Post by SKYSUMMIT on Dec 30, 2012 12:08:50 GMT -6
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1157 AM CST SUN DEC 30 2012
...2012 WEATHER YEAR IN REVIEW FOR SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI...
THE YEAR 2012 CLOSES WITH SEVERAL WEATHER EVENTS THAT IMPACTED THE
NATION ON A LARGE SCALE. THE YEAR WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE
WARMEST...IF NOT THE WARMEST...ON RECORD FOR THE COUNTRY. DROUGHT
CONDITIONS PERSISTED THROUGH0UT THE NATION'S MID-SECTION. THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER EXPERIENCED LOW FLOWS THAT HAD LARGE IMPACTS ON
COMMERCE AT TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE TROPICAL CYCLONE SEASON
SAW 19 NAMED STORMS FOR THE 3RD CONSECUTIVE YEAR...WITH FOUR
SYSTEMS MAKING LANDFALL UPON THE U.S. MAINLAND...TROPICAL STORM
BERYL...TROPICAL STORM DEBBY...HURRICANE ISAAC AND
HURRICANE/SUPERSTORM SANDY. OVERALL...THE NUMBER OF SEVERE STORMS
AND PARTICULARLY TORNADOES WERE RELATIVELY BELOW NORMAL BUT A FEW
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DID OCCUR...ONE IN EARLY MARCH AND A HISTORIC
TORNADO OUTBREAK ON CHRISTMAS DAY.
THE FOLLOWING HIGHLIGHTS WERE WEATHER OR HYDROLOGY RELATED EVENTS
THAT TOOK PLACE DURING THE 2012 CALENDAR YEAR. THESE ENTAIL EVENTS
THAT OCCURRED ACROSS THE WFO NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE SERVICE AREA.
ANNUALLY...THE AREA WILL SET ITS WARMEST YEAR SINCE RECORDS HAVE
BEEN MAINTAINED AT THE VARIOUS CLIMATE LOCATIONS. NEW ORLEANS
AIRPORT FINISHED 2012 WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 72.0
DEGREES...SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS RECORD JUST SET IN 2011 WITH
71.0 DEGREES. MEANWHILE...BATON ROUGE RYAN FIELD WILL TIE THE
ANNUAL RECORD HIGH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WITH 69.9 DEGREES...LAST
OCCURRING IN 1990. FOR THE BATON ROUGE AREA...IF WILL COME IN
SECOND WARMEST...JUST BELOW 70.0 DEGREES SET IN 1925.
ANNUAL RAINFALL IS GOING TO BE A FEW INCHES ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS
LOUISIANA BUT SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL IN COASTAL MISSISSIPPI. NEW
ORLEANS WILL FINISH NEAR 68.26 INCHES OR ABOUT 6 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL. BATON ROUGE WILL TOTAL NEAR 63.81 INCHES OR ABOUT 3.5
INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. GULFPORT HOWEVER WILL FINISH 62.84 INCHES OR
ABOUT 1.5 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. MCCOMB WILL FINISH NEARLY A FOOT
ABOVE NORMAL...HAVING TOTALED 72.97 INCHES FOR THE YEAR...DUE IN
LARGE PART TO HURRICANE ISAAC RAINFALL.
JANUARY...NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT HAD THE 6TH DRIEST JANUARY
ON RECORD WITH 1.81 INCHES. BATON ROUGE AIRPORT HAD THE 9TH
WARMEST JANUARY TEMPERATURE WITH AN AVERAGE OF 57.8 DEGREES.
THIS WAS PART OF A RATHER DRY CLIMATE WINTER. NEW ORLEANS
ARMSTRONG AIRPORT SET THE 5TH DRIEST DEC/JAN/FEB PERIOD WITH 7.83
INCHES OF TOTAL RAINFALL. IT WAS ALSO THE 5TH WARMEST WINTER AT
THE AIRPORT WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 60.0 DEGREES.
FEBRUARY...NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT HAD THE 4TH WARMEST
FEBRUARY WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 61.3 DEGREES. A NARROW
SWATH OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH THE SOUTHERN LOUISIANA
AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI ON THE 18TH...PRODUCING SCATTERED REPORTS
OF WIND DAMAGE. OF NOTE WAS A LARGE TREE THAT FELL ACROSS A HOME
NEAR ABITA SPRINGS. HAIL WAS ALSO REPORTED IN PORT ALLEN.
