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To: combjelly who wrote (276726)	2/26/2006 11:53:02 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Respond to of 1573949

Scores of Fish Beach Themselves in N.C. Sun Feb 26, 1:48 AM ET JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - State and local wildlife experts are trying to figure out what led more than a thousand flounder, spot and pin fish to beach themselves at the Marine Corps' New River air base — and then swim away. They believe it may be related to a popular phenomenon known in coastal Alabama as "jubilee." The fish surfaced in shallow water Friday morning. They were lethargic, but alive. "It's kind of strange," said Mike Sanderford, New River Riverkeeper. "It's a bunch of fish up here, but they're not dead. They're almost docile." When he arrived, Sanderford said, the fish were lying in shallow water and allowed him to touch them before they swam away. Representatives of the Division of Water Quality, N.C. Marine Fisheries and N.C. Marine Patrol checked on the fish along the air station's shoreline Friday morning. One expert estimated about 1,000 to 1,500 were crowded in the waterline. But by afternoon, they were gone. The timing matched another oddity: the water's oxygen level, which veered from one extreme to the other. "We measured the oxygen levels in the water this morning and they were very low," said Stephanie Garrett, environmental technician with DWQ. "Then two and a half hours later, they were high." She said that might be a clue that the area saw a case of the "jubilee" phenomenon, in which thousands of live, healthy fish beach themselves. Scientists know that a jubilee occurs when variety of factors deoxygenate the water, forcing fish to the shore. Jubilees occur in a number of places, but nowhere as often and as regularly as on Mobile Bay's eastern shore. Jubilees usually occur during the summer, providing a free feast to locals who head to shore to gather the fish up. "It's normal to them, they all know the conditions that are needed and go down with gigs to get the flounder," said Bianca Klein, biologist at the Air Station. "It's definitely a rarity here, though." Only about 50 fish died, and that may not have been from natural causes. "The flounder that were dead were the big ones," Sanderford said. "We're guessing someone came out here early this morning and started to pick out the biggest ones to take home for dinner, but wondered why they were beached and thought something might be wrong with them." ___

To: combjelly who wrote (276726)	2/26/2006 11:55:47 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1573949

Taken alone, these records wouldn't mean much, but taken together... Records set in the Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005 Seasonal records set in 2005 Most tropical storms: 27. Old record: 21 in 1933. Most hurricanes: 15. Old record: 12 in 1969. Most Category 5 hurricanes: 3 (Katrina, Rita, Wilma. Emily may be classified as a Category 5 upon re-analysis.) Old record: 2 in 1960 and 1961. Most hurricane names to be retired: 6 (Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita, Stan, Wilma, and possibly others). Previous record: 4 in 1955, 1995, and 2004. Most major hurricanes to hit the U.S.: 4 (Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Wilma). Previous record: 3 in 1893, 1909, 1933, and 1954. Most damage ever recorded in a hurricane season: $150 billion. Previous record: approximately $50 billion dollars (normalized to 2005 dollars) set in 1992 and 2004. Highest Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index: 245. Previous record: 243 (1950). Average for a season is 93. Latest end to a hurricane season: January 6 Previous record: January 5, for the 1954-55 hurricane season. Notable near records for the season Second highest number of tropical storms to hit U.S.: 7 (The record was 8 in 1916 and 2004). Note that Hurricane Ophelia is not considered a U.S. strike, although it did bring hurricane conditions to the North Carolina coast. Second highest number of hurricanes to kill 1000+ people: 2 (Katrina and Stan). All time record: 3 (1780). Second highest number of named storm days: 126.5. All time record: 136 (1933). Second most major hurricanes: 7 (Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Maria, Rita, Wilma, Beta). One behind record of 8 set in 1950. Single storm records Strongest Atlantic hurricane ever: Wilma, 882 mb central pressure. Old record: Hurricane Gilbert (1988), 888 mb. Fastest intensification ever by an Atlantic hurricane: Wilma. Wilma's pressure dropped 97 millibars in 24 hours Previous record: Gilbert (1988) dropped 72 mb in 24 hours. Wilma's pressure fell 54 mb over six hours, beating Hurricane Beulah's drop of 38 mb in six hours in 1967. Wilma's 12 hour pressure fall of 83 mb beat the old 12 hour pressure fall record of 48 mb set by Hurricane Allen in 1980. Most damaging hurricane ever: Katrina, $100 billion plus. Old record: Hurricane Andrew (1992), $50 billion in 2005 dollars. Greatest storm surge from an Atlantic hurricane: Katrina, 28-30 feet. Old record: Hurricane Camille (1969), 24.6 feet. Dennis became the most intense hurricane on record before August when a central pressure of 930 mb was recorded. Emily eclipsed the record previously set by Dennis for lowest pressure recorded for a hurricane before August when its central pressure reached 929 mb. Vince was the furthest north and east that a storm has ever developed in the Atlantic basin. Vince was the first tropical cyclone in recorded history to strike the Iberian Peninsula. Delta became extratropical shortly before hit the Canary Islands, but was the first tropical cyclone on record to affect the islands. Wilma had the smallest eye diameter ever measured in a hurricane, two nautical miles. Monthly records June Two named storms formed (Arlene and Bret). Only 1957, 1959, 1968, and 1986 had two or more named storms form during the month of June. July Five named storms formed (Cindy, Dennis, Emily, Franklin, and Gert). This is the most on record for July. Two major hurricanes formed (Dennis and Emily). This is the most on record. 25.25 named storm days occurred. This is the most on record. 10.75 hurricane days occurred. This is the most on record. 5.75 intense hurricane days occurred. This is the most on record. August Five named storms formed (Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katrina and Lee). Only 1990, 1995 and 2004 had more than five named storms form during the month of August. September Five hurricanes formed (Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe and Rita). This ties 1955, 1969, 1981, 1998 and 2000 for the most hurricanes to form during the month of September. October Six named storms formed (Stan, Tammy, Vince, Wilma, Alpha and Beta). This ties 1950 for the most named storm formations during the month of October. Four hurricanes formed (Stan, Vince, Wilma and Beta). Only 1950 had more hurricanes develop during the month of October. Two major hurricanes formed (Wilma and Beta). This ties 1950, 1961, 1964 and 1995 for the most intense hurricanes to form during the month of October. Five intense hurricane days occurred. Only 1954 and 1961 recorded more intense hurricane days. November Three tropical storms formed in November (Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon). This breaks the record of two storms set in six years, most recently in 2001. December Epsilon was a hurricane for 5.25 days, making it the longest lived December hurricane on record. The previous record was just over four days, set by an unnamed 1887 hurricane. January Tropical Storm Zeta was the longest-lived January storm on record (six days). January 2006 had the greatest number of named storm days ever recorded in January (six). Earliest Storm Formation records Earliest formation of a season's 4th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 5th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 6th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 7th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 8th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 9th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 10th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 11th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 13th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 14th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 15th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 16th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 17th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 19th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 20th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 21st Storm Earliest formation of a season's 22nd Storm Earliest formation of a season's 23rd Storm Earliest formation of a season's 24th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 25th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 26th Storm Earliest formation of a season's 27th Storm I credit Dr. Bill Gray's Hurricane Season of 2005 Verification posted on his web site for compiling many of these records, along with wunderblogger Cory Pesaturo. You will find many more records listed on their web pages.