I have been keeping an eye on the remaining snow on Rib Mountain lately. It is getting down to the bare minimum but still hanging on. You can also see the snow by checking the skycam views at WAOW.com. During the morning I usually have the Corporate Cove skycam and the Downtown skycam focused on the remaining snow. If you check today, early on, there is some fog so you might not be able to see the snow. The heavy rain last night might have taken away a good chunk of the snow, but I suspect it won’t completely melt until sometime next week. All of the people who predict the date of the final snowmelt will win a $10 dollar gift card from the R-stores of Northcentral Wisconsin, plus this year there will be one grand prize winner – drawn randomly – that will win a $200 gift card from the R-stores of Northcentral Wisconsin.

So how much rain fell last night? It was 0.90 inches at the downtown airport in Wausau. Across most of the area reports were in the 0.50 to 1.0 inch range. Amounts were closer to 0.50 inches in the northwoods and a little over an inch west and south of Marathon county around Marshfield and Neillsville. In Wausau, our rainfall total for the month is now up to 3.02 inches. This is a pretty fair amount but a little below normal. Normal for Wausau in May is 3.54 inches. I would rather have above normal precipitation each month to help make up for the deficit we have experienced over the last 5 years.

Will we make it up to normal before the month is out? Unlikely. I am calling for a 30% chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon and a slight chance on Saturday evening, but it is unlikely that these thunderstorms, even if they did hit Wausau, would produce enough precipitation (half inch) to bring us up to or over normal. The good news is that the jet stream pattern will be active through next week so we will have more chances of significant precipitation on Tuesday and Wednesday. Other than the slight chance of rain this weekend, the weather looks quite nice with high temps reaching the low 70s on Saturday and in the mid 70s on Sunday.

Space News:

Phoenix Update. It looks like the robotic digging arm of Phoenix will be using it’s camera to take pictures of Phoenix this weekend. They want to check to see that all the feet are firmly on the ground. Unbeknownst to me the lander also has a LIDAR, which is a weather instrument that uses laser light to detect different things in the atmosphere. The LIDAR was made in Canada (according to the article linked above). Another good sign of cooperation in space. The ultimate mission goal of Phoenix is to search for signs of life or at least signs that life might have been possible at one point in the past. Some experts think the former oceans on Mars might have been too salty for life.

Have a great weekend! Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Uncategorized

I was talking about Peak Oil yesterday and mentioning how the Peak Oil theorists have been doing some readjusting of the peak and subsequent crash – when we will all be burning candles and starving – for a few years now but I did not have an exact date for the first predicted peak. According to the Wikipedia article on Hubbert’s Peak, Hubbert first predicted the peak in 1995. Looking around at various websites throughout the years, I have seen the date moved to the late 1990s, then to 2000, then to 2005, then to 2007, 2008, and there are a few scenarios that go out even further. What we have really reached is a peak in production capability not a peak in available oil. Many areas of the world have been legally put off-limits and/or are much more difficult to drill and thus there is little incentive to ‘produce’ that oil. As the price goes higher, these other locations will become more attractive (or more alternatives like solar will be developed).

Another problem with the theory of a crash is that Peak Oil theorists assume human society is static – that people will not react to higher oil prices – as if we would all just sit around and keep using oil at a break-neck pace until every last drop is gone. Society and the economy are dynamic and adjust to changing conditions. The current record high price of oil is already causing fundamental changes in people’s travel habits. It is also generating massive investment in alternatives. The higher the price of oil the faster people will change their lifestyle.

Within this discussion is another important point: the price of a commodity is the most important modulator of economic activity – and should be left alone. There is a general opinion among most of the public that the government should ‘do something’ to force the price lower. This would be an incredibly stupid thing to do. The high price is an indication of a tight supply and a warning about the future. If the price was made artificially low then more people would use this scarce resource, making it run out faster, and delay the adoption of better, safer, cleaner alternatives.

Speaking of alternatives, the Tesla Roadster is getting an engineering upgrade. Read about it here. More detailed technical specs can be found here. The new power train will boost the torque and extend the range by another 10 miles. Now Tesla needs to produce something affordable for the common man.