MARCH...A VERY WARM MONTH THAT SAW NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG SET THE
WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD WITH 70.7 DEGREES AVERAGE TEMPERATURE.
THAT WAS ALSO THE 2ND WARMEST FOR THE NEW ORLEANS AREA...ONLY
BEHIND 71.4 DEGREES SET IN 1907. BATON ROUGE AIRPORT ALSO SET ITS
WARMEST MARCH OF RECORD WITH 68.7 DEGREES. FOR THE BATON ROUGE
AREA...THIS WAS THE 3RD WARMEST MARCH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ON
RECORD. NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT ALSO RECEIVED 8.10 INCHES OF RAINFALL
TO PLACE 9TH WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD. MARCH 2ND WAS ONE OF THE
MOST ACTIVE SEVERE WEATHER DAYS IN QUITE SOME TIME...WITH 954
SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS NOTED BY THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER. IN
ALL...160 TORNADOES WERE REPORTED IN ONE DAY FROM THE MIDWEST
STATES TO THE GULF STATES EASTWARD INTO THE CAROLINAS.
APRIL...THE 2ND SAW SEVERAL HAIL STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA WITH
QUARTER TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL REPORTS RECEIVED IN THE AFTERNOON
AND EVENING HOURS FROM BATON ROUGE...METAIRIE...PONCHATOULA...KILN
AND BILOXI.
MAY...ON THE 9TH A LARGE WATERSPOUT FORMED IN LOWER BARATARIA BAY
AND MOVED ASHORE AS A TORNADO ON GRAND ISLE...CAUSING SOME DAMAGE
TO STRUCTURES AND EMERGING ON THE GULF SIDE BEFORE DISSIPATING.
FOOTAGE OF THIS SPECTACULAR LAND-FALLING WATERSPOUT WAS CAPTURED
AND MADE NATIONAL NEWS FEEDS. OTHERWISE...A RATHER QUIET WEATHER
MONTH UNTIL THE LAST DAY WHEN SEVERE STORMS STRUCK THE GULF
STATES. TREES AND POWER LINES WERE DOWNED IN THE BATON ROUGE AREA
AND SEVERAL POWER LINES WERE DOWNED NEAR THE VALENTINE BRIDGE IN
LAFOURCHE PARISH ON THE 31ST.
JUNE...WHILE JULY WAS UNEVENTFUL...IT WAS THE START OF A VERY WET
SUMMER SEASON. THE CLIMATE SUMMER MONTHS OF JUNE-JULY-AUGUST
BECAME THE 3RD WETTEST SUMMER AT NEW ORLEANS AREA...TOTALING
33.38 INCHES OF RAINFALL. AT ARMSTRONG AIRPORT...THIS BECAME THE
WETTEST SUMMER ON RECORD DATING BACK TO 1947 AND SURPASSING THE
PREVIOUS MARK OF 32.84 INCHES SET IN 1978.
JULY...NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT MEASURED THE 4TH WETTEST JULY
WITH 11.59 INCHES OF RAINFALL. THIS ALSO BECAME THE 7TH WETTEST
JULY FOR THE NEW ORLEANS AREA...DATING BACK TO 1871. ON JULY
4TH...A COUPLE OF SEVERE STORMS PRODUCED WIND DAMAGE IN SLIDELL
AND KENNER.
AUGUST...ARGUABLY THE MAIN EVENT OF 2012 IN THE LOCAL AREA WAS
LAND-FALLING HURRICANE ISAAC. THIS SYSTEM FORMED AS A TROPICAL
DEPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC AND QUICKLY ATTAINED TROPICAL
STORM STATUS ON AUGUST 21ST. AFTER CROSSING THE LEEWARD ISLANDS
AND THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA...ISAAC TURNED NORTHWEST AND CROSSED
HAITI THEN SKIRTING THE NORTH COAST OF CUBA BEFORE ENTERING THE
GULF OF MEXICO. IT WOULD NOT ACQUIRE HURRICANE STATUS UNTIL PRIOR
TO LANDFALL NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER LATE ON THE
28TH. AFTER A SERIES OF FITS AND STARTS ALONG THE COAST...ISAAC
WOULD FINALLY MOVE ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA TOWARDS BATON ROUGE
WHILE WEAKENING. WHILE NEW STORM SURGE PREVENTION MEASURES SINCE
KATRINA WERE TESTED AND WERE SUCCESSFUL...OTHER AREAS WERE PROVEN
VULNERABLE TO THE AFFECTS OF STORM SURGE...PARTICULARLY THE
LAPLACE AREA AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT DRAIN INTO LAKE MAUREPAS.
