138 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW AUQUST 1943
TABLE 3.-Mm'mum free-air wind veloeito'es (m. p . s.), for different sections of the United Stations, baaed on pilot-balloon observations during
- In
a
a
T
a y
Section
Northeast '..... East-Central 2.-
.Southeast a.....
North-Central 4
Central 8 . ......
South-Central Northwest 7.. - West-Central 8-
Bouthwest *----
R I
'B -
'2
c
41.4
31.2
17.5
40.0
34.3
26.0
40.6
40.0
21.6
-
R
0
I
-
g
-!i z _-
30. 2
30.2
18.8
34.6
45.3
35.6
37. G
31.8
24.8
-
g ., a 3
E F i E
WUW. wnw. w. w.
ne. nw. sw. sw.
w.
Surface to 2,600 meters (m. s. 1.)
ssw. w.
sw. SSW. sw. sw. w. sw.
me..
--
550
1,160
630
. 2,280
1,600 1,100 2,120
2,090 2,180
I
14
27
19
31
30
12
7
31
2
Nantucket. Mass.-.. Huntington W. Va-. Charleston, k. C _____ Green Bay, Wis ....__
Dodge City, Ram Tenarkana, Ark _..__.
H~VTC, Mont ._____.__
Cheyenne, Wyo ___...
Sandberg, Calif ____..
- Allgust 194s
Between 2,wO and 5,000 meters (m. s. 1.)
1 Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New
f Delaware, Maryland, V n w a , West Virginia, southern Ohlo, Kentucky, eastern York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania? and northern Ohio.
Tmnp-wp. end North Carnlina. - -, _-_ - . __ .- . - - : South Carolina Georgia Florida and Alabama.
4 Michigan. Wishusin. Minnesota: North Dakota and South Dakota.
3 Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and dissouri.
1,620
4.830
2.730
4,350
3.1M
4,8333
4.920
5,000
3.720
-
RIVER STAGES AND FLOODS
By BENNETT SWENSON
Severe drought conditions continued during August in south-central portions of the country while a few localized floods occurred in northern sections. A disastrous flash flood in West Virginia on August 4-5 resulted in the loss of 23 lives and property losses of over a million dollars. Other floods were confined principally to eastern Iowa and neighboring areas, and Utah. Precipitation during August followed very closely the pattern which has prevailed during the summer months, June to August. August precipitation waa 25 percent of normal, or less, in sections extending from the lower Ohio River basin southwestward to Texas, in eastern Mary- land, eastern Virginia, and most of California and Nevada. For the summer months the precipitation in the same areas was generally 50 percent or less of normal. On the other hand, the extreme Northeast, the upper Mississippi and Missouri Valleys, the far Northwest, and portions of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, had above-normal pre- cipitation. Atlantic Slope drainage.-River stages in most of New - England were' well a6ove normal. Elsewhere in the Atlantic Slope drainage, the rivers continued generally below normal during the month. Light flooding occurred in the Waccamaw River on August 22-27 and again on August 30-31. On August 18-19, Conway, S. C., reported 4.38 inches of rain in 48 hours. The river rose to R stage of 7.3 feet on August 24-25. On August 29-30 heavy rain again occurred amounting to 5.45 inches at Conway. This rain was evidently local as the river rose only 0.5 foot, cresting at
7.3 feet at Conway on August 30. Flood stage at Conway is 7 feet. Easd Gulf qf Mexico &inage.-Unusually low stages prevailed; at Columbus, Miss., on the Tombigbee River, the river was within 0.1 foot of the lowest stage of record,
0.0 foot. Upper Alississippi Basin.-Moderately high stages pre- vailed throughout the basin. Flooding was confined to streams in eastern Iowa and adjacent areas, with severe floods in the Skunk River. Excessive rainfall during the night of August 2-3,
averaging about 7 inches in portions of Washington and
Btation
Port,lrmd, Maine. - - -. Elkins, W. Va _._____
Atlanta Ga ..________
St. Pad, Minn .______
Joliit, I11 .... . .- .- __ __ Big Spring. Ten ._____
Medford, 0reg.- .~- __ Elko, Nev. -. _...___
Las Vegas, Nev ..._._
-
R
0
P
- .-
c
.$ #
z -
62.4
37.6
45.0
71.2
53.2
27.6
70.0
59.9
45.3
-
Above 5,000 meters (m. s. 1.)
