May 22, 2012

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Corps predicts Missouri River flows to be below normal for 2012

May 22, 2012 By

Flooding Missouri River at Sioux City in June of 2011

After record run-off and flooding on the Missouri River last year, it appears river flows this year will be below-normal.

Jody Farhat is chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Office for the U-S Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha.

Farhat says their predictions will be welcome news to those who had flood damage last year.

“Our run-off forecast for the 2012 calendar year above Sioux City, Iowa, is 21.6-million acre feet which is 87% of normal,” Farhat says. “This is based on the lack of Plains snowpack, the lower-than-average mountain snowpack and the unusually warm and dry conditions we’ve had so far this year.”

Farhat says the Corps will be able to maintain normal flows on the river until at least July first.

“We’re currently providing full-service navigation flow support,” she says. “If the total system storage falls below 57-million acre feet on July first, flow support will be reduced for the second half of the navigation season.”

Farhat says some normal signs of life are also returning to the river, including two types of endangered birds.

“To date, 51 piping plover nests have been located, with the highest number of nests on Lewis & Clark Lake and on the river reach below Gavins Point Dam,” she says. “Very few nests have been found on the new habitat that was created below Gavins Point Dam due to last year’s flood. The first interior least tern was spotted in the basin this week but no least tern nests have been found.”

Last year’s flooding of the Missouri River in eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and northwest Missouri caused hundreds of millions of dollars damage to homes, businesses, farmland and infrastructure. The high water lasted months.

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, Agriculture, Environment & Conservation, Featured Stories, Military, News, Recreation & Entertainment, Transportation, Weather

Weather study: Twisters are even more deadly in the dark

May 18, 2012 By

A recent study underscores the danger presented by nighttime tornadoes.

Scientists at Northern Illinois University found twisters that strike between midnight and dawn are two-and-a-half times more likely to result in deaths.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Johnson says it’s not surprising nighttime tornadoes are more deadly as most people are sleeping and aren’t aware a tornado has touched down.

He advises Nebraskans to seek out a reliable warning system.

“Probably your best bet is a well programmed NOAA weather radio,” Johnson said. “You can have it programmed down to your county. That way, you don’t get over-warned. That’s probably the best way to get woken up in the middle of the night in the event of a tornado warning.”

Johnson encourages Nebraskans to take weather warnings seriously and find a safe place to go when they’re issued.

“Generally speaking, if it’s a severe thunderstorm warning, what I personally do is check the warning and see what the hazard is. If it’s high winds above 70 or 75 miles per hour, I may choose to go down to my tornado shelter. If it’s just some one inch hail, maybe not, maybe I’ll just stay inside the house,” Johnson said. “That’s the best thing to do – just know the hazard and take the correct action.”

The NIU study found that from 1950 to 2005, just 27% of U.S. tornadoes were nocturnal, yet 39% of all tornado fatalities occurred at night.

WEATHER RADIO link: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/

NIU STUDY link: http://www.niu.edu/news/features/fall08/tornadoes/index.shtml

 

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, News, Weather

Bicycle riders pay respects to those killed/hurt with Ride of Silence

May 16, 2012 By

Bicyclists in at least two Nebraska cities will gather and ride their two-wheelers in a slow line tonight as part of the Ride of Silence. Organizer Scott Sumpter says it’s a solemn tribute.

“The ride exists so we can ride in honor and pay respect to those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways,” Sumpter says.

The Nebraska Office of Highway Safety says two bicyclists were killed in motor vehicle collisions in the state last year, while 279 were reported injured.

Sumpter says it’s an unfortunate fact that cyclists aren’t always respected by careless motorists.

“Every year, we see bicycling grow but we also see a few people get hit and killed,” Sumpter says. “We’re out there to raise awareness that the cyclists have the legal right to ride the roads.”

He says the bike riders will only be rolling along at maybe 10 or 12 miles an hour, often with a police escort.

