Those of you who were anxious for some new snow to cover up the old and dirty snow got your wish today!  Last night into today we had between 2 to 4 inches with the heaviest snow occurring last night.  Today, snow showers persisted but there were a couple spots that had moderate to heavy snow at time in the heavier bands, but overall the snow was scattered across the viewing area.  We’ll wait until this evening to provide actual snow totals from across the area and if you would like to share your total with us, leave us a comment or send us an e-mail.  Snow showers will gradually come to an end before midnight with partial clearing after midnight.  It will also be windy this evening which could cause some light blowing/drifting snow.  Be aware of snow-covered and slippery roadways and drive extra carefully – slow down and allow plenty of space between vehicles and if you get caught in one of the heavier snow bands which may cause near-whiteout conditions, it might be best to just pull over and wait for the band to pass.

In case you are making plans for the weekend, its a good thing you are planning ahead because half of the weekend will be pleasant while the other half will be unpleasant.  Saturday will feature a mixture of clouds and sunshine (few more clouds in the afternoon) with southerly winds helping to bring in some milder air.  Highs will range from around 30 degrees to the lower 30s across the region.  Since we are seeing more direct sunlight this time of year, there will probably some melting tomorrow.  It might be a good day to get the car washed, run errands or enjoy some fun outdoor winter activities! 

It looks like March will come in like a lamb, or will it?  Brian and myself were debating this today.  We both agree that if the first few days in March were quiet, then March would be coming in like a lamb, but today was active and Sunday will again be active with Saturday the only quiet day expected.  So, just because March 1st will be quiet, does that mean March will come in like a lamb?  We’re curious as to what you think so leave a comment here on the blog or give us an e-mail!

Conditions will deteriorate Saturday night as our next storm arrives out of the central Plains.  As a warm front crosses the area on Saturday night, light freezing rain or drizzle are likely which will make things quite slick for the first half of Sunday.  As temperatures get up into the middle to upper 30s on Sunday afternoon, we can expect a mixture of light rain and wet snow.  It will also be quite windy and as a cold front pushes through the region Sunday evening, but any leftover precipitation at that point will change back to snow showers or flurries.  Most of the precipitation will have ended at that point.  However, be prepared for very slippery and hazardous road conditions Sunday night as temperatures fall below freezing and any water on the road from the rain/snow mix and melting snow will quickly freeze.  That is how things are shaping up at this point, but stay tuned for the latest updates, we’ll let you know how this system evolves over the next day or so!

Be safe traveling this evening and stay tuned to TV-9/34 for continuous updates!

Meteorologist Megan Syner

Posted under Science

Snowfall totals last night ranged from 1 to 2 inches in the northwoods to 3 to 4 inches across central Wisconsin. Wausau ended up with one of the higher totals at 4.8 inches. A few more flurries and snow showers are likely this afternoon but not much additional accumulation should occur. Maybe a dusting. The next chance of messy wintry precipitation will be on Sunday as a cold front moves through Northcentral Wisconsin. The front is starting to look a little weaker so I am backing off on precipitation amounts, but it could still be tricky. Some freezing drizzle is possible in the morning, then a mix of light rain or snow showers could develop in the afternoon with an inch or two accumulation. Sunday will be the warmest day of the outlook with high temps in the upper 30s so if an inch or two does fall, most of it will melt. Next week we will have a bit cooler weather from Monday through Wednesday and then another arctic cold frontal passage is possible Thursday into Friday. If the arctic front moves through as projected, high temps will only be in the teens late next.

Although many of us will complain if another arctic cold wave hits the area, perhaps we should not be surprised. After all, as I reported yesterday, this winter has been the coldest in over 100 years for many locations on the earth. There was a dramatic decline in the earth’s temperature since last year. I am still perplexed as to why this has not been picked up in major media outlets. Something fishy going on? The year could still turn out pretty warm of course, because we have only been through 2 months, but if the cooler trend continues it will force many AGW theorists to re-work their models and theories. And it makes you wonder about the AGW movement in general. Villages, states, and even countries have sued or are considering suing corporations or even other countries over climate changes. If the temperature gets colder will they drop the threat of lawsuits? I doubt it. I have already seen some arguments suggesting "global warming will cause global cooling". I know there is a scientific basis for making such a statement, but I wouldn’t be caught dead saying it in public for fear of being labeled "mentally deficient". If you have been following the AGW story over the last couple decades you know that the AGW proponents have every avenue covered by now. If there are more hurricanes, it is because of AGW. If there are less hurricanes, it is because of AGW. If there is more rain, it is because of AGW. If there is more drought, it is because of AGW. If it gets really hot, it is because of AGW. If it gets really cold, it is because of AGW. The main theme here is that humans are destructive and no matter what we do we are destroying the planet (and someone is going to get sued by environmentalists). It will be very interesting to see how the everyone reacts to a cooler trend. Will we continue to see AGW scare stories even in the face of a cooler planet? Will the AGW crowd and the media go along with the old tired script, oblivious to the situation on the ground? I’ll be sure to keep track of it.

