Many Gulf Coast locations received above normal rains for 1997 and it appears that the wet trend has continued for 1998. The following table displays a list of many of the coastal cities that received more than their fair share of rain. Preliminary indications point toward El Nino as the culprit behind all of the rain.

Location 1997 Total Amount Above

Mobile, Alabama 80.14" 16.03"

Tampa, Florida 67.71" 23.75"

Miami, Florida 70.43" 14.54"

Lake Charles, LA 65.70" 10.95"

Shreveport, LA 69.20" 23.07"

Galveston, TX 60.52" 18.20"

Houston, TX 59.74" 13.79"

Victoria, TX 67.09" 29.61"

The chart below indicates Houston rainfall frequencies for a variety of time periods. Rainfall frequencies for New Orleans are also charted on page 3.

Rainfall Frequencies for New Orleans, Louisiana

The battle cries are out and the line in the sand has been drawn. A team of golf-club wielding meteorologists from The Weather Channel are coming to Houston to challenge the local weather folk in the Third Annual Weatherman's Classic. The Weather Channel team will be comprised of Jim Cantore, Bruce Edwards, Marshal Seese and Keith Westerlage.

You don't have to be a meteorologist to participate in the tournament. In fact, it would be humiliating to the weather folk if someone outside of the rank and file were to win. Teams are now being assembled for this Weather Museum fund-raiser. Information will be forth coming about the tournament which will be held April 20, 1998, at Hearthstone Country Club. However, if you have any questions concerning enrollment, sponsorship or advertising, please call Denise Miles at (713) 529-3076.

Dr. John Freeman and Jill F. Hasling recently attended the 78th American Meteorological Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, January 12-16. In addition, the two are attending one of the annual meetings of the National Council of Industrial Meteorologists as well as one of the meetings for Certified Consulting Meteorologists.

New color-coded graphics showing the maximum combined seas (MCS) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico are now available on-line through the Weather Navigator via the internet. Using an array of colors, these graphics display the projected MCS offshore. For example, a green color indicates lower MCS's while an orange or red color indicates higher MCS's. These new graphics are just part of an expanding service and commitment to the offshore energy industry. If you are not subscribing to the Weather Navigator and would like to review some of the contents on a trial basis, please call Mike Arellano,

(713) 529-3076 or email: wrc@wxresearch.com.

One of the more interesting tropical cyclones of 1997 was Typhoon Paka. Paka formed on December 2, 1997 as a tropical storm in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of Hawaii. This is unusual given the location and time of year, but the warmer Pacific Ocean waters probably attributed to the storm's progress. At first, it appeared Paka would limp across the Dateline and weaken, however, the storm intensified into a typhoon - even super typhoon status at one point with winds in excess of 140 kts. There was some concern when Paka continued on a westward course that the storm might threaten the Philippine Islands. Luckily, by December 18, Paka began to move northwestward while strong upper level winds also began to shear the storm. On December 21, Paka finally dissipated over the Philippine Sea. Paka had endured for nearly three weeks.

As residents thaw-out from recent ice storms that ravaged the Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada, memories surface of some of Houston's most famous glazes. Below are some of the more notable ice storms in Houston's history.

1961 JAN. 25 Freezing Rain/Glaze 1983 DEC. 22-23 Glaze