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SPRING 2007 - Special focus: The Patriot's Day Storm
For the Spring edition of the GoMOOS Observer, we have focused on the Nor'easter that impacted the Gulf of Maine during the Patriot's Day weekend in April. The GoMOOS buoys provided valuable data for the National Weather Service, emergency responders and decision makers at the federal level. View this newsletter online: http://www.gomoos.org/aboutgomoos/GM_report_SPR07.html |
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Member Institutions Atlantic Pilotage Authority *New Members |
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2007 Patriot's Day Storm UpdateStorm duration: April 15 - 17th, 2007 Rain: 3-day total 5.6" (1" above normal rainfall for the entire month of April) Wind: Portland had a peak wind of 59 mph measured on April 16th Waves: A high of 31.5' measured at Buoy B on April 16th Tide: Abnormally high spring tide plus a storm surge of nearly 3 feet (2.72 feet at Portland tide gage) produced a high tide of 13.28 feet (The 7th highest tide measured since the early 1900's.) (data from GoMOOS buoys and NWS Gray, ME)
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The Patriot’s Day Storm will long be remembered for its meteorological significance and devastating power. Violent waves destroyed homes, businesses, coastal roads, and beaches, while forceful winds tore down power lines leaving many residents in the dark for days. The storm was unusual in its force and behavior, and meteorologists and emergency responders needed information to fuel fast decision-making. According to National Weather Service meteorologist, John Cannon, forecast models had predicted a gigantic snowstorm the week before that didn’t happen. Instead, jet stream winds carried the storm’s energy over New England dropping five to eight inches of rain along the coast, resulting in a rare coastal flooding event. “GoMOOS information was critical during the Patriot's Day Storm.” Cannon said. “Wind and wave data provided by the GoMOOS network allowed meteorologists to better forecast the severe effects of storm tides throughout the entire week.” Empirical research has shown that storm tide and wave height work together to predict storm surge and resulting coastal damage. Even on their own, large waves can cause significant coastal erosion. Combined with water levels above flood stage, waves drive water much further onto land in very destructive ways.
In partnership with the National Weather Service, GoMOOS produced a Coastal Flooding and Erosion Forecast System prototype that forecasts the effects of the interaction of water level and waves. During the Patriot's Day Storm, there were four high-tide cycles in which the water level was near or above flood stage and the waves were greater than 10' in height. This combination caused the tremendous amounts of coastal damage seen during the storm. The Coastal Flooding and Erosion Forecast System actually predicted days in advance of the Patriot’s Day Storm that there was a high likelihood of this damage occurring. This capacity is extremely important to coastal property owners and emergency responders, resulting in dollars and lives saved.
The Importance of Observing Data According to Ted Diers with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program, many changes are occurring that make monitoring and prediction capabilities increasingly important. For example, research has indicated that the severity and frequency of storms will increase with predicted climate change. “We’ve had three 300-year events in 18 months,” Diers pointed out while describing the drastic property damage to beaches and properties his state experienced. While 2-3 mm increases in sea level per year are normal, some recent data has indicated there could now be a rise of 6mm per year. Diers added, “Since 1940, we are receiving more rain in fewer precipitation events. There is a clear statistical difference there.” The ramifications of these changes pose serious threats to coastal environments and properties, which is particularly alarming to policy makers. Once he saw a GoMOOS figure touting 32-foot waves, Senator John Sununu traveled to New Hampshire to meet with Diers. “GoMOOS was able to whip up some data for us that showed the whole storm sequence looking at tide height and wave height,” Diers said. “It served as a nice jumping off point to explain why we had so much damage from the storm and the fact that we need buoys in the water to collect this information.”
GoMOOS Buoys Weather the Storm From Linda Mangum at the University of Maine Buoy Group: "All of the GoMOOS buoys fared quite well during the Patriot's Day storm. The wind sensor on buoy I had failed before the storm back on 9 April and on buoy L, the wind sensor failed back in March (wind sensors were damaged during the winter storms). No sensors actually failed during the storm. All of the buoys got tossed around quite a bit during the Patriot's Day storm and we flagged a few wave heights but otherwise all the data came through okay. Several of the buoys (I think C02 and maybe B01) did drag their anchor a small distance (50m or so) but otherwise stayed put." The GoMOOS buoy array was designed to withstand the constant year-round stress of the Gulf of Maine as well as the occasional hurricane or hurricane-force Nor'easters common to the area. To determine the extreme environmental conditions a buoy might face and be able to design a buoy to withstand such conditions, a historical wave analysis was conducted using NDBC data from 1979 - 1993. The buoys are stable enough to survive being adrift during a storm without the chain and anchor to add stability. If a buoy does lose it's mooring, it must stay upright to maintain the communciation necessary for tracking and recovery. The buoys are stable enough to withstand 10 meter seas and can right themselves quickly during short wave periods. (The GoMOOS Moored Buoy Design; Wallinga, J.P. Pettirew, N.R. Irish, J.D. Maine Univ., Orono, ME, USA;. This paper appears in: OCEANS 2003) http://gyre.umeoce.maine.edu/GoMoos/oceans2003.doc
A Call for Coastal Flood Photos
Comprehensive study on Northern New England Coastal Flooding A comprehensive study on Northern New England Coastal Flooding has been completed by the NOAA/National Weather Service Forecast Office in Gray Maine. It will be featured as an extended abstract in the American Meteorological Society Weath Please send comments and suggestions to: GoMOOS Phone (207) 773-0423 |
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