OLD TOWN SLIDELL ALSO SAW EXTENSIVE SURGE FLOODING. TORNADOES ALSO
STRUCK COASTAL MISSISSIPPI INCLUDING DOWNTOWN GULFPORT. AS A
CONSEQUENCE OF ISAAC'S HEAVY RAINFALL...SEVERAL CONTROL STRUCTURES
WERE JEOPARDIZED IN THE AREA. EVACUATIONS WERE ORDERED DOWNSTREAM
OF THE LAKE TANGIPAHOA DAM IN PERCY QUIN STATE PARK WHEN HEAVY
SCOUR WAS OBSERVED ALONG THE SPILLWAY. THEN RESIDENCES WERE
EVACUATED BELOW THE PEARL RIVER DIVERSION CANAL LOCK AND DAM WHEN
FLOOD WATERS WERE FLOWING AROUND THE STRUCTURE AND JEOPARDIZED THE
INTEGRITY OF THE LOCK.
THE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OF ISAAC RESULTED IN AUGUST BECOMING THE
WETTEST RECORDED AT ARMSTRONG AIRPORT WITH 18.61 INCHES...AND 2ND
WETTEST FOR THE NEW ORLEANS AREA. AT BATON ROUGE 10.82 INCHES SET
THE 7TH WETTEST AUGUST AT RYAN FIELD AND 8TH WETTEST FOR THE BATON
ROUGE AREA.
ALSO IN AUGUST...A TORNADO STRUCK AN ANIMAL SHELTER IN TYLERTOWN
MS...KILLING SEVERAL ANIMALS AS A RESULT.
SEPTEMBER...AFTER THE WRATH OF ISAAC A RATHER DRY AND BENIGN
PATTERN BECAME ESTABLISHED. NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT WOULD
START A DRY AUTUMN SEASON THAT SAW ONLY 5.91 INCHES OF RAINFALL
FOR SEP/OCT/NOV TO RECORD THE 7TH DRIEST CLIMATE AUTUMN ON RECORD.
ON THE 30TH...A COUPLE OF WEAK TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY NEAR
KILN AND WEST OF SAUCIER.
OCTOBER...AS PART OF A DRY AUTUMN NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT
RECORDED THE 6TH DRIEST OCTOBER WITH ONLY 0.40 INCHES OF RAINFALL.
NO SEVERE STORMS WERE REPORTED IN THE MONTH AND RAIN DAYS WERE
LIMITED TO A MERE HANDFUL ACROSS THE AREA.
NOVEMBER...ON THE 5TH A ROUND OF STORMS PRODUCED HAIL AROUND
DENHAM SPRINGS AREA. OTHERWISE...ANOTHER QUIET AND UNEVENTFUL
WEATHER MONTH.
DECEMBER...CHRISTMAS DAY 2012 BECAME THE MOST ACTIVE CHRISTMAS ON
RECORD WITH REGARDS TO TORNADOES. A PRELIMINARY NUMBER OF 54
TORNADO REPORTS WERE COLLECTED ACROSS THE GULF STATES AS OF THIS
WRITING. LOCALLY...AN EF-3 TORNADO STRUCK PEARL RIVER
COUNTY...DESTROYING 22 HOMES AND INJURING 8 PEOPLE. THE TRACK WAS
DETERMINED TO BE ABOUT 61 MILES IN LENGTH THROUGH 5 SOUTH
MISSISSIPPI COUNTIES. AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR
CENTREVILLE MISSISSIPPI AND TORE A PATH 3 MILES LONG...PRODUCING
SOME DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES...NUMEROUS TREES AND CAUSING ONE INJURY.
ANOTHER EF-0 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN ON THE WEST BANK OF
JEFFERSON PARISH CAUSING SOME MINOR WIND DAMAGE TO SOME
BUSINESSES. OTHER SEVERE STORMS WERE NOTED ON THE 9TH...10TH AND
20TH.
$$
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1157 AM CST SUN DEC 30 2012
...2012 WEATHER YEAR IN REVIEW FOR SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI...
