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| Funnel cloud over Boston area |
Extreme Weather
Like the Great Plains, Boston also experiences extreme weather condition. Fog is prevalent, especially in spring and early summer, and the occasional tropical storm or hurricane can threaten the region, particularly in early autumn. The city is often subjected to sea breeze because of its location along the North Atlantic, that occurs during the late spring when water temperatures are still quite cold and temperatures at the coast can be more than 20 °F (11 °C) colder than a few miles inland, sometimes dropping by that amount near midday. From May to September, the city experiences thunderstorms that are occasionally severe. In addition, large hail, damaging winds and heavy downpours accompany such severe events. Although downtown Boston has never been struck by a violent tornado, the city itself has had many tornado warnings.
Tornado Facts: Boston
Peak tornado month: July
Total tornadoes since 1950: 26
Strongest tornado: F3, September 29, 1974 (Middlesex County)
Click here to see a lightning storm over Boston
Deer Island
Waste Water TreatmentWater is an important resource in the Great Plains, and since this chapter talks about water control and irrigation, I thought it would be interesting to include Boston’s Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant. Deer Island has its own rich and tragic history. It served as an internment island for Native Americans (1675-76), a holding area for Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine (1800s), a major hospital (1847), and a prison (c. 1882-1988). Nowadays, the island is known for its natural resource protection, the home for Deer Island Waste Treatment Plant with its egg-like sludge digesters that serve as major harbor landmarks.
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| Egg-like sludge digesters This sewage treatment plant is run and operated by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. The water treatment plant cost over 3.8 billion dollars, making it the seventeenth most expensive object ever constructed. The plant began operating in 1995 and is considered the second largest sewage treatment plant in the US. The plant removes human, household, business and industrial pollutants from wastewater that originates in homes and businesses in forty three greater Boston communities. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bostonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_Island_Waste_Water_Treatment_Plant |
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