History of Climatology in the St. Louis Metro Area - Annotated Bibliography Example

History of Climatology in the St. Louis metro area Task: History of Climatology in the St. Louis metro area “F4 St. Louis County Tornado-January 24th 1967”. National Weather Service. Last modified April 24 2011. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=jan241967tornado Fatal cases of tornados occurred in St. Louis over the last forty years. On 24 January 1967, a destructive F4 tornado struck St. Louis that had serious effects. The damage caused by the tornado on the affected area was severe and extensive over the St. Louis area. The areas affected by the Tornado included the St. Olive Street Road1. It extended to the small community of Lake Area as well as the Old Farm Estates where there were extensive damage of properties of high value. Nearly over two hundred people suffered from the effects of the F4 tornado. Tornado climatology of the St. Louis shows the occurrence of strong or violent tornadoes mainly between November and February. “Law and Public Safety: Tornadoes”. St. Louis County Missouri. 2010. http://www.stlouisco.com/LawandPublicSafety/EmergencyManagement/Hazards/Tornad oes The occurrence of tornadoes forms one of the fatal causes of damages caused by storms. In most situations, tornadoes occur in abrupt instances. Early warning and signs of tornadoes occurrences may be challenging to determine2. This calls for prompt planning and preparation for the occurrence of tornadoes, given the expansive effects that they may cause. It is noteworthy to get prepared and know how to act during the occurrence of tornadoes. As a safety measure, one should take shelter upon warning by a siren on the occurrence of a tornado. Finding information from media on the situation forms a safety measure, as well. The use of generators in case of power loss after a tornado should be a careful undertaking. Following instructions of generator use is critical in ensuring safety. “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration” United States Department of Commerce. Accessed November 08 2012. http://www.noaa.gov/. Reports by NOAA of the United States show that the temperature and precipitation in October reached average levels3. This was a recorded temperature of 53.90 F. This was 0.30F lower than the figure recorded during the year 2011. The precipitation, as recorded on October 2012, increased by a scale of an estimated two inches compared to the long-term average recorded. A considerable area of the United Nations, by October 30, was under drought. Most of the drought spread over the Great Plains. There were sandy beaches in the east of United States. The October monthly report on climate also shows consistency of droughts in the west. “St. Louis County, MO”. National Weather Service. Last modified 7 January 2012. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=stlouis_tor Data on the St. Louis County weather shows different tornado occurrence in the St. Louis. The F4 tornado that occurred on the 24th of January 1967 caused a massive effect across a wide area. According to the data there were three cases of deaths and 216 reports on injuries4. Another F0 tornado that occurred on the 10th February 1959 however had no reported cases of deaths caused. There was an occurrence off F4 tornado on the 22nd April 2011 in the St. Louis area. On the 27th of February 2011, F1 tornado was experienced over the St. Louis area which spread over to affect the area near Rosemary lane and extensive damage of trees. “St. Louis Tornado Information” Homefacts.com. 2012. http://www.homefacts.com/tornadoes/Missouri/St.-Louis-County/St.-Louis.html The 1959 F4 tornado remains to have caused the most extensive damage across the area. The effects of the tornado were massive, totaling to about 345 injuries reported5. There were 21 reported death cases. St. Louis is prone to the effects of tornadoes given the rate of occurrences of tornadoes experienced in the area, some of massive magnitude that is destructive. Data on tornadoes instances in St. Louis shows a series of cases of tornadoes of varied forces, ranging from zero to four. A F2 tornado that occurred on 22nd April 2011 resulted in one case of injury while a F4 caused five similar cases. “St. Louis Weather: Deadly 1896 St. Louis Tornado”. KMOV-TV, Inc. 2012. http://www.kmov.com/weather/1896-St-Louis-Tornado-96601224.html The climatology of St. Louis area reveals the occurrence of fatal tornadoes in the area. There was a fatal tornado occurrence in 1896. According to St. Louis weather, the May 27 1896 was among the most fatal in history6. The tornado caused a total of over two hundred and fifty death cases. Among the most affected by the Tornado were residents of the shanty structures found in the Mississippi area. The destruction of infrastructure was massive including the destruction of Lafayette Park. Traces of the powerful tornado are still visible in some parts of St. Louis. “Tornado Facts”. Tornado Alley, LLC. 2006. http://tornadoalleymovie.com/index.php/explore/tornado_facts/ There are a significant number of tornado occurrences in the United States, annually. Their occurrences may come any at any point. Supercell tornadoes, however, occur mostly in the evenings. The extent of tornado destructions may reach great heights including vandalizing structures. They may also sweep heavy objects by their strong currents. The average time that tornadoes take may be estimated to be ten minutes. The tornado that occurred in 1925 across Missouri, Illinois and Indian remain top in their damaging effects7. This was the Tri-State Tornado. “U.S. Tornado Climatology”. Updated 7 March 2012 http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/tornadoes.html#top The occurrence of tornadoes take has no limitation of geographical location since tornadoes result from storms. In addition, their occurrence take is independent on the atmospheric conditions of a location. There are hotspots