I am in the market for an electric car, but I will be waiting until one of my current cars breaks down. I get over 30 mpg with both my cars so I am not in a big hurry to switch. However, I am really getting tired of the high price of maintaining a gas cars. There are so many more parts on a gas car that break down and cost big bucks. Other people are talking about this as well.

Space News:

The big space news continues to be the successful landing of Phoenix on Mars. From reports I have read, the spacecraft will dig into the Martian surface for the first time next week. Some new pictures have arrived as well – in color. Here is a picture of the ‘color targets’. They use these targets to calibrate the camera so that it can take color photos. The large outside colored circles are actually magnets. These magnets keep Martian dust away from the smaller inner color calibration dots.

Here is a color image of the Martian landscape and part of the lander. It also has some sort of color calibration circles.

Lastly, a picture of old glory. That picture makes me a little nostalgic about the old space days of the 1960s and 70s. There was always an effort to ‘plant the flag’ or at least show the flag whenever a new space exploration milestone was reached. Even though I think there should be more collaboration in government sponsored space exploration, it is still nice to see the U.S. flag on another planet.

Present Weather:

Precipitation has been below normal so far this month of May so it is a good thing that we have a chance of heavy rain in most of the area tonight. How heavy? 1 to 2 inches is not out of the question for many locations. Even better news is that the threat of severe weather looks minimal at this point. Some of the thunderstorms rumbling through tonight could produce brief gusty winds or small hail but no widespread high wind or large hail is expected. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms will continue later in the day on Friday and then another slight chance will occur Saturday evening. Otherwise the weekend is looking pretty good with high temps in the low 70s on Saturday and in the mid 70s on Sunday.

Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Uncategorized

Well, we didn’t set too many records last night but it was very close in most locations. Here in Wausau the low was 34, just 2 degrees away from the record. In Wisconsin Rapids the record low was tied when the mercury dipped to 31 this morning. In Stevens Point the low temperature was 32 which was 1 degree away from the record. The coldest temps in the state were in the far north. Eagle River experienced a low temp of 28, Ashland had 27, and Land O’ Lakes went all the way down to 25.

It looks like the threat of frost is over for a while and hopefully for the rest of the growing season. Really, once we get into June, frost is quite rare outside of the cranberry bogs. We will experience a gradual warming trend for the rest of the week with high temps in the mid to upper 60s today and tomorrow, and near 70 on Friday. High temps should reach the low to mid 70s over the weekend. Rain will be the next concern as we head through the next few days. It looks like the highest chance of rain and thunderstorms will occur from Thursday evening through Friday morning. Computer model projections indicate a couple inches of rain is possible in the southern half of the area while a half inch or less will fall in the northland. The chance of rain is 50% in the north and 80% in the south. By Friday afternoon the rain and thunderstorm activity should diminish but there will be enough moisture in the atmosphere for a slight chance of thunderstorms to continue Friday evening and again Saturday afternoon. With dry conditions expected on Sunday, the weekend should turn out pretty nice.

AGW News:

A few new items have crossed the wire recently about AGW but only one of them will add to the "big list" of bad things that happened or will happen because of AGW. Chesapeake Bay will see dramatic loss of shoreline, beaches, and habitat because rising ocean levels due to AGW. Also, the ocean is becoming more acidic and will cause great loss of sea life. Both of these are already on the list. The new one is Caribou populations will decline because they will have less nutritious vegetation to eat. So here is the update list:

Caribou populations will decline, 1 in 8 bird species could go extinct, eucalyptus leaves will become less nutritious and Koala bears will die, the 2008 tropical storm disaster in Myanmar, Tropical bugs will not reproduce, toxic chemicals will pour out of glaciers, Narwhals will go extinct, more deadly algae blooms, more poverty, a massive increase in volcanic activity, new disease outbreaks from previously frozen corpses, irreversibly alter water circulation in Lake Tahoe, dramatically decreased rice production, fewer flowers in the Rocky Mountains, the Butterfly fish will starve, transportation system will be ruined, air pollution related deaths will increase, tropical fish could go deaf, more “ocean deserts”, more tundra wildfires, 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, more 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 (including King penguins), 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, …more to come

I am surprised we haven’t heard the record pace of tornadoes being blamed on AGW. I hope the tornado season quiets down before we see any hear in our area. The most recent deadly tornado in Parkersburg Iowa is now being rated as an EF5, the strongest rating in the Fugita scale. Here is a good article on the record pace of tornadoes this year. In the article you will also find a link to some Team Tornado videos which are pretty dramatic. The record number of tornadoes occurred in 2004 when there were 1,817.