THE YEAR 2012 CLOSES WITH SEVERAL WEATHER EVENTS THAT IMPACTED THE
NATION ON A LARGE SCALE. THE YEAR WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE
WARMEST...IF NOT THE WARMEST...ON RECORD FOR THE COUNTRY. DROUGHT
CONDITIONS PERSISTED THROUGH0UT THE NATION'S MID-SECTION. THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER EXPERIENCED LOW FLOWS THAT HAD LARGE IMPACTS ON
COMMERCE AT TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE TROPICAL CYCLONE SEASON
SAW 19 NAMED STORMS FOR THE 3RD CONSECUTIVE YEAR...WITH FOUR
SYSTEMS MAKING LANDFALL UPON THE U.S. MAINLAND...TROPICAL STORM
BERYL...TROPICAL STORM DEBBY...HURRICANE ISAAC AND
HURRICANE/SUPERSTORM SANDY. OVERALL...THE NUMBER OF SEVERE STORMS
AND PARTICULARLY TORNADOES WERE RELATIVELY BELOW NORMAL BUT A FEW
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DID OCCUR...ONE IN EARLY MARCH AND A HISTORIC
TORNADO OUTBREAK ON CHRISTMAS DAY.
THE FOLLOWING HIGHLIGHTS WERE WEATHER OR HYDROLOGY RELATED EVENTS
THAT TOOK PLACE DURING THE 2012 CALENDAR YEAR. THESE ENTAIL EVENTS
THAT OCCURRED ACROSS THE WFO NEW ORLEANS/BATON ROUGE SERVICE AREA.
ANNUALLY...THE AREA WILL SET ITS WARMEST YEAR SINCE RECORDS HAVE
BEEN MAINTAINED AT THE VARIOUS CLIMATE LOCATIONS. NEW ORLEANS
AIRPORT FINISHED 2012 WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 72.0
DEGREES...SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS RECORD JUST SET IN 2011 WITH
71.0 DEGREES. MEANWHILE...BATON ROUGE RYAN FIELD WILL TIE THE
ANNUAL RECORD HIGH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WITH 69.9 DEGREES...LAST
OCCURRING IN 1990. FOR THE BATON ROUGE AREA...IF WILL COME IN
SECOND WARMEST...JUST BELOW 70.0 DEGREES SET IN 1925.
ANNUAL RAINFALL IS GOING TO BE A FEW INCHES ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS
LOUISIANA BUT SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL IN COASTAL MISSISSIPPI. NEW
ORLEANS WILL FINISH NEAR 68.26 INCHES OR ABOUT 6 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL. BATON ROUGE WILL TOTAL NEAR 63.81 INCHES OR ABOUT 3.5
INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. GULFPORT HOWEVER WILL FINISH 62.84 INCHES OR
ABOUT 1.5 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. MCCOMB WILL FINISH NEARLY A FOOT
ABOVE NORMAL...HAVING TOTALED 72.97 INCHES FOR THE YEAR...DUE IN
LARGE PART TO HURRICANE ISAAC RAINFALL.
JANUARY...NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT HAD THE 6TH DRIEST JANUARY
ON RECORD WITH 1.81 INCHES. BATON ROUGE AIRPORT HAD THE 9TH
WARMEST JANUARY TEMPERATURE WITH AN AVERAGE OF 57.8 DEGREES.
THIS WAS PART OF A RATHER DRY CLIMATE WINTER. NEW ORLEANS
ARMSTRONG AIRPORT SET THE 5TH DRIEST DEC/JAN/FEB PERIOD WITH 7.83
INCHES OF TOTAL RAINFALL. IT WAS ALSO THE 5TH WARMEST WINTER AT
THE AIRPORT WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 60.0 DEGREES.
FEBRUARY...NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT HAD THE 4TH WARMEST
FEBRUARY WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 61.3 DEGREES. A NARROW
SWATH OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH THE SOUTHERN LOUISIANA
AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI ON THE 18TH...PRODUCING SCATTERED REPORTS
OF WIND DAMAGE. OF NOTE WAS A LARGE TREE THAT FELL ACROSS A HOME
NEAR ABITA SPRINGS. HAIL WAS ALSO REPORTED IN PORT ALLEN.