- z E -
wnw. SW.
WIlW.
IUlW.
sw. sw. sw.
ene.
ese.
- m
e
a
d .- i!
3
?
v
-
11,390
10,640
13.780
8,700
10,420
12,750
11,260
13,290 11,710
-
3 f2 -
11
19 14
17
1
9
5
4
24
-
Btation
Albany, N. Y. Norfolk, Va. Key West Flr. Bismarck.'N. Dak. Fort Wayne, Id. San Antonio, Tex. Oreat Falls, Mont. Redding, Calif. Las Vegas. Nev.
6 Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas (excopt El Paso), and western
1 Montana Idaho Washington and Oregon.
8 Wyomin;, Colorho, Utah, ndrthem Nevada, and northern California.
Tennessee.
Southern California, Bouthern Nevada, Arizona, New Mcxico, and extreme west Texas.
Jefferson Counties, Iowa, and over 2 inches in adjacent counties, caused the Skunk River to rise rapidly from Coppock, Iowa, to the mouth. Before the heavy rains set in, the river was moderately high and rising slowly. From the 2d to the 3d the stnge at Coppock rose sharply from a stage of 9.7 feet to 17.4 feet, and crested at 21.6 feet on the morning of the 4th. The record stage at Coppock is 22.1 feet, which occurred on June 15, 1930. At Augusta, Iowa, the river crested at 20.3 feet on the 6th) compared with a stage of 22.55 feet on June 17, 1930. During the middle of the month the Raccoon River was at medium flood stage. Heavy rainfall, averaging about 5 inches in the Canton, Mo.- uincy, Ill., area on August 8, caused sharp rises in the s ississippi River below v. The river exceeded flood stage slightly at H a m a1 and Louisiana, Mo., on
August 8-and 9.
The following report is submitted by the official in
c.httrge. Weather Bureau Office. Dubuaue. Iowa. relative to aseries of heavy showers and flooding in streams in northeastern Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin and north- western Illinois on August 13:
A series of heavy showers on August 13, attended by moderate to severe electrical activity struck much of the region near the Mis- sissippi River, from the Iowa-Minnesota border to (or beyond) Bellevue, Iowa. This occurred mostly between midnight and 6 a. m. Rainfall along the Mississippi was reported in amounts which ranged from 1.90 to 4.00 and 4.50 inches, the latter figures being recorded, respectively, at Prairie du Chien, Wis., and McGregor, Iowa. Similar conditions prevailed over the Turkey River Valley and many of the small tributaries in Iowa, Wisconsin, and extreme northwestern Illinois. Many tributaries overflowed, and flooded bottomland fields, which, if in crops, were mostly in corn. In most sections the water receded from fields rapidly enough so that little or no damage resulted. In several urban communities the storm sewers were overtaxed, with considerable property damage resulting, particularly in McGregor, Iowa, where the damage wacl estimated at about $25,000. Railroads suffered considerable loss because of track washouts near McGregor and Monona, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien, Glenhaven. and Wauzeka, Wis. Monetary losses were reported at about $3,000. In Galena, Ill., a rapid rise of the Galena River threatened a severe flood, but the rise was very flashy and a serious overflow did not materialize. The stream started to recede before any severe damage was done. A similar flashy behavior was reported in practically all streams, including the Mississippi where most! of the rise occurred below Prairie du Chien, and particularly in the im-
AUGU~T 1943
~~ ~~
Skunk: Coppock, Iowa .________________._
Augusta, Iowa __.___._____________
Raccoon: Van Meter, Iowa ____________ Mississippl: Hannibal, Mo _____________________
MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW
12 15 13
13
139
Louisiana, Mo __________________..
