While tropical cyclones are universally recognized for their destructive strength, new research led by a University-of-Arizona team published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggests another previously unrecognized danger: heat buildupsafterthe storms.
The heat may plague residents trying to recover from storms after power has been knocked out. In addition to wind damage, storm surge and flooding, the heat represents a public health hazard. The researchers argue that preparedness information should warn the public about that heat risk.
About the Research
The researchers analyzed 53 tropical storms and hurricanes in the eastern Caribbean between 1991 and 2020. They also analyzed weather after storms passed the main cities in 14 Caribbean islands. In EVERY case, high-temperature anomalies followed passage of the storms – with values as high as 5°C (9 Fahrenheit).
“The research team analyzed 53 tropical cyclones in the eastern Caribbean between 1991 and 2020, and 205 interactions between the cyclones and 14 Caribbean cities. They found that the cities’ heat index values were always warmer than average after the storm,” says Kelley.
Guido, the lead researcher, added, “Everyone’s focus is on the destructive power of tropical storms and hurricanes — the storm surge, winds, flooding — and that’s obviously quite substantial, but our focus is on the combined hazard of storm and subsequent heat.”
The results also show maximum temperatures can occur several days after the storm’s passage, and can be observed in locations that are not directly impacted by the storm. The results suggest tropical cyclone preparedness should include informing the public about heat risk.
Giant Heat Pumps
Guido added, “Hurricanes are massive heat pumps, redistributing heat for a large spatial distance around the center of the storm, and they leave massive destruction in their wake that can knock out the energy grid. That combination is often dangerous because it slows recovery and poses risks to human health.”
Continental Locations?
I’m curious about whether the results apply to continental locations or if there is something intrinsically unique about island weather. I’ve contacted several meteorologists including the lead author to see if results can be extrapolated to the Gulf Coast. We certainly get our share of hurricanes. More when I hear back.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/10/22
1899 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Harvey-Peak-Intensity.jpg?fit=1500%2C843&ssl=18431500adminadmin2022-11-10 13:10:302022-11-10 13:26:07Tropical Cyclones Act as Heat Pumps that Fuel Extreme Heat
Demolition of the old Kingwood Middle School (KMS) has begun. On Election Day, I drove by and noticed that the entire front entrance had been demolished. Removing the old school will create room for new athletic fields as well as a permanent stormwater detention basin that reduces the risk of flooding.
Next Step in Construction Project
Ever since construction of the new school, the KMS campus has functioned without athletic fields and with a temporary detention basin.
That’s about to change.
The first few pictures below show the extent of the demolition as of 11/8/2022. The last shows it on 11/9/22.
Beginning of demolition near the main entrance of old building, first observed on Election Day.Reverse angle shot shows rip rap laid down at construction entrance. Rip rap knocks mud off the tires of dump trucks, to help keep sediment out of storm sewers.Side shot, looking east, shows the second temporary detention basin, which will expand into the permanent detention basis after Close up of the “jaws” used to rip apart structural steel.This morning, 11/9/22, the demolished area had widened considerably.
What you see above, happened in a day and a half. At the current rate, demolition could finish before Thanksgiving in two weeks. Then landscaping of the athletic fields can begin, as well as excavation of the final detention basin.
For photos showing the progress of construction, see below.
The final stages of construction. Remove the old building, expand the detention basin, and build athletic fields. From Nov. 2020.
Editorial comment: management of stormwater has been a major concern on this project since the beginning. I wish all owners and contractors built stormwater detention basins before construction or clearing land. Too often, it seems, some take the opposite approach and treat protection of neighbors as an afterthought.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/9/2022
1898 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20221109-DJI_0147.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-11-09 13:10:202022-11-09 13:29:21Demolition of Old Kingwood Middle School Begins
As if on cue, I ran a post about restoring competence to local government, and voila, within hours, people started reporting voting problems across Harris County. The problems appear widespread, intermittent and random. They were not limited to areas that leaned Republican or Democratic.
The main effect? Long wait times. One location reported a five-hour line! At another location, a source told me that fifty people were turned away.
The main reasons: Scanners that wouldn’t scan; printers that wouldn’t print; missing supplies; internet glitches; lost keys; lack of testing; not enough setup time; and not enough technical support to resolve issues quickly.
Central Kingwood Mid-Day Report
I personally visited six locations in Kingwood between 11 am and 2 pm. At each, I talked to multiple people.
