【】
In 1948, Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington stationed the United States' long-range nuclear bombers at Offutt Air Force Base in eastern Nebraska, a location safe in the middle of the nation and well-insulated from the coast.
But 70 years later, the base -- now home to the U.S. Strategic Command which deters "catastrophic actions from adversaries and poses an immediate threat to any actor who questions U.S. resolve by demonstrating our capabilities" -- isn't safe from historic and record-setting floods.
Intense rains on top of the rapid melting of ample snow has inundated large swathes of Nebraska and a full one-third of the Offutt Air Force Base, including the headquarters building.
NASA's Landsat 8 satellite captured before and after images of the flooding -- which the European Union Earth Observation Programme called "biblical." The overloaded river burgeoned in size, creeping into Offutt, neighborhoods, and farmlands.
Left:March 2018Satellite image from March 20, 2018, a year prior to the flooding.Credit: nasaRight:March 2019Flooded Nebraska on March 16, 2019.Credit: nasaA number of potent factors mixed to create what Offutt Air Force Base Commander Mike Manion has labeled a "1,000 year flood" -- meaning there's only a one in 1,000 chance of such an extreme event happening in any given year.
NASA noted that exceptionally cold Arctic blasts (from a wobbly polar vortex) preserved bounties of snow that soon rapidly melted when "unusually warm" March air produced massive amounts of runoff. Exacerbating matters, the winter's freeze made the ground less absorbent when extreme downpours then slammed the region.
If that wasn't enough, big rains in 2018 had already "loaded the dice even more," meteorologist Bryce Anderson noted on Twitter: A thawed ground, already saturated with water, wouldn't have been able to soak up much water anyway, he said
Tweet may have been deleted
On top of this confluence of extreme weather events, Earth's atmosphere is considerably different than it was a century ago. Specifically, the climate has warmed by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit), and due to simple physics, the warmer air is able to hold more water vapor. Specifically, for every 1 degree Celsius of warming, the air can hold seven percent more water.
That means more intense downpours. Between 1958 and 2012, the amount of rain in the heaviest rainfall events in the midwest shot up by 37 percent, according to U.S. government scientists.
Forthcoming research will reveal the role climate change played during these floods, though atmospheric scientists expect this same climate lever to bring more intense precipitation blasts to other parts of the nation in the near future, notably California.
A flooded runway at Offutt Air Force BaseCredit: U.S. Air Force photo by TSgt. Rachelle BlakeOn March 17, the National Weather Service (NWS) expected the Missouri River just south of Offutt Air Force Base to break record levels by a whopping four feet, noted CBS meteorologist Eric Fisher. The forecast turned out to be almost spot on.
"That's unreal for a river with some big floods in the past," Fisher wrote.
Featured Video For You
Ever wonder how the universe might end?
相关文章
This weird squid looks like it has googly eyes, guys
Internet, meet your new spirit animal.。Scientists aboard the research vessel the E/V Nautilus, off t2024-11-21- 新賽季上海德比將在第一階段打完 廣州城或與津門虎對調_比賽www.ty42.com 日期:2021-03-30 09:01:00| 評論(已有265685條評論)2024-11-21
- 王寶山無法繼續執教津門虎 本周或先定總經理和教練_球員www.ty42.com 日期:2021-03-29 11:01:00| 評論(已有265531條評論)2024-11-21
- 滄州回應遞補中超:按聯賽標準抓緊備戰 展現最大尊重_賽季www.ty42.com 日期:2021-03-29 16:31:00| 評論(已有265612條評論)2024-11-21
Dressage horse dancing to 'Smooth' by Santana wins gold for chillest horse
Okay forget everyone else -- this horse named Lorenzo is our favorite Olympic athlete now.。Lorenzo,2024-11-21- “我愛足球”喜粵TV廣州市第11屆五人製足球賽圓滿落幕_頒獎www.ty42.com 日期:2021-03-29 17:31:00| 評論(已有265621條評論)2024-11-21
最新评论