Vol. 5, No. 2

March/April 1997

Welcome to the bimonthly newsletter of the Schools of the Pacific Rainfall Climate Experiment (SPaRCE). SPaRCE is a cooperative field experiment involving local meteorological services, elementary, middle, and high school, college and trade school students from various Pacific islands, atolls, and the U.S. Additional information concerning the SPaRCE program can be obtained on the World Wide Web at :

http://www.evac.ou.edu/sparce/

The Pacific El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Application Center

The ENSO Application Center is a pilot project to conduct research and produce informational products on climate variability, particularly for the Pacific region. As their newsletter states their mission is to supply Pacific climate information to such entities as the civil defense, resource management and development planning organizations. The Center is located at the University of Hawaii, but uses information gathered from various governmental and private organizations. The focus of the Center is on the El Niño phenomenon and it's effects on weather in the Pacific. The editor of the their newsletter is Mr. Alan Hilton, LT/NOAA Corps and his address is sited in the enclosed newsletter.

The Center has agreed to provide the SPaRCE program with copies of it's newsletter which provides current updates on weather conditions across the Pacific. Included in the newsletter are experimental forecasts on the future evolution of the El Niño over the next year or so. These forecasts are generated by computers and, by comparing subsequent newsletters, you can determine how well the models are doing. We will try to coordinate our activities so that we can supply the SPaRCE participants with copies of the ENSO Application Center newsletter bundled together with the SPaRCE newsletter at regular intervals. By conducting this cooperative venture it is our objective (both the ENSO Application center and SPaRCE) to better inform the Pacific people of current and future conditions of the weather in their locale and to form stronger ties among scientists, local people and the various inter-agencies and governments. For the Pacific people to benefit from scientific research, both of our programs agree that it is very important to include the Pacific people in climate research, either through data collection or data analysis. Feedback from the SPaRCE participants concerning such topics as, "how good were the forecasts?", is very important to the scientists. Also, the terms and maps shown in the newsletter can be used as a learning tool by local people. So, we hope you enjoy the enclosed newsletter and we hope to keep this arrangement going as long as possible. Thank you.

Mark Morrissey, Director of SPaRCE Program

SPaRCE Mailbag

A special "Thank You" to the participants who contributed to this newsletter. All those who have an article published in the newsletter will receive a free SPaRCE T-Shirt!

The following article was sent by Mr. Rero from Utu High School in Papua New Guinea:

Cyclone Justin occurred during the month of March. In addition, the whole country did experience the effect which came about. It was also the first time for us here at Utu High School to experience such climatic effect. Cyclone Justin was very powerful that it brought with him strong winds, blowing from the northwest. It resulted in boats missing at sea, buildings pulled down in the worst hit areas of the province, vegetation along the coastline dying due to too much salt water. It was also estimated that around 10-20 people from New Ireland went missing during the rough seas. The ground became even hard with cracks in between. This occurred because there wasn't any rain at all. Only light showers about once or twice during the month of March. All our 24 tanks (2,000 liters) which serve us with drinking water were all emptied. Luckily our underground water supply kept us going. Our water front was also affected because the sea came inland by about 5 to 10 meters caused by big waves. During the day it would be very hot. This also resulted in a lot of bush fires around the province. It also affected the wildlife. To conclude, our school was really up and about during the strong winds as it didn't hit us as bad as the other parts of the province. It was also the first time for us to experience such effect for one month.

by Anne Mary, Jacklyn, Allanie, Serah and Benito.

How to Become a Member of the SPaRCE Program

The Schools of the Pacific Rainfall Climate Experiment (SPaRCE) is a cooperative field project involving students, teachers, and weather office personnel from various Pacific island and atoll nations, as well as from the U.S. The program is headquartered at the University of Oklahoma.

If your school would like to be involved with the SPaRCE program, please contact us at the address below. All we ask from you is motivation and a willingness to learn about weather and climate!

SPaRCE Headquarters
Oklahoma Climate Survey
University of Oklahoma
100 East Boyd, Suite 1210
Norman, OK 73019 USA
phone: (405) 325-3207
FAX: (405) 325-2550
e-mail: sparce@hoth.ou.edu

Sponsors of the SPaRCE Program

SPaRCE is sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, GLOBE, the ARM/TWP program, PEACESAT Hawaii, the Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium, and the University of Oklahoma College of Geosciences.

