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From: Jesse Ferrell (WeatherMatrix) (jesse{at}weathermatrix.net)
Date: Mon Jan 12 2004 - 07:51:40 EST
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2004/s2148.htm
Jan. 8, 2004 Tropical Cyclone Heta, a Category 5 cyclonethe most
severewith peak winds of 185 mph and ocean swells of 45 feet, hit the
Samoan Islands on Sunday, January 4. The
<http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/obop/smo/>NOAA Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics
Laboratory Baseline Observatory facilities on Tutuila Island, American
Samoa, sustained major damage as did the two staff houses in Tafuna
village. None of the three observatory staff or their families was injured.
The peak gust recorded at the <http://www.prh.noaa.gov/samoa/>NOAA National
Weather Service Office Pago Pago forecast office was 115 mph (100 knots).
The four-day rainfall total at the Weather Service Pago Pago forecast
office was 6.75 inches.
The full extent of the damage to the NOAA observatory facilities has yet to
be determined. It is known that the lower four stories of the 12-story tall
stairs that provide access to sampling facilities on the point of Cape
Matatula were destroyed and that the equipment in the pump house was swept
away when the door to the building caved in because of the pounding waves.
The pump building is 122 feet above sea level.
The two-ton, 90 kVA diesel electric power generator for the observatory
(280 feet above sea level) literally blew apart during the storm. There is
a strong likelihood that the observatory will not have electricity until a
new generator is purchased on the mainland, shipped and installed since the
observatory is at the end of a 26-mile public utility power line, half of
which is lying on the ground. At the observatory the winds stripped off or
damaged most of the tower mounted instrumentation and plucked clean the
NOAA National Weather Service meteorological tower.
The new <http://www.prh.noaa.gov/html/american_samoa_dedication.html>NOAA
National Weather Service building, whose official opening was held on
November 3, 2003, fared very well. Only the telephone hotline between the
Samoa Meteorological Service in Apia and the NOAA Pago Pago weather service
office failed on Sunday as power and communications failed in the
Independent State of Samoa. All systems functioned normally during the
event. Of the 11 NWS automatic weather stations deployed in American Samoa
and Samoa, two automatic stations in Samoa had already been inoperative due
to lightening strikes in December. Three more automatic weather stations
became partially or totally inoperative.
Both staff houses in Tafuna lost a large percentage of their shingles, and
the buildings now are leaking. This is doubly sad because both houses had
been completely renovated over the past two years with the final interior
painting of the technician’s house completed in October 2003.
-- =================================================================== Jesse Ferrell - Meteorologist / Webmaster / Founder - WeatherMatrix 7000 Weather Enthusiasts Can't Be Wrong! www.weathermatrix.net==================================================================== StormReports Email List -- TO UNSUBSCRIBE, EMAIL A BLANK MESSAGE TO: stormreports-unsubscribe{at}wxmatrix-membersonly ; For Options Including 1 Per Day, Temporary Suspending, And More, Visit This Web Address: http://wxmatrix-membersonly/group/stormreports/join THESE REPORTS ARE MADE PUBLIC ON THE WEATHERMATRIX.NET WEBSITE!
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