MARCH...A VERY WARM MONTH THAT SAW NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG SET THE
WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD WITH 70.7 DEGREES AVERAGE TEMPERATURE.
THAT WAS ALSO THE 2ND WARMEST FOR THE NEW ORLEANS AREA...ONLY
BEHIND 71.4 DEGREES SET IN 1907. BATON ROUGE AIRPORT ALSO SET ITS
WARMEST MARCH OF RECORD WITH 68.7 DEGREES. FOR THE BATON ROUGE
AREA...THIS WAS THE 3RD WARMEST MARCH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ON
RECORD. NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT ALSO RECEIVED 8.10 INCHES OF RAINFALL
TO PLACE 9TH WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD. MARCH 2ND WAS ONE OF THE
MOST ACTIVE SEVERE WEATHER DAYS IN QUITE SOME TIME...WITH 954
SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS NOTED BY THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER. IN
ALL...160 TORNADOES WERE REPORTED IN ONE DAY FROM THE MIDWEST
STATES TO THE GULF STATES EASTWARD INTO THE CAROLINAS.
APRIL...THE 2ND SAW SEVERAL HAIL STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA WITH
QUARTER TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL REPORTS RECEIVED IN THE AFTERNOON
AND EVENING HOURS FROM BATON ROUGE...METAIRIE...PONCHATOULA...KILN
AND BILOXI.
MAY...ON THE 9TH A LARGE WATERSPOUT FORMED IN LOWER BARATARIA BAY
AND MOVED ASHORE AS A TORNADO ON GRAND ISLE...CAUSING SOME DAMAGE
TO STRUCTURES AND EMERGING ON THE GULF SIDE BEFORE DISSIPATING.
FOOTAGE OF THIS SPECTACULAR LAND-FALLING WATERSPOUT WAS CAPTURED
AND MADE NATIONAL NEWS FEEDS. OTHERWISE...A RATHER QUIET WEATHER
MONTH UNTIL THE LAST DAY WHEN SEVERE STORMS STRUCK THE GULF
STATES. TREES AND POWER LINES WERE DOWNED IN THE BATON ROUGE AREA
AND SEVERAL POWER LINES WERE DOWNED NEAR THE VALENTINE BRIDGE IN
LAFOURCHE PARISH ON THE 31ST.
JUNE...WHILE JULY WAS UNEVENTFUL...IT WAS THE START OF A VERY WET
SUMMER SEASON. THE CLIMATE SUMMER MONTHS OF JUNE-JULY-AUGUST
BECAME THE 3RD WETTEST SUMMER AT NEW ORLEANS AREA...TOTALING
33.38 INCHES OF RAINFALL. AT ARMSTRONG AIRPORT...THIS BECAME THE
WETTEST SUMMER ON RECORD DATING BACK TO 1947 AND SURPASSING THE
PREVIOUS MARK OF 32.84 INCHES SET IN 1978.
JULY...NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT MEASURED THE 4TH WETTEST JULY
WITH 11.59 INCHES OF RAINFALL. THIS ALSO BECAME THE 7TH WETTEST
JULY FOR THE NEW ORLEANS AREA...DATING BACK TO 1871. ON JULY
4TH...A COUPLE OF SEVERE STORMS PRODUCED WIND DAMAGE IN SLIDELL
AND KENNER.
AUGUST...ARGUABLY THE MAIN EVENT OF 2012 IN THE LOCAL AREA WAS
LAND-FALLING HURRICANE ISAAC. THIS SYSTEM FORMED AS A TROPICAL
DEPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC AND QUICKLY ATTAINED TROPICAL
STORM STATUS ON AUGUST 21ST. AFTER CROSSING THE LEEWARD ISLANDS
AND THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SEA...ISAAC TURNED NORTHWEST AND CROSSED
HAITI THEN SKIRTING THE NORTH COAST OF CUBA BEFORE ENTERING THE
GULF OF MEXICO. IT WOULD NOT ACQUIRE HURRICANE STATUS UNTIL PRIOR
TO LANDFALL NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER LATE ON THE
28TH. AFTER A SERIES OF FITS AND STARTS ALONG THE COAST...ISAAC
WOULD FINALLY MOVE ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA TOWARDS BATON ROUGE
WHILE WEAKENING. WHILE NEW STORM SURGE PREVENTION MEASURES SINCE
KATRINA WERE TESTED AND WERE SUCCESSFUL...OTHER AREAS WERE PROVEN
VULNERABLE TO THE AFFECTS OF STORM SURGE...PARTICULARLY THE
LAPLACE AREA AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT DRAIN INTO LAKE MAUREPAS.