Four locations seemed to run smoothly. Two had long lines and delays (Kingwood Community Center, Foster Elementary). The problems at the Community Center were unclear. At Foster, several machines went down. Voters experienced half-hour to one-hour wait times at these two locations.
Local news covering long lines at Foster Elementary before lunch today.
At Foster, people exiting talked about scanners being down. Officials asked them to put their ballots in a box and said they would be counted later. Given the level of distrust and skepticism lately, the voters immediately suspected the worst.
They were mad as hornets!
One person complained about his ballot misprinting. It printed Page 1 twice, but wouldn’t print Page 2 at all. Another complained of scanners shredding his ballot.
Handicapped voting seemed to be a problem everywhere. At Kingwood Middle School, a friend and I had to help an elderly woman get from her vehicle to inside the polling location. Elsewhere, I noticed handicapped people coming out of polling places on scooters. Most locations had traffic cones in the handicapped parking places. Several people complained about handicapped call buttons not working or not being accessible.
No Problems at Some Locations
Creekwood Middle School, Good Shepherd Episcopal, Woodland Hills Elementary, and Kingwood Middle School seemed to function properly at mid-day. Many other locations may have been functioning properly, too; I just didn’t check them all.
The last three locations are all adjacent to each other on Woodland Hills Drive between Tree Lane and Pine Terrace Drive.
If you experience problems at your normal voting location, you should be able to vote at any one of them. They’re all within a block of each other. And if one goes down, you have two backups nearby. Also, because of their proximity, the lines are short – at least they were at mid-day.
Wait-Time System May or May Not Work
HarrisVotes.com is supposed to show the wait times at polling locations near you. But caution, if you see zero in line, it may be an error. Both party election officials and Harris County employees have told me the system malfunctioned throughout early voting. It often reported no lines when lines were down the block. So before you get in your car, have some backups in mind.
Note update time as of 6:20 PM tonight. This is likely an error.Foster had long lines most of the day due to malfunctions.
Remember, if you’re in line when the polls normally close at 7, they have to let you vote.
Late Breaking News
At 6:20 PM, the Houston Chronicle reported that a Harris County district judge signed an order keeping the polls open until 8 PM because of all the problems experienced today. They were originally set to close at 7 PM. However, anyone who arrives after 7 PM will have to vote a provisional ballot, a long, complicated process.
Suggestion
In the future, I hope Texas adopts a voting period, and drops the charade of early voting and Election Day. This should simplify procedures and logistics for both election workers and voters. Why do we expand the number of machines and polling locations AFTER most people have voted?
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/8/2022
1897 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20221108-RJR_1040.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2022-11-08 17:11:422022-11-08 19:41:01Voting Problems Reported Across County
Tropical Cyclones Act as Heat Pumps that Fuel Extreme Heat
While tropical cyclones are universally recognized for their destructive strength, new research led by a University-of-Arizona team published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggests another previously unrecognized danger: heat buildups after the storms.
The heat may plague residents trying to recover from storms after power has been knocked out. In addition to wind damage, storm surge and flooding, the heat represents a public health hazard. The researchers argue that preparedness information should warn the public about that heat risk.
About the Research
The researchers analyzed 53 tropical storms and hurricanes in the eastern Caribbean between 1991 and 2020. They also analyzed weather after storms passed the main cities in 14 Caribbean islands. In EVERY case, high-temperature anomalies followed passage of the storms – with values as high as 5°C (9 Fahrenheit).
The research team included: Zack Guido, Teddy Allen (Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology), Simon Mason (Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society), and Pablo Méndez-Lázaro (University of Puerto Rico). A summary of the research also appeared in Phys.org under the byline of Mikayla Mace Kelley.
“The research team analyzed 53 tropical cyclones in the eastern Caribbean between 1991 and 2020, and 205 interactions between the cyclones and 14 Caribbean cities. They found that the cities’ heat index values were always warmer than average after the storm,” says Kelley.
Guido, the lead researcher, added, “Everyone’s focus is on the destructive power of tropical storms and hurricanes — the storm surge, winds, flooding — and that’s obviously quite substantial, but our focus is on the combined hazard of storm and subsequent heat.”
The results also show maximum temperatures can occur several days after the storm’s passage, and can be observed in locations that are not directly impacted by the storm. The results suggest tropical cyclone preparedness should include informing the public about heat risk.
Giant Heat Pumps
Guido added, “Hurricanes are massive heat pumps, redistributing heat for a large spatial distance around the center of the storm, and they leave massive destruction in their wake that can knock out the energy grid. That combination is often dangerous because it slows recovery and poses risks to human health.”
