Every Friday, FreightWaves takes a look at the past week or so in social media, highlighting images in trucking, transportation and weather. This week features significant flooding in the Northwest, a snow squall slamming a Northeast airport and the launch of the latest U.S. weather satellite.
Flooding fiasco
Storms have drenched parts of the Northwest since last weekend, leading to floods, landslides and road closures on several state highways and a few interstate ramps. Most of the damage has been in Washington, near and south of the Seattle metropolitan area, where high elevations reported 8 to nearly 12 inches of rain from noon Sunday to noon Wednesday.
Seattle, Olympia and several other spots received 4 to 5 inches, and a few locations had as much rain in those four days as they normally see in the entire month of February. Even though the rain has faded since Wednesday, minor impacts may linger into Friday as the ground remains saturated and some rivers remain elevated.
Snow squall
Snow squalls slammed parts of the Northeast last weekend, making for some dramatic images. This squall made a quick approach toward the Burlington International Airport in Vermont on Sunday, producing strong winds and blinding snow.
The National Weather Service recorded a peak wind gust of 40 mph and visibility quickly dropped to a quarter-mile. A snow squall is a sudden burst of heavy snow accompanied by high winds and visibility that can worsen in just minutes. These storms can last for 30 to 40 minutes.
Up, up and away
The latest U.S. weather satellite, called Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T), was launched into space Tuesday. Its improved high-resolution imagery will help meteorologists better observe and predict local weather events, including thunderstorms, tornadoes, fog, hurricanes, flash floods and other severe weather. In addition, GOES observations have proven helpful in monitoring dust storms, volcanic eruptions and forest fires.
A joint effort between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, GOES-T will be renamed GOES-18 once it reaches geostationary orbit. It will be positioned to watch over the western contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and the Pacific Ocean.
Related: Ground control: Inside story of shipping a 3-ton satellite
Down the river
Last weekend, a truck went off a bridge in Massachusetts, landing in the Charles River. It happened Saturday near the interchange of Interstate 95 and the Massachusetts Turnpike in Weston. The accident was caught on video by the State Police Association of Massachusetts.
The truck driver, who was hauling a trailer full of mail, was treated for injuries and released from the hospital that night. According to a WCVB-TV report, the Massachusetts State Police said the driver was cited for two traffic violations.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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