Energy News:

With all the hype about AGW, it is good to see many people coming up with new energy solutions. I have been talking about electric cars as the way to go for some time now and it looks like the big car manufacturers are betting on this as well. GM is working on the Chevy Volt, while Toyota is building a new plant to produce the batteries needed for electric cars and hybrids. Toyota is also working on a dual mode vehicle, basically a half train – half bus vehicle. I have seen maintenance vehicles here in the U.S. with combined rail and road capability, but this takes it a step further. According to the article, this vehicle will use one fourth the amount diesel fuel that a regular bus would.

Another bit of good news is that a cellulosic ethanol plant is being built in Louisiana. The plant will make ethanol out of organic waste from sugar cane farms. While corn-based ethanol is a tough sell and doesn’t have a bright future, cellulosic ethanol could survive even in a fully developed electric economy because it uses cheap waste material in order to create fuel.

Speaking of an all electric economy, at least one influential German politician – Hermann Scheer – says it will be easy. (Unfortunately, you have to be a subscriber to read the entire article). Another thing he proclaimed is that the Kyoto accord is worthless. This is something I have been saying for years. Taxing fossil fuel usage and creating a worldwide economic recession or depression is a dumb move if you want to see new energy technology develop. Fossil fuel usage is a fact of life and it is responsible for our high quality of life. We can’t turn back the clock. We need to leverage our fossil fuel past into a new alternative energy future. Onerous climate regulation will only delay progress.

Space News:

More pictures from Mars. I am amazed by the clean "sparkly" appearance of the Phoenix spacecraft in this image. I wonder if the camera is better than the cameras on the Rovers or if it is so clean because it just landed and Martian dust hasn’t had time to build up yet. Here is another JPL page with some of the Phoenix photographs from the MRO. Wired also has a nice page with photos.

Here is something interesting: Jupiter’s giant red spot is changing. Two other red spots (storms) are developing near the giant red spot and might take its place, or the spots might temporarily disappear. This would be quite a change since the giant red spot has been visible for 300 years. It is one of the most permanent atmospheric phenomena in the solar system. It really makes you think about how long humans have been peering out into space and recording all we see. The giant red spot has always been there, now it might shrink or disappear.

Speaking of permanence, The Bigelow Aerospace habitat Genesis 1 has now logged 10,000 orbits around the earth. A good sign for those of you hoping for private space tourism in the near future.

Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Uncategorized

With over 20 different severe warnings issued through Sunday and Sunday evening, we got are first taste of what storm based warnings have to offer.  If you remember, the National Weather Service has changed its ways of issuing warnings.  Warning are now issued more specifically, for example southeast Marathon County.  I think this is a good change when it comes to alerting a specific area, and pinpointing exactly where the severe weather may occur.  However, I must say when we have multiple storms, I can see where viewers may think things may be getting a little cluttered and confusing.  For Example, numerous times on Sunday, we had more than one severe thunderstorm warning for a given county.  Say there was a severe thunderstorm warning for a storm in eastern Vilas County until 5:30 p.m., and also a severe thunderstorm warning for Southwestern Vilas County for an approaching storm from the west until 6:00 p.m..   With time I think this will become easier to get used to, but right now I can see how we may confuse more people than alert.  We have an upcoming seminar with the National Weather Service later this week.  I will bring this up, and at the very least come up with the best possible way we can get the information across in a clear manner.  I anyone has any comments on this matter please do so.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Uncategorized