It can be depressing to follow the AGW (anthropogenic global warming) story, so it is nice to find a voice of reason once in a while. The President of the Environmental Defense Fund (no bastion of free market thought, for sure) – Fred Krupp – says that capitalism is the best way to reduce emissions/pollution. Hooray. Maybe he has been reading my blog posts as of late. I am a fan of giving huge tax breaks to alternative energy suppliers. Take for example the 280 megawatt thermal solar plant being built in Arizona – my plan, no tax whatsoever for 10 years. If you want to see solar power quickly become the number one source of electricity in the U.S., a zero tax policy would ensure it.

Other Energy News:

Ethanol has been getting a bad rap as of late as being the reason why food prices have gone up dramatically in the last couple of years. Well, the ethanol industry is fighting back, claiming that they are only responsible for 5% of the increase over the last year (the rest is most likely due to high oil prices). In the article linked above the head of the ethanol industry says ethanol does not increase carbon emissions. Maybe so, but it is still not a very efficient way to get liquid fuel. The process barely yields more energy out than what is put in. More exotic is the possibility of getting bacteria to produce liquid hydrocarbons. One problem with this idea is that we wouldn’t want these bacteria to run wild out in the environment gobbling up all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and converting it into methane or octane, that might disrupt a lot of biological processes. J. Craig Venter has a plan to prevent that, creating bacteria that can only survive in a contained environment, and die once they are out in the wild.

Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Uncategorized

An Alberta Clipper weather system will move through the area tonight and it will produce anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow for most of Northcentral Wisconsin. So be careful on the roads tomorrow morning driving to work or school. The next storm system that could produce some travel trouble is a cold front that will be moving through Wisconsin on Sunday. There is a chance of rain and freezing rain Sunday morning and then some light snow could develop late in the day. Temps will be above normal in the mid to upper 30s, on Sunday otherwise most days in the outlook for the next 7 to 10 days will be below normal with high temps in the 20s.

AGW News:

Did you catch the bombshell AGW news from yesterday? According to the latest tabulations, this winter has been one of the coldest in 100 years in many areas of the world and it is showing up in the world’s average temperature. Check out some recent graphs here and here. I haven’t seen any other news sources reporting this information except a little blurb on Brit Hume’s news wrap-up page. So there is a little nugget for all of you conspiracy theorists who think the media is biased. It would seem to be a worthy news story since climate change is the "in" environmental subject. I couldn’t find anything on the Hadley Centre or GISS website, but then they are not "news" organizations per se, so I wouldn’t expect immediate coverage. If it is true, then is it significant and surprising. It certainly was not even remotely predicted by any of the global climate models that the IPCC uses to assess future climate change. Does it mean AGW is over and some natural factors are taking over? No, because it is only a few months of cold temps. Things could rebound once again this summer, however, if the trend continues over the next couple years, then climatologists must head back to the drawing table and figure out what major piece of the climate puzzle was unaccounted for, that caused such a severe error in future projections. Why has this winter been so cold? Besides potential large scale effects such as changes in the sun or the earth’s orbit which I am not well informed about at this moment, the two things I can point to are La Nina and a record amount of sea ice in the Antarctic. The Antarctic sea ice story was another one that was ignored by nearly every media outlet last summer because they were focusing on the record low amount of ice in the arctic (north pole). So are we headed for another ice age? If you look at the long-term geologic record, it is about time for another ice age. Maybe all the carbon dioxide will keep us from slipping into another ice age. Which brings me to another point about climate change, I am all for climate control. If we want to avoid temperatures that are too warm or too cold (an ice age would be BAD), we should use our engineering capabilities to modify the earth’s climate so that it stays within a comfortable range. We already have climate control for all of our buildings. At least tweaking the outdoor climate so that it doesn’t get dangerously hot or dangerously cold would seem to be the next step.

Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Uncategorized

I have another presentation today so not too long of a blog post. The main thing to keep in mind with regards to the next few days is that it still looks like an inch or two of snow is likely Thursday evening and then a mixture of rain, freezing rain, and snow is possible on Sunday.

The presentation I am giving today is to golf course superintendents. The theme of the talk is that weather forecasting and weather information is more of an open process nowadays. The information is ubiquitous and most often free. From browsing through computer model data on the Internet to researching weather history, it is all at your fingertips. It is no longer couched in the complex vernacular used only by meteorologists. Even the lay person can understand most of the weather information (and weather maps) needed to keep track of changing and severe weather. Here is a little handout I will be giving to the conference attendees. It contains some of my favorite and useful weather sites on the net: Download weather_resources.doc

Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Uncategorized

Not too much going on in the weather today. The big storm that passed to our south last night ended up producing a half inch up to and inch of snow in parts of our area – mainly in the southern half. Now it looks like dry and colder weather for the next couple of days. The good thing is that it will not be as cold as last week. If we have enough clearing tonight and tomorrow night, there could be a few spots that experience temps a few degrees below zero and that is as cold as it will get. High temps will only be in the low 20s today and around 20 tomorrow, then we should see a gradual warming trend late this week and over the weekend. High temps could reach the mid to upper 30s by Sunday.

As far as snow goes, our next chance of a couple inches will be Thursday night as an Alberta Clipper moves through the area. On Sunday another storm will be in the Midwest and temps might be warm enough for a mix of rain, freezing rain, or snow. In the very long range, it looks like temps will go below normal once again next week with high temps mainly in the 20s. The normal high temp this time of year is in the low to mid 30s.

Energy News:

Did you see the news about the Virgin Atlantic biofuel flight? They took a flight across the English Channel using a small percentage of biofuel instead of 100% regular jet fuel. Most environmentalists heaped scorn and ridicule upon Virgin Atlantic and Richard Branson. Saying it was only a publicity stunt and that biofuels are pretty much the most terrible thing to hit the planet since oil. Huh? Even though I am not a big proponent of biofuel as a replacement of oil (I would rather just go all electric), I at least give Branson credit for trying something new. If biofuel could be made out of organic societal waste then it would be a very good thing as a stop-gap measure while other energy sources are being developed. The main reason environmentalists nearly uniformly viciously attacked Branson is that he dares operate an airline business at all. Airlines, you see, emit carbon dioxide and create other types of pollution. Airline travel is "very bad" in the eyes of most environmentalists. They would rather have no airline travel at all over somewhat "cleaner" and more efficient travel. As I mentioned a few times in the past, it is better to invent better, cleaner, more efficient technology, than to ban it altogether. People want to travel. People like progress. Progress means prosperity. No one wants to give up all the conveniences of modern life. Invent the future. Make it happen.

Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Uncategorized

Widespread heavy snow was expected across Southern Wisconsin this evening.  But Surprise Surprise, the snow has shifted even further south, probably not breaking to many hearts in places that have seen record snowfalls already this year.  Earlier this evening Winter Storm Warnings were in place for Milwaukee on southward, where anywhere from 3 to 7 inches of snow could fall, now it looks like communities like Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, and Kenosha will only see an inch or so.  For us, our next chance for accumulating snow will be Thursday Night.  An Alberta Clipper looks to move through, bringing the chance of at least a couple inches.  On a side note.. The Brewers will enjoy perfect spring training weather in Arizona.  Spring Training Forecast: 80 and Sunny…um..for the next 10 days or so.  What does the weatherman do with his or her spare time?????

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Uncategorized

The latest snowstorm to move through the Midwest will stay well south of our area today and tonight. If you have travel plans to Milwaukee, Rockford, or Chicago during this time frame you could run into trouble as those locations are expecting 4 to 8 inches of heavy wet snow. Here in our area, the next chance of accumulating snow (maybe an inch or two) will be late Thursday into Friday morning as an Alberta Clipper moves in from Canada. Otherwise, the main thing you will notice this week is changing temperatures. We start out today with temps in the 30s. Tomorrow high temps will only reach 20 and then linger in the mid to upper teens on Wednesday. We will begin a slow climb back up to normal on Thursday when the mercury reaches the low to mid 20s. Then on Friday high temps should reach the mid to upper 20s and Saturday 30 is likely once again.