Continental Locations?
I’m curious about whether the results apply to continental locations or if there is something intrinsically unique about island weather. I’ve contacted several meteorologists including the lead author to see if results can be extrapolated to the Gulf Coast. We certainly get our share of hurricanes. More when I hear back.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/10/22
1899 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Demolition of Old Kingwood Middle School Begins
Demolition of the old Kingwood Middle School (KMS) has begun. On Election Day, I drove by and noticed that the entire front entrance had been demolished. Removing the old school will create room for new athletic fields as well as a permanent stormwater detention basin that reduces the risk of flooding.
Next Step in Construction Project
Ever since construction of the new school, the KMS campus has functioned without athletic fields and with a temporary detention basin.
That’s about to change.
The first few pictures below show the extent of the demolition as of 11/8/2022. The last shows it on 11/9/22.
What you see above, happened in a day and a half. At the current rate, demolition could finish before Thanksgiving in two weeks. Then landscaping of the athletic fields can begin, as well as excavation of the final detention basin.
For photos showing the progress of construction, see below.
Editorial comment: management of stormwater has been a major concern on this project since the beginning. I wish all owners and contractors built stormwater detention basins before construction or clearing land. Too often, it seems, some take the opposite approach and treat protection of neighbors as an afterthought.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/9/2022
1898 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Voting Problems Reported Across County
As if on cue, I ran a post about restoring competence to local government, and voila, within hours, people started reporting voting problems across Harris County. The problems appear widespread, intermittent and random. They were not limited to areas that leaned Republican or Democratic.
Channel 11, Channel 2, and the Chronicle are reporting multiple issues, similar to those I found.
Long Wait Times
The main effect? Long wait times. One location reported a five-hour line! At another location, a source told me that fifty people were turned away.
The main reasons: Scanners that wouldn’t scan; printers that wouldn’t print; missing supplies; internet glitches; lost keys; lack of testing; not enough setup time; and not enough technical support to resolve issues quickly.
Central Kingwood Mid-Day Report
I personally visited six locations in Kingwood between 11 am and 2 pm. At each, I talked to multiple people.
Four locations seemed to run smoothly. Two had long lines and delays (Kingwood Community Center, Foster Elementary). The problems at the Community Center were unclear. At Foster, several machines went down. Voters experienced half-hour to one-hour wait times at these two locations.
At Foster, people exiting talked about scanners being down. Officials asked them to put their ballots in a box and said they would be counted later. Given the level of distrust and skepticism lately, the voters immediately suspected the worst.
One person complained about his ballot misprinting. It printed Page 1 twice, but wouldn’t print Page 2 at all. Another complained of scanners shredding his ballot.
Handicapped voting seemed to be a problem everywhere. At Kingwood Middle School, a friend and I had to help an elderly woman get from her vehicle to inside the polling location. Elsewhere, I noticed handicapped people coming out of polling places on scooters. Most locations had traffic cones in the handicapped parking places. Several people complained about handicapped call buttons not working or not being accessible.
No Problems at Some Locations
Creekwood Middle School, Good Shepherd Episcopal, Woodland Hills Elementary, and Kingwood Middle School seemed to function properly at mid-day. Many other locations may have been functioning properly, too; I just didn’t check them all.
The last three locations are all adjacent to each other on Woodland Hills Drive between Tree Lane and Pine Terrace Drive.
If you experience problems at your normal voting location, you should be able to vote at any one of them. They’re all within a block of each other. And if one goes down, you have two backups nearby. Also, because of their proximity, the lines are short – at least they were at mid-day.
Wait-Time System May or May Not Work
HarrisVotes.com is supposed to show the wait times at polling locations near you. But caution, if you see zero in line, it may be an error. Both party election officials and Harris County employees have told me the system malfunctioned throughout early voting. It often reported no lines when lines were down the block. So before you get in your car, have some backups in mind.
Remember, if you’re in line when the polls normally close at 7, they have to let you vote.
Late Breaking News
At 6:20 PM, the Houston Chronicle reported that a Harris County district judge signed an order keeping the polls open until 8 PM because of all the problems experienced today. They were originally set to close at 7 PM. However, anyone who arrives after 7 PM will have to vote a provisional ballot, a long, complicated process.
Suggestion
In the future, I hope Texas adopts a voting period, and drops the charade of early voting and Election Day. This should simplify procedures and logistics for both election workers and voters. Why do we expand the number of machines and polling locations AFTER most people have voted?
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/8/2022
1897 Days since Hurricane Harvey