
5 Snow Data Continuity 266
6 Remote Sensing Approaches to Snow Measurement 269
6.1 Satellite Remote Sensing of Extent, Depth and Water Equivalent 270
6.2 Meteorological Radar 270
6.3 Gamma Radiation Remote Sensing 271
6.4 Acoustic Snow Depth Sensing 271
6.5 Portable Depth/Water Content Sensors 271
7 Conclusions 271
References 272
Index 275