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Sensors keep close watch on Ground Zero
weather
By Chris Vaccaro, USATODAY.com
NEW YORK - Amid the World Trade Center
wreckage, clusters of weather instruments are providing crews
with information that keeps them safe during the recovery
efforts.
"The two main concerns are wind and
rain," says Shawn Nolan, meteorologist with the New York City
Mayor's Office of Emergency Management.
Rain can make it dangerously slippery for
the crews and winds faster than 35 mph could shut down cranes,
Nolan says.
Eight stations around Ground Zero have
been placed at elevations ranging from 8 feet at the West
Command Center to about 200 feet on the roof of the Federal
Office Building.
Winds generally encounter less resistance
at higher elevations - where the top of the cranes are located
- and can blow at faster speeds.
Nolan says local wind effects at the
ground are also a concern. A 10 to 20 mph wind recorded at the
National Weather Service station in Central Park could mean
gusts to nearly 50 mph in lower Manhattan as the wind is
funneled between buildings.
The Ground Zero stations also
instantaneously record the humidity, dew point and air
pressure and calculate wind chill and heat index values, says
station technician Nick Stefano.
"Data is archived every minute and can be
shown as graphs and charts to show trends or to summarize the
daily and monthly conditions," says Stefano.
In the past, similar instruments have
been used to monitor weather conditions during the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade and during an implosion of two
gasoline storage tanks in Queens.
Rainfall has been scarce in New York
since the September 11th attacks and while that has allowed a
drought to develop it has also meant "fantastic weather for
working conditions," says Nolan.
But throughout winter, snow could become
another safety hazard by making pavement icy or creating a
white veil that hides debris.
Last winter delivered 7 inches of snow
more than the average 28 inches that typically falls in New
York. Nolan hopes this winter's storms stay with just
rain.
SOURCE
LINKS:
Actual article in USA Today | 