for the occurrence of tornadoes which notably fall between latitudes 300 and 500 on either side of the equator8. This zone of area provides favorable conditions for the occurrence of tornadoes. The United States experiences the most occurrences of tornadoes. The next after the United States is Canada. Locations as Europe and Asia have similar problems of frequent tornado occurrences. Florida and “Tornado Alley” are among the places most hit by tornadoes in the United States. “United States Tornado History”. AON Reinsurance Services. Accessed 8 November 2012. http://www.aon.com/austria/products-and- services/reinsurance/attachements/UnitedStatesTornadoHistory.pdf The most tornado affected country is the United States. There were an estimated number of about 1200 tornadoes recorded in the past decade in the United States. The main area where tornadoes affect most is the “Tornado Alley” which consists of several states. The greatest number of tornadoes occurs during period of April and June. This marks the period when there is the formation of supercell storms. The year 2004 experienced the highest number of tornadoes with 2003 being the year when most number of tornadoes occurred within ten days. This was a total of 412 tornadoes experienced from first to tenth of May. The 1925 tri-state tornadoes remain the most fatal in history9. A high number of tornadoes occurred in the afternoon and evenings. “WFO St. Louis CWA Tornado Climatology” . National Weather Service. Last modified 5 January 2011. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=tor_climatology Tornadoes occur of varying intensities and extent of damage. F0 and F1 tornadoes are notably weak; F2 and F3 are strong while F4 and F5 tornadoes are violent. From the year 1950 to 2008, there occurred a total of an estimated seven hundred and eighty three tornadoes in the St. Louis10. The years 1951 and 1989 experienced no reports of tornado occurrence. The number of tornado days in the St. Louis area totals to about one hundred and seventeen from the year 1950 to 2008. Most tornadoes occurred in the afternoon and evening. Forbes, Greg. “Tornadoes in St. Louis, Mo. (1950-2011)”. The Weather Channel, LLC weather.com. 2012. http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/severe- weather/articles/tornadoes-by-month-saint-louis_2010-03-25. Statistics on the instances and occurrence of Tornadoes in St. Louis area shows that February is the month when the most number of occurred closely followed by May and April. The months of July, September, October and November experienced the least number of tornadoes over the years. May and February, therefore, remain the peak months in relation to tornado occurrences. The strongest tornadoes include that experienced on 24 January 1967, 10th February 1959 and 22nd April 201111. Stoos, James. “St. Louis Tornado Highlights Aprils Wild Weather; Spring Tornado Facts” Yahoo! Inc. Accessed 8 November 2012. http://news.yahoo.com/st-louis-tornado- highlights-aprils-wild-weather-spring-170400293.html. Nearly one thousand tornadoes occur in the United States annually. Some of the tornadoes experienced are deadly and cause a range of destruction in diverse areas. The southern states have a high number of tornado occurrences. The most frequent times of the months of tornado occurrence are March and May12. The formation of superbells prompts the occurrence of tornadoes. Areas prone to superbells record high tornado instances. The Great Plains in the south that experiences the most number of tornadoes is called the “Tornado Alley”. The number of tornadoes may rise with the effects of climate change. TornadoHistoryProject.com. 2005-2012. http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/ The south states are the most prone areas of tornado occurrences. The most affected states include those around Illinois, Indiana and South Dakota. The area near Ohio and Michigan has equally high instances of tornado occurrences. Bibliography “F4 St. Louis County Tornado-January 24th 1967”. National Weather Service. Last modified April 24 2011. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=jan241967tornado “Law and Public Safety: Tornadoes”. St. Louis County Missouri. 2010. http://www.stlouisco.com/LawandPublicSafety/EmergencyManagement/Hazards/Tornad oes “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration” United States Department of Commerce. Accessed November 08 2012. http://www.noaa.gov/. “St. Louis County, MO”. National Weather Service. Last modified 7 January 2012. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=stlouis_tor “St. Louis Tornado Information” Homefacts.com. 2012. http://www.homefacts.com/tornadoes/Missouri/St.-Louis-County/St.-Louis.html “St. Louis Weather: Deadly 1896 St. Louis Tornado”. KMOV-TV, Inc. 2012. http://www.kmov.com/weather/1896-St-Louis-Tornado-96601224.html “Tornado Facts”. Tornado Alley, LLC. 2006. http://tornadoalleymovie.com/index.php/explore/tornado_facts/ “U.S. Tornado Climatology”. Updated 7 March 2012 http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/tornadoes.html#top “United States Tornado History”. AON Reinsurance Services. Accessed 8 November 2012. http://www.aon.com/austria/products-and- services/reinsurance/attachements/UnitedStatesTornadoHistory.pdf “WFO St. Louis CWA Tornado Climatology” . National Weather Service. Last modified 5 January 2011. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=tor_climatology Forbes, Greg. “Tornadoes in St. Louis, Mo. (1950-2011)”. The Weather Channel, LLC weather.com. 2012. http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/severe- weather/articles/tornadoes-by-month-saint-louis_2010-03-25. Stoos, James. “St. Louis Tornado Highlights Aprils Wild Weather; Spring Tornado Facts” Yahoo! Inc. Accessed 8 November 2012. http://news.yahoo.com/st-louis-tornado- highlights-aprils-wild-weather-spring-170400293.html. TornadoHistoryProject.com. 2005-2012. http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/ Read More