AGW NEWS

Anthropogenic global warming news seems to come in swarms and today we have plenty. There is even a new item to add to our big list of "bad things" that will happen because of AGW – collapsing oceanic food webs. According to this article, a warmer ocean will cause the numbers of small marine life at the bottom of the food chain to decline, causing a "catastrophic" ripple effect. This analysis of detrimental effects is of course based on the IPCC’s unrealistic business as usual carbon usage forecast for the next 100 years. The IPCC expects everyone to be driving cars and using gas yet in 2100. To go along with this story we also have Climate change has a big impact on the oceans which is pretty obvious – when the climate warms, the water warms and vice versa – and rapidly changing ocean circulation patterns are possible. Since the last two article are kind of vague, I’ll only add the collapsing oceanic food web to the list. Here is the updated list of bad things that will occur:

(collapsing oceanic food webs, sharks devastating Antarctic sea life, the drying up of Lake Mead by 2021, plant-devouring insect invasions, poor food quality, increased human mortality, solastalgia/mental illness, more wars, the past 1993 conflict in Somalia, more intense heat waves, more heat deaths, polar bears starving, Isle Royale Moose dying, Walruses dying, Penguins starving, Australian bats dying, more hurricanes, less hurricanes, more intense and bigger hurricanes, more stormy weather, rising oceans, more acidic oceans, California wildfires, more droughts, more floods, future disastrous declines in food production, coral reefs (hard and soft) dying, enormous extinctions of plant and animal species, massive loss of fish in the Bering Sea, the earth literally being torn apart, Amazon deforestation, a bigger ozone hole, a smaller ozone whole, less fresh water, more obesity, more hunger, more asthma, more allergies, more infectious disease, etc…)

Now I know that there are a lot of serious scientists doing valuable work and that a lot of the items on the list are quite plausible and could be very tough to deal with or adapt to. The point is to highlight some of the hyperbole surrounding AGW reporting and research. This list began in November of 2007. In three short months we have an disaster scenario even the four horsemen of of the Apocalypse could appreciate.

Speaking of warming, AGW is nothing compared to the forecast for the year 7,600,002,008 AD. That is the approximate time when the sun will be a red giant and completely vaporize the planet. Now that’s a disaster scenario. Yikes! I am not too worried though. By that time, I fully expect intelligent life from this planet to have technology sophisticated and powerful enough to control the sun. Really.

Speaking of the sun, one the satellites orbiting and studying the sun for that last few years is nearing the end of its life. The Ulysses spacecraft is having trouble keeping its fuel warm and will run out soon. It is basically freezing to death. It is not a big loss and was expected sometime in the next year or two. Ulysses has performed quite well since being launched way back in 1990. Another spacecraft that has been out there a while is Deep Impact. It is functioning so well that it has been assigned a new mission. Read the details here.

Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Uncategorized

The stretch of quiet weather will come to a close as we go into the start of the work week.  The storm system that we have been watching all weekend continues to push farther south with center of the low expected to move across central Illinois which means that we aren’t expecting a lot of snow.  The heaviest snow will fall across far southern Wisconsin where they’ve had near-record and record season snowfall already.  So, how much snow can we expect?  Along and south of Highway 29, including Wausau, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids and Marshfield can expect around 1-2 inches.  Areas south of Highway 10 including Necedah, Adams-Friendship, Arkdale and Wautoma can expect 2-3 inches.  There is the possibility that this system will continue to push more south and if that is the case, lesser snow amounts can be expected across the areas.  The Northwoods may end up with a couple of flurries, perhaps up to inch in a few places.   For many, less snow is probably a good thing!  As for timing, light snow will start later Monday afternoon and continue through early Tuesday before light snow tapers to snow showers and flurries.  As winds pick up on Tuesday, there may be some blowing snow, but it won’t be anything too significant.  Another chance for snow will come Thursday into Friday and perhaps later next weekend.

Now, what about temperatures?  It was seasonably mild this weekend with highs on Saturday in the middle to upper 20s and in the middle to upper 30s on Sunday (today).  A few places even sneaked above 40 degrees today!  Monday will feature temperatures around 30 degrees, but a falling trend will be in the works.  By Tuesday, temperatures will start out around 20 degrees and drop into the teens by Tuesday afternoon.  Temperatures will stay in the teens on Wednesday, but with blustery conditions both Tuesday and Wednesday, wind chills will likely fall below zero.  Now that we are getting into the later part of February, we are starting to get more daylight and blasts of cold air that come from Canada are shorter lived as warmer air from the south slowly progresses northward.  By the end of the week, temperatures will rebound into the 20s and back to seasonal levels by next weekend!

