Weather and Climate Case Studies

When: 15th-16th October 1987

Where: Effected areas throughout Britain but particuarly badly affected were those places on the southern coastline

Physical Geography:

• Depression formed over the Bay of Biscay on the afternoon of the 15th - warmer air from the tropics met cooler air from the polar regions, the warmer air rose above the polar air causing precipitation, high winds and cooler temperatures
• MET office believed it would miss the UK but by 10:35pm it became obvious that the storm had changed course and was heading for the UK

The Event:

• Strongest gust = 100 knots on Sussex Coast
• London Weather Centre recorded gusts of 82 knots and Gatwick airport 86 knots
• NOT A HURRICANE as it did not develop over tropics
• Considerable temperature changes = around 6 degrees decrease per hour

• 19 dead in England
• 15 million trees blow down including 6 oaks from Kew Gardens
• Trees blocked roads and railways
• Power lines went down = 5 million homes without electricity
• Caravan parks wrecked
• Fire brigade had 6000 calls in 24 hours
• Buildings collapsed
• MV Hengist blown aground
• Ship capsized at Dover
• Cost £15 million in insurance claims = higher premiums the next year
• Fallen trees = new habitats for animals
• Some plants benefited = closer to sunlight

When: August 2004

Strength: Hit Florida as a Catergory 4 Hurricane - storm surge was only 6-7 feet though

Development:

• 4th August: began as tropical wave off the coast of Africa
• 9th August: 185km from Barbados it developed into a tropical depression
• 10th August: it was now classed as a tropical storm
• 11th August: Hurricane Charley as it was moved northwest by a strong ridge of high pressure
• 13th August: made landfall in Cuba as a catergory 3 hurricane
• 14th August: made its second landfall in Florida as a catergory 4 hurricane and continued to track across Florida (from the Captiva Islands)
• Took only 7 hours for the hurricane to track across the Florida penisula
• Passed through Jamaica on its way back from America

• 2 airports closed in Jamaica and 2 cruiseships rerouted
• Cuba issued a mandatory evacuation of 235,000 citizens and 159,000 animals
• On August 11th an emergency declaration in Florida
• 1.9 million in Florida were urged to evacuate along the west coast but many did not heed the warning and remained
• 50,000 Florida residents placed in shelters
• Disney's Animal Kingdom shut down
• Rail service shut down between Miami and New York

• Throughout the Atlantic Basin = 15 deaths and $16.3 billion
• 10 deaths in the USA and total damage of $15.4 billion
• Cuba: 120mph winds downed 1500 power lines (places without power for 11 days)
• Cuba: Lost 15,000 tonnes of grapefruit and 57,000 acres of fruit trees
• Cuba: 95% of sugarcane, banana and bean crops affected
• Cuba: $923 million in damages = agricultural losses mainly
• Jamaica: $1.44 million in agricultural losses ($4.1 million in total)
• Florida: $14.6billion in property losses on penisula
• Florida: 80% of buildings destroyed and 1/3 of schools demolished in Charlotte
• Florida: Many public schools remained shut for 2 weeks
• Florida: ***** Gorda levelled by direct hit = 6 schools and 6 fire stations destroyed plus 11,000 homes destroyed
• In North Captiva an inlet was created by the 2m storm surge = Charley's Cut

When: Late August 2005

Strength: Maximum sustained winds of 280km/hr = 4th most intense Atlantic Hurricane of all time. Storm surge of around 3-8.2m

Development:

• 23rd August: Embryonic storm over the Bahamas
• 24th August: Tropical Storm
• 25th August: Made landfall in Florida as a Hurricane
• Weakened over land but strengthened again over the Gulf of Mexico = Catergory 5
• 28th August: Warm waters of Loop Current kept it as a Catergory 5 hurricane
• 29th August: Made landfall in Lousiana as a powerful catergory 3 before it became only a catergory 1
• 30th August: Tropical Depression

• Artificial levees of the Mississippi River burst in 50 places = flooded around 80% of New Orleans
• 1836 deaths
• Over $81 billion in damages
• Damage area = 233,000km squared
• Over 3 million people left with no electricity
• 30 oil platforms damaged in Gulf and 9 oil refineries closed = production reduced by 25%
• Over 5300km squared of forest land destroyed = $5 billion in losses
• Over 1 million people left the region and by Jan 2006 only 200,000 had returned
• Coastal erosion
• Estimated that 560km squared of land in Chadeleur Islands was submerged
• 20% of marshlands inundated with sea water = loss of breeding grounds for turtles, birds etc.
• Flood water polluted with sewage, heavy metals, pesticides and oil

• FEMA made clean-up plans

When: 2nd May 2008

Development:

• Late April 2008 = low pressure development in Bay of Bengal
• 27th April = Deepening depression
• 28th April = Cyclonic storm
• 29th April = Severe cyclonic storm
• 1st May = Cyclone headed east and rapidly intensified
• 2nd May = Catergory 4 and hit Burma
• 3rd May = Last warning and weakened as it moved towards Thailand

• Burma's worst ever natural disaster
• Irrawady Delta where it first hit = the densest part of the country
• Estimated that 1.5 million people were affected in Burma
• Damage to the Burma economy of $4 billion
• Approx. 600,000 ha of agricultural land damaged in Burma with 60% of farming implements lost
• 75% of clinics and hospitals damaged in the area of Burma
• Diseases such as dysentry made worse by the storm
• 95% of homes in Bogale (Burma) washed away and around 10,000 were killed by a massive storm surge
• In Sri Lanka as many as 3000 families were displaced
• Around 35,000 people were affected in total in Sri Lanka
• Also in Sri Lanka there was widespread flooding and landslides

• Lack of information and aid was in a state of confusion due to Burma seemingly refusing to accept the scale of the problem and reluctant to let outside help in
• Many private companies left aid with the respected Buddhist monks rather than the government
• ASEAN stepped in to help facilitate exchange between Burma's government and foreign aid
• Donor countries pledged nearly $50 million in aid

• Warmer and wetter = seasonal rainfall increases in intensity
• Southern Britain more likley to experience a Mediterranean climate but north and west could be wetter
• Storms may increase in frequency and intensity
• Some predict colder winters
• Coastal flooding will increase as sea levels rise
• Rivers expected to flood more frequently and worsen in magnitude
• Changes in agricultural practises and crops to be more Medterranean
• More irrigation may be needed
• Water supply may become a problem
• Increases in pests and diseases e.g. malarial mosquitoes

• Increase in total precipitation and length of wet season
• More tropical cyclones
• Temps. could increase but wet monsoon will become unreliable
• Increased flooding as sea levels rise = international tension (people moving across borders)
• Longer wet season = increases length of growing season = multi-cropping of paddy rice
• Monsoon may become less reliable = drought
• Many species may become extinct through loss of habitat e.g. Bengal Tiger