Wow! That is all I can say about our recent cool weather trend. May will end up being the 6 out of the last 7 months with below normal temps. In fact, May will end up about 5 degrees below normal! The most interesting part of this cool spell is that there have not been any record low temps. The closest we have come is a tie. The low temperature on March 8th was -13 which tied the old record. Tomorrow morning we might finally break a record, which is not a good thing because the old record for the 28th of May is 32 set back in 1947. It is now the growing season and anytime the temperature gets near 32 it causes gardeners and cranberry growers a little heartburn. Right now I am forecasting a low of 33 here in Wausau and that is cold enough for me to cover up my peppers and lemon tree…just in case. If you live in the Northwoods, just plan on covering everything or bringing everything in…for a second night in a row. Low temps will bottom out in the mid to upper 20s and therefore a FREEZE WATCH has already been posted for Price, Iron, Ashland, Vilas, Oneida, Lincoln, Langlade, Forest, and Florence counties. Later this afternoon a frost advisory might be hoisted as well for central Wisconsin. The one thing that might prevent some frost in the southern half of the area (south of Marathon county) is some cloudiness moving up from the south.

Will tonight be the last frost of the season? I can’t guarantee it, but the chances are very unlikely, except in traditional low lying cold spots such as cranberry bogs. The La Nina weather pattern is weakening a little so hopefully this will mean a bit warmer trend. In the big scheme of things we probably cannot blame it all on La Nina because the weather does go in cycles. The last couple decades have been warmer than normal. Maybe we are now entering a bit cooler phase.

At least we will have a bit warmer weather later this weak. High temps today will only reach the upper 50s to low 60s. Tomorrow the mercury should climb into the mid to upper 60s. Thursday will be a very nice day with mostly sunny skies and high temps in the low 70s. Thursday night and Friday a storm system will cross the state and bring a 60% chance of thunderstorms. The storm should move east of the area by Saturday but there will be enough moisture around for a slight chance of thunderstorms Saturday afternoon. Sunday should be dry once again with high temps in the 70s.

Peak Oil News

Last year you might remember that I delved into the conflicting theories of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) and peak oil. Here is the gist of it: AGW theorists expect that fossil fuel usage will continue to increase dramatically for the rest of this century and thus cause environmental Armageddon and the death of most people, animals, and plants on the planet. Peak Oil theorists expect we will run out of oil very soon (according to predictions it could happen any day now) and this will cause a collapse of human society and the death of most people in the world. You will obviously notice the conflict. One theory says there is a nearly inexhaustible supply of fossil fuels while the other says we are just about out. Who is correct? As is the case in most conflicts like this, there is a little truth to both. While we still have enough oil to keep the world going for many decades, it is getting harder to get the oil out of the ground and thus it seems like world oil production has peaked at about 85 million barrels a day. This production will likely decline in coming decades – decline enough to cause price spikes – but not so rapidly to destroy society. This hasn’t stopped some people from preparing for the worst by moving into the country and planning to "live off the land". I find this option strangely attractive, mainly because I grew up on a farm and enjoy the outdoors. There is something "real" about being close to the land. However, I think a lot of folks forget how hard the farm/natural life is. Industrial and now post industrial society developed because people wanted something better. They didn’t want to be at the mercy of mother nature. I would rather find new solutions to keep our standard of living high and moving higher than return to completely living off the land.

To assuage any fears of Peak Oil, remember that Hubbert originally predicted Peak Oil in the late 1990s. When it didn’t happen, Peak Oil theorists moved the date up to 2005, then to 2007, then to 2008, and now somewhere in the near future (a couple years). The production and use of oil is a dynamic process. When the supply is tight, the price goes up and people use less. People conserve. People switch to alternatives. As long as governments don’t meddle with the free market, this process of adjustment will continue and keep us out of trouble. The best way to deal with the high price of energy is to invent/engineer new solutions. If you want to be the next billionaire, come up with new ways to produce energy such as new solar panels, other energy technology, or new energy efficient appliances. Not only would you be rich, you would help society as a whole. The second best option is to conserve energy. It is surprisingly easy. Here is a website sponsored by We Energy with 101 tips for saving energy around the home. One that you might not think of is turning the temperature down while boiling something on the stove. You don’t need to have the burner on high in order to boil your food. You can start on high an then turn it down. It will boil on medium or medium high and cook the food in about the same amount of time, all the while you will be saving energy and money. A lot of these things will only save a few pennies at a time but will add up over time. You could be saving a few hundred up to a thousand dollars a year. The worst way to deal with high energy prices is to sit around and whine about it or pressure politicians to sue or tax energy companies into oblivion. This will only make things much much much worse.

