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.

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

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 🧵):

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.