Missouri Basin
Grand: Chillicothe, Mo .______________
Ohio Basin
Little Kanawha: GlenyIlle, W. Va .... Scioto: Circlevffle Ohio-.. __ __ __ __ ____ West Fork of White: Anderson, Ind-- Wabash: Wabash, Ind .____.________________
Lafayette, Ind _____.______________
mediate vicinity of Dubuque. A rise of more than 4 feet
occurred at Dubuque, in approsimatelv 28 hours, after which the river started to recede fairly rapidly. bamage near Dubuque, and elsewhere along the hlississippi, was slight, except for losses suffered
by the railroads.
Ohio River basin.-The following report is submitted by the official in charge, Weather Bureau Office, Parkersburg, W. Va., relative to the disastrous flash flood in the upper Little Kanawha River basin:
The most disastrous flash flood in the history of aentral West
Virginia occurred during the night of August 4-5, 1943, causing the deaths of 23 persons and property damage estimated a t near
$1,300,000. The damage was confined to an area approximately
48 miles long, extending from just west of Big Island Run to the upper reaches of Salt Lick Creek, with the maximum width about 12 miles. Thundershowers, mostly of short duration, occurred about dusk on August 4, throughout the Little Kanawha River Basin. How-
ever, these showers were locally heavy in the Burnsville-Copen
area. They were followed about 3 hours later by record-breaking rains accompanied by one of the worst, if not the worst, electrical storms of record. The excessive rains began to fall in the McFarlan-Girta area about 11 p. m., August 4, and progressed
southeastward into the Salt Lick Creek Basin where the excessive rains began about 1 a. m., August 5. These rains continued in
most places for from 1 to 2 hours and were generally continuous, although quite a number of persons reported brief slackening3 of the hard rains. There were two main peaks of excessive rainfall, one over the Burnsville-Copen-Cedarville area and the other over the Nobe-Brohard area. A crest stage of 30.7 feet was reached a t Glenville at 6:30 p. m., of the 5th, while the crest stage at Creston was 19.7 feet a t 9 a. m., of the 6th. The Creston crest was 0.3 foot below flood stage.
The anomalous situation of a crest 2.3 feet below the record a t Glenville, while Burnsville, 18 miles upstream had a crest 10 inches higher than the previous record, was due to the fact that approsimately two-thirds of the Glenville drainage area comprises
sections where the intensity of the rainfall sloughed off sharply. Except for the high-water mark at Burnsville, gage heights on the main stream do not tell the story of this flood; neither do the amounts of rainfall recorded at the river and the cooperative stations maintained in the basin, except that the record a t McFar-
lan, just north of the downstream peak of maximum rainfall indi- cated a fall of 3.70 inches in 1 hour. The findings of a survey of
the rainfall catch in regions where there are no official gages will be reported in a later issue of the REVIEW. Generally speaking, the southern tributaries of the Little Kanawha River starting with Long Run and ending with the left Fork of Steer Creek were the highest of record, while from Third
Run to and including Yellow Creek, the northern tributaries crested higher than ever before. On the South Fork of the Hughes River,
the tributaries from Spruce Creek to Big Island Run were also as high or higher than the previous records. Practically every hill
in the flood area was scarred by one or more blow-outs or slides. Every cove showed excessive washes. The scour and fill in the
valleys was great for, in addition to the usual gravel fill, sizeable rocks and some boulders were washed from the hill tops down into
the valleys. Instead of the usus1 gulley drainage, observers re- ported that the run-off was in sheet-forin with waves forming in
some instances. The run-off m-as rapid in the creeks, as all of them crested a t or shortly after the cessation of the excessive rainfall. The body
of one of the victims of Big Island Run floated downstream into the South Fork, then into the Little Kanawha River and then into the
Ohio River and was recovered near Harris Ferry, W. Va., a t 6 p. m., August 5, shortly before the main stream crested a t Glenville.
