Mike Bilder

To be clear: the misuse or misinterpretation of any sort of LF or track graphic isnt necessarily the creator's fault. If I'm throwing shade at anyone, it's probably directed at the general #wxtwitter (or BlueSky equivalent) community for its tendency to hyper-obsess on less important things.

It wouldnt bother me so much if I didnt also see landfall maps (as well as track history maps) *misused* in official risk assessments as often as I do. Also, LF & track visuals outnumber those that show the historical risk posed to areas far from the center of the storm & far inland.

Yet again, there's an impressive & visually appealing historical landfall location map making the rounds on social media. As evident in this slide I researched & created, the Mid-Atlantic has a long & tragic tropical history. Imagine zero entries on this slide. That's the story landfall maps tell.

How many compounding factors do you see in this newsreel about the #1936Flood? This is what you would have seen if you had gone to the movies 89 years ago this week. The compounding nature of the flood & the historic winter of 1935/36 that led to it will be a major theme in my book.

Btw this newsreel was released 89 years ago tonight.
#1936Flood

I have recently connected with a descendant of George E. Gore — one of the journalists whose footage is included in this Universal newsreel. She has been very helpful w/ my book on the overall #1936Flood, which will highlight the remarkable story of the “the 2nd Johnstown Flood.”

I thought Fire Warnings were intended to for “Go” situations? Also, why is “Immediate” after “Evacuation”?

New maps!
#1936Flood

Notes (cont.)

More maps and analysis to come as I continue to play around with the data.

/end

Notes (cont.)

These are living maps. I will edit them as I find new information. If you see any records missing, or if you’re aware of any QC issues with any of the records/locations, please let me know. I want to make this map better, and I invite crowdsourcing/collaboration.

Notes (cont.)

Some of the Major-stage determinations are based on media reports. This is usually done where gauges aren't available. I apologize in advance to the NWPS purists.

Notes:

When accessing the maps in the URLs above: if you want a better base layer, use the menu on the right side of the interface (I wish I could have defaulted to a different base map). You can click categories on and off in the menu on the left side.

Btw the 2nd book I will write will focus on one of the floods that challenged the #1936Flood's standing: Hurricane Agnes (1972)...

Here are some of the maps I did for #Agnes50 (for comparison)

It is no wonder that this was the #1936Flood that finally convinced Congress to invest federal funds in flood control for the *entire* country via the Flood Control Act of 1936. This was one of the most important pieces of legislation to be enacted during the #NewDeal.

Note how many pop centers/metro areas in 12 🇺🇸 states + DC & 3 🇨🇦 provinces were impacted *simultaneously* by major-stage flooding. This includes our nation's capital, 9 state capitals, and 1 provincial capital.

As you can see, *the widespread severity & longstanding legacy of the #1936Flood (even after nearly 90 yrs) is unprecedented.* Having analyzed every NWPS page in most of the eastern U.S., I can confirm that few floods come close to matching the scope and records of 1936.

In addition to the static versions above, here are the interactive versions:

#1936Flood Severity: sartopo.com/m/LRFHKUS

#1936Flood Records (numbered version): sartopo.com/m/0P1CHE8

#1936Flood Records (polka-dot version): sartopo.com/m/QCPTTFL

As part of my research, I meticulously checked the data from *every* river gauge in the Mid-Atlantic, New England & Ohio Valley to map both the #1936Flood's severity & where it still reigns in the Top 5 crests. Here are the static versions (interactive versions in next post of 🧵):

Special Update 🧵
Today is the 89th Anniv. of the start of the #1936Flood — a good opp to update everyone on the book. I'm 2 yrs into researching & writing. Given the flood's complicated nature & massive geographic scope, it has been a huge effort that is 💯 done during offhours.

This chart displays the period each year between the first and last Day 1 Categorical Enhanced Risk for Pennsylvania.

Earliest Enhanced Risk for Pennsylvania since 2017! #PAwx

Tune in tomorrow morning for a *big* research/content drop related to the book…. Here is a clue…

Emergency management and weather go hand in hand. Had fun chatting about bridging the two - thank you for having me!

We need more wx literacy and meteorologists in emergency management! 80% or more federally declared disasters are weather-related. #EMGBsky

I’m posting this pic w/ the permission of Brotzman’s family. It’s clear that he’s holding a fleece in one hand to represent the 🐑, but we are having the darnedest time figuring out what he’s holding to represent the 🦁. They look like lamb chops, but that wouldn’t fit. Do you want to take a guess?

My best guess is sometime after 1924, when Brotzman became MIC and his local celebrity status skyrocketed. In 1934, the Pittsburgh office moved to the new U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Building on Grant Street.

For NWS history nerds: this was taken inside WFO Pittsburgh when it was in the Oliver Building (today the Embassy Suites) in downtown Pittsburgh. I haven’t been able to find the newspaper that printed it, but I know it must have been taken sometime between 1915 and 1934.

Little did he know that all of his obits would cite March 1936 as his life-defining moment…

Much like his modern counterparts, Brotzman always took the opportunity to encourage everyone to pay less attention to catchy proverbs & instead prepare for the wide variety of hazards that can happen at any point in March.

In the early 20th century, newspapers would subject local U.S. Weather Bureau (today the National Weather Service) meteorologists to the annual ritual of having to address the proverb’s legitimacy. As you can see in the press photo above, the media often did these stories with much fanfare.

Do you want to help solve a “In like a Lion 🦁 Out like a Lamb 🐑” mystery?

Pictured here is William S. Brotzman — legendary Meteorologist-in-Charge at the U.S. Weather Bureau (today NWS) office in Pittsburgh, and one of the central figures in my forthcoming book on the Great Flood of 1936. 🧵

March 6-9th, 1908:
A tropical storm developed about 500 miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 6th. The storm intensified to Category 2 strength near the Leeward Islands of Saint-Barthélemy and Saint Kitts. Since 1842, this is the only known hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean in March.