Another trend that should keep you thinking positive is that more solar power plants are going into operation every month. Here is an article with predictions of future solar power production. Also, check out this photo gallery of the different types of solar production. Even if oil declines dramatically, we have other ways to produce energy. Things would be tough, but we would make it through.

Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Uncategorized

In regards to yesterday’s storms…given the ingredients or elements in place yesterday afternoon, I think overall we faired pretty well, and may have dodged a very dangerous situation.  A very strong tornado touched down in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, with several other touchdowns in Iowa.  By the time the storms pushed into our area, we were already losing peak heating from the day, which may have been our saving factor.  We did have some pretty good hail reports, particularly with the first batch of storms across the far north.  Two inch hail was reported in St. Germain, Arbor Vitae, Eagle River, and Lac Du Flambeau.  We also had quite a bit of hail with the second round of storms, along with some high wind gusts.  Tree and barn damage was reported in Mosinee and Thorp.  For complete list of storm reports check out the links…Storm Reports 1… and Storm Reports 2.

On a chillier Note…We have Freeze Warnings in place for the northwoods tonight.  A cold front has swept through area bring much cooler temperatures and stiff wind out of the north.  Overnight low temperatures will fall around or below freezing in the warned counties.  Even counties not in the freeze warning will see some frost tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow night will be even colder yet, with some record low temperatures expected.  So tonight and tomorrow night be sure to bring in or cover and plants or flowers you don’t want harmed by the cold.  For tips on protecting you plants ..check this out.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Uncategorized

The big news in the weather continues to be the number of tornadoes and tornado deaths in the country. Just yesterday, tornadoes in Iowa and Minnesota were responsible for another 8 deaths (according to some reports). This would bring the total number of tornado fatalities up to around 108 so far in 2008. This is a very high number in the modern era of high tech warning systems and doppler radar. Some of the increase seems to be related to chance. Many tornadoes this year are hitting populated urban areas instead of rural farmland. Maybe people are not taking the warnings seriously enough. Please take the warnings seriously. Here in Wisconsin, tornado deaths have been very rare over the last decade. Let us keep it that way this year. Whenever a tornado watch is issued stop and think for a second about your surroundings and where might be the best place to go if a tornado does eventually develop. When a tornado warning is issued for your town seek shelter immediately. If the active tornado season continues we might end up with a few in our area. Here at the Doppler 9000 storm center we will do our best to provide the most up to date and relevant severe weather information.

The thunderstorms in our area yesterday produced large hail up to 2 inches in diameter and sporadic wind damage but no tornadoes. You can see a complete list of the storm reports here at the SPC website. The positive aspect of the storms is that we ended up with a good amount of rain. Here in Wausau we received 0.71 inches. Most areas affected by the storms ended up with 0.50 to 1.00 inches.

Here are some pictures of the hail from yesterday:

The first picture was from Tim Bulba of Plover, the second from Rich and Nicole Belmore of Eagle River, the third from Debbie Widish of Minocqua.

Now it looks like the weather will cool down and dry out for a couple days. The next chance of rain will hold off until late Friday and into Saturday. High temps should be around 70 today, then drop down to around 60 tomorrow before rising into the mid 60s Wednesday, and back into the low 70s on Thursday. On Friday and Saturday the mercury should remain around 70. The main concern will be the chance of frost over the next two nights. For late tonight into Tuesday morning there is a FREEZE WATCH in effect for Price, Iron, and Ashland counties. Scattered frost is also possible in a few other locations in the northwoods, generally north of highway 8 where the clouds clear out the quickest tonight. Late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning frost is likely across the entire area – EVEN IN TOWN! I usually feel pretty safe planting my garden a little earlier than I would if I lived in the country. The nights are usually warmer in town. This year I already have a lot peppers in the ground that I might need to cover. If you have any tomatoes planted – beware of the frost Wednesday morning.