PEACESAT Radio Sessions

Once per month SPaRCE participants are invited to join us for discussion over the PEACESAT radio communications network. These sessions allow participants to ask questions about the program, weather, or climate. To determine if you have a local PEACESAT station, or if your local operator does not know about the rain gauge sessions, you may contact the main PEACESAT office in Honolulu, Hawaii for more information:

PEACESAT
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Old Engineering Quad., Bldg. 31
Honolulu, HI 96822 USA
Telephone: (808) 956-8848
FAX: (808) 956-2512

The scheduled sessions are:

June 18       September 17      July 16        August 20

DATES & TIMES are from 1:30 to 2:30 PM;
Hawaiian Standard Time
Please remember to adjust for your local time.

SPaRCE Autobiographies

This section of the newsletter allows participants to become more familiar with the SPaRCE family. Each newsletter will feature a different member of our staff.

Hello, my name is Shawn Ellis. I am currently in my senior year as an undergraduate student majoring in Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. I would like to share with you the events that brought me to the university and to work for SPaRCE.

To begin, I will give a short history about myself. I spent the first 19 years of my life in the small town of Panhandle, Texas. Having grown up in the panhandle of Texas, I was exposed to all kinds of weather. I have seen the temperature rise to near 80^o F one day and the very next morning there was six inches of snow on the ground. One thing for sure is that the weather was never boring! I can always remember being fascinated by watching puffy clouds explode into severe thunderstorms and watching television weather people explain what was happening. As early as the third grade I told everyone that I was going to be a weatherman and have never changed my mind. After graduating high school, I went to a junior college for one year and then enlisted in the United States Navy. I attended the Naval Weather School and then worked as an Aerographer's Mate (the Navy term for meteorologist) for four years in Memphis, Tennessee. During my last year in the military, I was accepted into the meteorology program at the University of Oklahoma. I chose OU because of its outstanding meteorology school that is recognized as one of the best in the United States.

My advisor at the school is Dr. Susan Postawko and it was through her that I was given the opportunity to work for SPaRCE which occurred in April 1996. My primary duty is to accurately enter all the rainfall data from the SPaRCE schools as well as from New Zealand and French Polynesia. I also work on the bimonthly newsletter and correspond with many schools keeping them supplied with things they may need. I always enjoy reading the letters that students write and replying to them. It has been a great experience to learn about the peoples of the Pacific Islands and I hope to meet some of the people when I go with Mark and Susan to Majuro and Pohnpei. It has been a pleasure to work for SPaRCE and hope to continue my stay for many months.

This newsletter is produced through the collaborative efforts of the SPaRCE staff. We welcome any comments, contributions, suggestions, etc. We can be contacted at:

e-mail: SPaRCE@hoth.ou.edu
Phone: (405) 447-8412
WWW: http://www.evac.ou.edu/sparce/

SPaRCE WELCOMES SEVEN NEW 1997 SCHOOLS!

Alofi O Taoa Jr. High School, Western Samoa

Mizpah Adventist School, Kingdom of Tonga

Lotofaga Primary School, Western Samoa

Palalaua Jr. High School, Western Samoa

Sala'ilua Primary School, Western Samoa

Sauniatu Elementary School, Western Samoa

Uesiliana College, Western Samoa

Tornadoes are capable of picking up strange objects and depositing debris many miles from their point of origin.

In 1578, a large number of yellow mice fell from the sky in western Norway.

In 1843, an alligator fell on the street in Charleston, South Carolina after a tornado passed.

On April 15, 1979, checks began falling from the sky in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They came from a bank that was struck by a tornado in Wichita Falls, Texas. The checks were carried over 200 miles!

from The Handy Weather Answer Book

Computer-enhanced photo of a category three hurricane such as the one that struck the Papua New Guinea area in March of 1997. This picture is of Hurricane Diana in 1984 and was supplied by NASA and pictured in The Handy Weather Answer Book.

Wordfind contributed by Gary Sacket of Chamberlain Middle School in Fairview, Oklahoma. Note: The wordfind is not an applet, so you will have to print the wordfind to complete it. The answers are found at the end of the newsletter.

(left) Students constructing a rain gauge fence at Palalaua Jr. High School. (right) Students measuring rainfall at completed Palalaua site.

(left) Faava Saumalu - Year 8 student at Sauniatu Elementary School. (right) Rainfall measurement at Alofi ) Taoa Jr. High.