Author |
Message |
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
Dry Year in Japan
Hey guys,
For all you weather nerds, here's a run-down on this year's precipitation totals for Fukuoka, Japan (in milliliters with normals in parentheses):
Jan 62.5 (72.1) -9.6
Feb 86.0 (71.2) +14.8
Mar 46.0 (108.7) -62.0
Apr 99.5 (125.2) -25.7
May 45.5 (138.9) -93.4
For a total deficit of 165.9 mm for this year so far. In mid June the monsoonal flow makes it to Fukuoka, but so far it is still south of us mostly. This month we've only seen 43.5 mm to date and 272.1 mm is the average. It is still likely we will get in excess of 100 mm this June, but I doubt we'll reach higher than 200. This is rice planting season, so a lot of water is used to flood the patties in May and June - essentially they are just big, flat lakes that must evaporate very quickly in the hot June sun. No rationing mentioned yet, but if this keeps up we'll be in for it. The local waterfalls tell the tale though, many are at a near trickle.
How's it looking where you are?
|
Sat Jun 13, 2009 6:59 am |
|
|
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
Still dry as a bone, sunny, and the daily temperature is reaching close to 30 degrees. The weather experts are calling for the beginning of the monsoon next week however, so there should be some relief in sight. If it does make it here then, it will about 2 weeks late this year.
|
Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:51 pm |
|
|
Dave Bindon
Site Admin
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:15 pm Posts: 1113 Location: Pagrati, Athens, Greece
|
London was looking very dry last time I looked. I'll see if I can find some local records to back up my personal observations from the past few months.
I've just come back from a very hot week in Athens. The whole of June has been well above normal, and it looks to stay that way...lots of bush-fires already (over 140 last weekend alone)...the locals are already worrying about what July and August will bring.
_________________ Dave Pagrati, Athens, Greece Jul/Aug av.: 33C day, 23C night January: 13/6
|
Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:02 pm |
|
|
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
|
Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:06 am |
|
|
Dave Bindon
Site Admin
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:15 pm Posts: 1113 Location: Pagrati, Athens, Greece
|
_________________ Dave Pagrati, Athens, Greece Jul/Aug av.: 33C day, 23C night January: 13/6
|
Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:56 pm |
|
|
David Matzdorf
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:06 pm Posts: 5321 Location: Islington, London UK
|
Dave's figures work out to 64% of our average rain since the start of 2009. That's not too good, as November & December 2008 were not exceptionally wet either.
Exacerbating the situaton is the exceptionally large number of hours of sunshine, which is accelerating transpiration and causing plants to draw more water than usual out of the soil.
I think we can expect a rash of subsidence in London this Summer, unless we get an unusually rainy month very shortly.
That prolonged cloudburst a few days ago was a crucial event. I don't know how much rain and hail fell, but I'd estimate 50mm in about 90 minutes, having watched it from beginning to end. The ensuing week has been hot (30ºC+ every day so far and still getting warmer) and the soil was extremely dry before the storm. Instead of responding to the combination of drought, sun and heat by slamming shut all of their stomata and shutting down photosynthesis, nearly all plants in my garden, from Bananas to Gingers to Palms to traditional herbaceous perennials to shrubs to - especially - the xerophytes and other succulents on the roof, are able to respond by growing rapidly in ideal conditions: heat, plentiful midsummer sun and enough water at the roots.
_________________ 51º33'07"N x 0º07'21"W
43m (142 feet) ASL
|
Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:50 pm |
|
|
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
|
Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:57 pm |
|
|
Dave Bindon
Site Admin
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:15 pm Posts: 1113 Location: Pagrati, Athens, Greece
|
_________________ Dave Pagrati, Athens, Greece Jul/Aug av.: 33C day, 23C night January: 13/6
|
Thu Jul 02, 2009 6:05 am |
|
|
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
|
Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:49 am |
|
|
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
RAIN! RAIN! RAIN!