OLD TOWN SLIDELL ALSO SAW EXTENSIVE SURGE FLOODING. TORNADOES ALSO
STRUCK COASTAL MISSISSIPPI INCLUDING DOWNTOWN GULFPORT. AS A
CONSEQUENCE OF ISAAC'S HEAVY RAINFALL...SEVERAL CONTROL STRUCTURES
WERE JEOPARDIZED IN THE AREA. EVACUATIONS WERE ORDERED DOWNSTREAM
OF THE LAKE TANGIPAHOA DAM IN PERCY QUIN STATE PARK WHEN HEAVY
SCOUR WAS OBSERVED ALONG THE SPILLWAY. THEN RESIDENCES WERE
EVACUATED BELOW THE PEARL RIVER DIVERSION CANAL LOCK AND DAM WHEN
FLOOD WATERS WERE FLOWING AROUND THE STRUCTURE AND JEOPARDIZED THE
INTEGRITY OF THE LOCK.
THE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OF ISAAC RESULTED IN AUGUST BECOMING THE
WETTEST RECORDED AT ARMSTRONG AIRPORT WITH 18.61 INCHES...AND 2ND
WETTEST FOR THE NEW ORLEANS AREA. AT BATON ROUGE 10.82 INCHES SET
THE 7TH WETTEST AUGUST AT RYAN FIELD AND 8TH WETTEST FOR THE BATON
ROUGE AREA.
ALSO IN AUGUST...A TORNADO STRUCK AN ANIMAL SHELTER IN TYLERTOWN
MS...KILLING SEVERAL ANIMALS AS A RESULT.
SEPTEMBER...AFTER THE WRATH OF ISAAC A RATHER DRY AND BENIGN
PATTERN BECAME ESTABLISHED. NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT WOULD
START A DRY AUTUMN SEASON THAT SAW ONLY 5.91 INCHES OF RAINFALL
FOR SEP/OCT/NOV TO RECORD THE 7TH DRIEST CLIMATE AUTUMN ON RECORD.
ON THE 30TH...A COUPLE OF WEAK TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY NEAR
KILN AND WEST OF SAUCIER.
OCTOBER...AS PART OF A DRY AUTUMN NEW ORLEANS ARMSTRONG AIRPORT
RECORDED THE 6TH DRIEST OCTOBER WITH ONLY 0.40 INCHES OF RAINFALL.
NO SEVERE STORMS WERE REPORTED IN THE MONTH AND RAIN DAYS WERE
LIMITED TO A MERE HANDFUL ACROSS THE AREA.
NOVEMBER...ON THE 5TH A ROUND OF STORMS PRODUCED HAIL AROUND
DENHAM SPRINGS AREA. OTHERWISE...ANOTHER QUIET AND UNEVENTFUL
WEATHER MONTH.
DECEMBER...CHRISTMAS DAY 2012 BECAME THE MOST ACTIVE CHRISTMAS ON
RECORD WITH REGARDS TO TORNADOES. A PRELIMINARY NUMBER OF 54
TORNADO REPORTS WERE COLLECTED ACROSS THE GULF STATES AS OF THIS
WRITING. LOCALLY...AN EF-3 TORNADO STRUCK PEARL RIVER
COUNTY...DESTROYING 22 HOMES AND INJURING 8 PEOPLE. THE TRACK WAS
DETERMINED TO BE ABOUT 61 MILES IN LENGTH THROUGH 5 SOUTH
MISSISSIPPI COUNTIES. AN EF-1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR
CENTREVILLE MISSISSIPPI AND TORE A PATH 3 MILES LONG...PRODUCING
SOME DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES...NUMEROUS TREES AND CAUSING ONE INJURY.
ANOTHER EF-0 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN ON THE WEST BANK OF
JEFFERSON PARISH CAUSING SOME MINOR WIND DAMAGE TO SOME
BUSINESSES. OTHER SEVERE STORMS WERE NOTED ON THE 9TH...10TH AND
20TH.
$$