Also, an Air Quality Watch continues through Monday for the entire state with increased levels of fine particles that come from power plants, factories, car exhaust and outdoor fires expected to continue. In a stagnant air pattern like the one we are in now with very light winds and stable air, these fine particles become trapped in the lower levels of the atmosphere and can be easily breathed in, which is why the air is considered unhealthy. The Air Quality Index is in the orange level which means that the air is unhealthy for people who are in sensitive groups such as those who suffer from asthma, lung disease or other respiratory problems along with small children and the elderly. People in these sensitive groups should limit strenuous outdoor activity.

Well, that is all for tonight, have a great week!

Meteorologist Megan Syner

Posted under Science

Over the past month or so, we have been stuck in a very consistant pattern.  First we warm up.  Then the warmer air opens things up for active weather.  Then a snow storm, followed by a burst of cold air.  Sound Familiar…Well this pattern will somewhat continue yet it looks like the temperature extremes may start to shift on the warmer end. 

This weekend, we will continue to warm up.  Then a storm system is expected to move in on Monday.  Right now the bulk of the snow looks to fall south.  Then ‘of course’ the colder air returns right after.  But the cold push of air does not look nearly as cold, and the warm up to follow could be the warmest temperatures so far this year.  Maybe 40′s next weekend??? Still a long way away but still quite possible.  So overall as the season’s change, we can slowly expect warmer trends to be longer and milder, and cooling trends lasting not nearly as long.  Days are getting longer, and the sun is getting stronger…soon spring will be here.  But until then…let’s enjoy the great winter season that we have had!!!

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky 

Posted under Uncategorized

As we have been aluding to for much of the week, more quiet weather is in store for this weekend with lots of sunshine and milder temperatures.  Saturday will feature more sunshine with highs in the upper 20s to around 30 degrees while Sunday will have a few more clouds, but high temperatures in the lower to possibly middle 30s.  It looks like Sunday we may finally see temperatures get above average – the last time we had high temperatures actually above average was in early February.  So far, our temperatures are -6 degrees below average and we may end up being somewhere between 5 and 6 degrees below average by the end of the month.

If you are enjoying the quiet weather (I know we are) don’t expect it to last too long because by the early part of next we are watching our next storm system arrive.  There has been a lot more variability with this storm then the past few.  Earlier this week, it looked like the storm would track right over us giving us some significant snowfall, but over the past day, the storm seems to be taking more of a southerly track.  If this trend continues, only the southern portions of our viewing area can expect several inches of snowfall (mainly south of Hwy. 29) with only a couple inches from Hwy. 29 on north.  Keep in mind that this track will likely change which will dramatically change snow potential across the area.  Snow amounts will be higher across the area if the storm takes a more northerly track and and lower if the storm moves farther to the south.  We’ll be monitoring this storm very closely over the weekend so make sure to check back and watch TV-9/34 for updates!  One consistency with this storm is that behind it, more cold air will move into the area.  By the middle to end of next week, temperatures will fall back into the teens.  We are getting to the time of year where blasts of cold air are still common, but tend to be shorter and less dramatic.  This seems like it’ll be the case next week.  Looking at the long-range trends, a milder trend may be in store as we go into March, but we’ll have to wait and see…those who are anxious for Spring, keep your fingers crossed!  As much as I love the snow and all winter activities, I know I’m looking forward to being able to run and bike outside again!!!

I also wanted to bring up that there is an Air Quality Watch for particle pollution across central Wisconsin on Saturday.  The Northwoods were not included in this watch.  The Air Quality Index is forecasted to reach the orange level which means that air may be unhealthy for people who are in sensitive groups such as those who suffer from asthma, lung disease or other respiratory problems along with small children and the elderly.  With high pressure sitting on top of us today and Saturday, winds will be calm to very light so the air isn’t mixing as much.  The Wisconsin DNR tends to issue air quality statements when the air is expected to be stagnant for a period of time.  In other words, increased levels of fine particles that come from power plants, factories, car exhausts, etc. will linger across central Wisconsin.  Now this mainly affects those who are in sensitive groups as I mentioned earlier and people in these sensitive groups should just limit strenuous outdoor activity.  If you still have questions or would like further information on this topic, visit the DNR website by clicking on this link.

That is all for tonight, have a great weekend and enjoy the milder weather!

Meteorologist Megan Syner

Posted under Science