Wow, what a difference one month can make. The rain deficit has been all but obliterated in the last two days. As of yesterday, the Fukuoka station recorded 477.0 mm for the month (266.4 mm being normal) and it has been and will continue to rain like the dickens the rest of the day. There is a stationary front parked over Kyushu and the tropical monsoonal flow continues to pump northward along its boundary - a flow that typically dissipates in mid July. There as been over 400 mm of rain over the last 36 hours throughout the Fukuoka area and some areas no doubt will see in excess of 500 mm before this event is over.
So, for the year, the Fukuoka station has recorded 1035.5 mm to date (1054.6 mm normal) cutting the deficit to within two centimeters. That of course is not counting the incredible rain coming down right now! As I said before, my area is closer to the mountains and rainfall is considerably more here. The nearby station at Iizuka has a total of 535.5 mm for the month of July, probably very similar to the total for my area.
Been waiting for Noah to show up! I wonder what the typhoons will be like this fall - so far it has been quiet, but that can change come September...
***UPDATE 7/27***
New tally for Fukuoka - July total: 617.5; annual to date: 1176.0
That means for the last three days this station received over 400 mm. No doubt many spots came closer to the 1 meter mark over the same period. Flooding was intense in many areas and short term evacuation was necessary in parts of town near rivers and creeks. A couple people died in landslides just up the valley from me. Today however, it blue skies.
|
Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:33 pm |
|
|
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
Flooding Pics
I went out for a ride today to see what the flood damage was. Several areas were inaccessible due to road wash outs and landslides. Here are a few shots I managed to get.
The valley I live on the edge of has a fairly large river with numerous, but small tributary streams. Here is one that overran its banks and flooded out the street and nearby fields just the day before. Even today, the water level was around 2 meters above normal. Usually this little creek is no more than a trickle a few centimeters deep:
One of the worst problems in Japan with rain events like this is landslides. Here is a typical one on a hillside adjacent to a small reservoir. Such slides absolutely destroy everything in their path and that is the main reason why there are few houses in the mountains:
Here is the reservoir all muddied from the intense erosion upstream. The water is usually blue-green:
A beautiful, gentle creek with lovely rapids and waterfalls feeds the reservoir. Today, part of the creek is now blocked with a landslide that took a large patch of moso bamboo directly into the center of it.
Just upstream from the last shot is a beautiful triple cascade waterfall alongside a shrine. Usually the plunge pool is a nice place to swim and the fall is mellow enough such that you can sit directly in it without getting washed off. Today it was a different scene. The little rock beach had been severely eroded away and good sized trees littered the watercourse. What was impressive was that their bark had been nearly completely scraped off from the power of the water. A day earlier, the water was much higher than pictured here, at least by a meter. Must have been scary at that time!
I don't think this flood was a record, but it was probably one of the worst this valley has seen recently. Only two people were killed when a landslide took out their home. Today is cool, like early autumn, and that is supposed to continue on tomorrow. Yes, we are having a strange summer so far.
|
Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:43 am |
|
|
Dave Bindon
Site Admin
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:15 pm Posts: 1113 Location: Pagrati, Athens, Greece
|
_________________ Dave Pagrati, Athens, Greece Jul/Aug av.: 33C day, 23C night January: 13/6
|
Mon Jul 27, 2009 6:28 pm |
|
|
Las Palmas Norte
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:56 am Posts: 1249 Location: South East coast, Vancouver Island - British Columbia
|
Still dry here with periodic hot spells ... 100°F today and warmer forcast for tomorrow.
Forest fire rating is extreme.
Cheers, Barrie.
_________________ Palms and exotics for coastal Vancouver Island.
|
Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:47 am |
|
|
Tom Velardi
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:20 pm Posts: 4337 Location: Kyushu, Southern Japan (33.607N latitude)
|
|
Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:44 pm |
|
|
Dave Bindon
Site Admin
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:15 pm Posts: 1113 Location: Pagrati, Athens, Greece
|
_________________ Dave Pagrati, Athens, Greece Jul/Aug av.: 33C day, 23C night January: 13/6
|
Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:48 am |
|
|
|
Who is online |
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests |
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum
|
|