“Every ride is supposed to start at 7 PM,” Sumpter says. “It’s just a silent procession, a really slow ride. It’s almost like a funeral-like procession.”

Rides are being held in: Lincoln and Bellevue. The rides only go between eight and ten miles in distance.

Learn more at: www.rideofsilence.org

 

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, Human Interest, News, Recreation & Entertainment, Transportation

Missouri River ranks among nation’s “most endangered” after 2011 flood

May 15, 2012 By

Missouri River flooding north of Omaha/Council Bluffs in 2011

The Missouri River is #4 on the new list of the country’s “most endangered” waterways, according to an environmental conservation group.

Eileen Fretz, spokeswoman for American Rivers, says last year’s historic, months-long flooding of the Missouri showed how management of the river is at a crossroads.

Fretz says, “We can either keep going on levees and dams that have failed to provide adequate flood protection, as they did last year, or we can take a broader look and look at some other changes, such as the natural ability of the river’s floodplains and wetlands to absorb and store floodwaters.”

The 2011 flooding caused hundreds of millions of dollars damage to homes, businesses, farmland and infrastructure. Many blamed the U-S Army Corps of Engineers for not acting quickly enough to avert the flooding, but Fretz says there needs to be more long-term planning to prevent future flooding disasters.

“Just relying on dams and levees hasn’t been enough to protect us and we need to acknowledge that flooding happens and we need to accommodate for a little bit of that,” Fretz says. “We think that flood plain restoration can help us meet those needs.”

She encourages Nebraskans and Iowans to take action by going to the Washington D-C-based group’s website, www.americanrivers.org.

“There’ll be a link where you can send an email to decision makers,” Fretz says, “encouraging them to support their rivers.”

The nation’s top three most endangered rivers, according to the report, are: the Potomac, the Green River and the Chattahoochee.

American Rivers calls itself “the nation’s voice for clean water and healthy rivers,” and releases the report every year to shine a public spotlight on threats facing rivers and how citizens can take action to help.

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, Agriculture, Military, News, Weather

Car stolen in Omaha leads chase into Iowa at 130 MPH, ends in crash

May 11, 2012 By

Police chased a stolen car through Omaha and across the river into Iowa last night, with speeds up to 130 miles an hour.

Pottawattamie County (Iowa) Sheriff Jeff Danker says deputies were alerted by Omaha Police to the pursuit of a black Acura, stolen from an Omaha Acura dealership, occupied by two men and a woman, all of whom were from Omaha.

Sheriff Danker says deputies picked up the chase after the car crossed the Missouri River into Iowa, off of Interstate 480.

Danker says the vehicle entered Interstate 80 and Council Bluffs at speeds of up to 100-miles per hour and as it left town, the car was traveling up to 130-miles per hour, passing cars on both shoulders and driving recklessly.

Omaha Police helicopter “Able 1″ followed the pursuit from the above. Danker says a deputy was about to deploy stop-sticks at the Neola exit, but the car was traveling too fast.

The driver saw the deputy redeploy the stop-sticks east of the Neola exit and took evasive action. The car jumped the median and began heading westbound on I-80 and got off at the Neola exit. The car went out of control and ended up in a ditch.

Danker says the two men bailed out of the car and took off on foot. The rear seat passenger, a female, also got out of the car, but stayed with the vehicle and surrendered to authorities.

The driver of the car is identified as 22-year-old Robert Frederick. The front seat passenger was identified as 20-year-old Jake Scripter. The female was identified as Samantha Garbez.

Danker says investigators in Omaha believe Scripter was the one who stole the car. Both men face 1st-degree theft and interference with official acts.

Frederick faces additional charges of reckless driving and operating without a valid license.

Garbez was not charged. She was transported by Neola Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, after complaining of chest pains. Frederick and Scripter refused medical treatment.

Both men were scheduled to appear in court this morning. Their bonds were set at $10,000 each.

By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, Crime & Courts, News
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