Masonry Magazine June 2006 Page. 36
Weather
The eastern North Pacific and western U.S. began to exhibit typical La Niña characteristics in response to the cooling in the tropical central Pacific Ocean. This pattern will favor continued drought in parts of the South and Southwest, from Arizona to Arkansas and Louisiana, and above normal precipitation in the Northwest and the Tennessee Valley area.
While it is too early to say with confidence what effects La Niña will have on the 2006 hurricane season, during the record breaking 2005 hurricane season, there was no La Niña or El Niño pattern - it is one of the elements to be considered. La Niña events recur approximately every three to five years; the last La Niña occurred in 2000-2001 and was a relatively weak event compared to the one in 1998-2000.
After September 11
MUCH HARDER TO PREDICT, hurricanes and tornados are not the only weather events that can make a difference to a contractor. To take an extreme example, the World Trade Center, in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, was hit by rain and wind that caused a great deal of trouble for the crews at the site. According to writer Susan Kohl, "More than 1,000 workers, 150 pieces of heavy equipment, 20 cranes and 1.2 million tons of steel, concrete, ash and debris resided at the destruction site of the World Trade Center. On September 13, a storm hit Ground Zero with rain and winds. The rain showers were clearly a concern, especially with the two large cavities in the ground. The rain turned the ash into something comparable to wet cement. The wind also played a dangerous role as it blew abrasive debris and particles around the site. There were reports of downdrafts and dust devils.
"On normal days, wind was a constant danger with all of the pollution and debris in the air. Every time a crew moved a large piece of debris, dust and particles kicked up. Wind made the situation even worse. Strong winds at higher elevations had the potential to wreak havoc with tall cranes and heavy equipment, endangering not only the operators but also the people on the ground."
Forecasting the weather, as the experts will admit, is an art more than a science. When Eisenhower was planning the D-Day assault, the decision to invade Normandy on