The body floated 49 miles in 16 hours. The run-out of the Little Kanawha River at Parkersburg was very swift for he 2 days (5th and 6th), as the Ohio River was in pool above Parkerbburg and the
navigation dams below Parkersburg had been lowered in anticipa- tion of this run-off. Twenty-three persons were drowned: 8 in the vicinity of Heaters
on O'Brien Fork of Salt Lick Creek, 8 in the vicinity of Copen on Copen Creek, 5 at Girta on Big Island Run, and 2 above Tanner on
Tanner Creek. Property damage has been estimated at near $1,300,000, about half of which was to crops and farms. On the 10 miles of track of
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad between Heaters and Burnsville several bridges washed out, much of the track was washed out or moved considerable distances and the roadbed damaged generally.
Highways were damaged by slides, fills, and wash-outs and many
The damage to the land was tremendous.
The South Fork of the Hughes River ran out rapidly.
12
18
23
14
10
12 11
bridges were destroyed. In many instances streams moved over
into the highways and will have to be rechanneled. All bottom land crops were destroyed and damage to home gardens was con- siderable. Much tillable land is now covered with rubble. Many
houses, stores, schools, and churches were washed away; while others were moved some distance from their foundations. Con- siderable livestock and poultry were drowned. Extensive damage was done to fences and farm implements. Well-water supply was
contaminated by overflow of streams or surface drainage. The small community of White Pine was practically wiped out. Burns- ville was the only sizeable community to be damaged by the flood.
Glenville's damage was much less, with the monetary loss due principally to loss of business and to expense of cleaning up.
Light to moderate overflows occurred in portions of the Scioto and Wabash Rivers between August 4 and 7 fol- lowing rains ranging from 2 to 4 inches over portions of
the basius on August 34. Colorado River and Great Basin drainage.-The following report of flash floods in Utah is submitted by the official in charge, Weather Bureau Office, Salt Lake City, Utah:
One of the most devastating floods in the history of that area struck near the town of Helper, Utah, on August 5, causing $20,000 damage t.0 homes and other property, and an estimated $50,000 damage to mine property, highways, railroads, and equipment in Spring Canyon north of the town, the most important coal mining district in the State. Caused by an afternoon cloudburst which poured water into Spring Canyon for 35 minutes, the flood swept down the Price River, carrying haystacks, furniture, portions of houses, mine cars, and automobiles. Coal mining operations in some of the mines were suspended as long as 4 days. At least 20 homes were hit by the flood, and more than a dozen automobiles were carried into the
river and badly damaged as flood waters poured through garages in which miners had parked their cars. Another cloudburst on the same day caused damage estimated at $120,000 to the town of hfonroe, Utah. The municipal power
plant was badly damaged by flood waters from Monroe Canyon, leaving the city without power and light for several days. The
water system was disrupted, many homes were damaged by mud- flows and water, and there was great damage to crops, particularly potatoes and beets. Some farm land is completely lost, according
to reports.
FLOOD-STAGE REPORT FOR AUGUST 1943
[All dates in August unless otherwise specified]
River and station
HUDSON BAY DEAINACE
Lake Bie
St. Marys: Decatur, Ind .____..____.
ATLANTIC BLOPE DBAINAOE
Waccamaw: Conway, 8. C __________
MISSISSIPPI BYBTEY
Upper Mwsmppi Basin
Flood stage
-
Fed
13
7
I Continued into Be tember. Due to manipulatgn of dam 24.
Above flood stagesdates
From-
5
n 30
3 4
15
8 0 17
5
6
6
4
4
6
-
To-
6
21
(9
13
8
17
8 0 18
5
6 7 6
6
7
-
Stage
Crest
Fed
13.0
7.3 7.3
21. G
20.3 14.7
13.1 12.2 ' 1 2 2
18.0
30.7 15.0 12. 5
17.8 13.5
-
Date
5
24-25
30
4
6
16
8 9
17-18
6
6
0
6
4
6
-