Space News:

Of course the big news over the weekend was the successful landing of Phoenix on Mars. Phoenix is a stationary spacecraft/probe that will dig into the Martian soil and conduct chemical experiments on the samples. Read about it here and here. See some pictures here. The landscape at the Martian poles is a little different than around the equator. This is the first spacecraft to land in the polar region of Mars. Scientists hope to find evidence of life in this area because the is frozen water in the ground. I am unsure when they will start digging into the soil, but I’ll be sure to let you know.

Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Uncategorized

There is a Tornado Watch in effect for Clark, Taylor, Jackson and Monroe counties until 9:00 pm Sunday evening. A Tornado Watch means that conditions are favorable for severe weather including tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds to develop. This is considered a particularly dangerous situation so remain alert for rapidly changing weather conditions, keep an eye to the sky (watch for towering and darkening clouds) and stay tuned to TV-9/34 for the latest forecast updates and any warnings that may issued!!!

A wave of energy moving along a cold front will be the focus for severe weather development as we go into the evening. As of 2:30 pm, a tornado watch extends into the far western counties of our viewing area, but I suspect this watch will be extended once storms start to develop and head east so even though several counties are not in the current Tornado Watch box, be prepared for threatening weather later this afternoon and evening. Conditions will be favorable to develop and sustain strong to severe thunderstorms with warm, moist air and ample wind shear (winds turning and increasing with height) across the area ahead of an approaching cold front/wave of energy that is acting as a lifting mechanism. Thunderstorms will likely initiate this afternoon over MN and then move into western Wisconsin sometime between 4 and 6 pm. These storms will likely be fast-moving and contain damaging winds up to and exceeding 60 mph, large hail, dangerous lightning, heavy rain and tornadoes. If you haven’t already made a back-up plan, now is the time to do so! Be prepared to go indoors and take shelter in a sturdy building until the storm has passed.

Posted under Science

Hopefully you got to spend some time outdoors today – it was gorgeous outside with comfortable temperatures and lots of sunshine.  Unfortunately, the nice weather will not continue into Sunday.  In fact, there is the possibility for some severe weather.  Here is the latest severe weather outlook from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK:

A warm front pushing through the area tonight is already producing a few rain and embedded thunderstorms across eastern Minnesota and its still questionable how much that line will hold together.  We still have quite a bit of dry air at the surface so I think it’s going to take some time for that dry air to be overcome.  Nevertheless, with the convection already firing along the front, I think showers and a few thunderstorms will push through parts of the viewing area late tonight, I’d say sometime between 2 and 4 am.  As the warm front passes through Sunday morning, there may be some residual clouds around which will inhibit severe thunderstorm develop early in the day.  However, there will be a surge of warm, moist air behind the front and I suspect there will be some clearing as well.  With ample warm, moist air spreading into the region ahead of an approaching cold front it won’t take much sunshine to create enough instability for strong to severe thunderstorms to form.  All three ingredients will be present – warm air, moisture and a lifting mechanism!  Some storms may contain large hail, damaging winds, dangerous lightning and even an isolated tornado. Storms will likely initiate over far western/southwestern Wisconsin during the early to mid-afternoon hours and continue to push eastward into the viewing area during the afternoon/evening.  If you have outdoor plans for Sunday, I highly advise you to either have a back-up plan or have a place to get inside in the event that severe weather impacts the area.  Keep an eye to the sky and watch for towering and darkening clouds – this is the first sign that a strong storm may be forming and you can take cover before it actually develops!  Also, make sure to carry a NOAA Weather Radio if you will be outside and stay tuned to TV-9/34 for the latest updates as well as any watches/warnings that may be issued in the event that severe weather affects the area.

I know we talk about this every year but it is important that you know the difference between a watch and a warning.  When a WATCH is issued, it means that conditions are favorable for development and this is the time when you should start to put your back-up plan in place.  When a WARNING is issued it means that a storm is already occurring and you should take shelter immediately!!!

We will keep you posted with the latest advisories/watches/warnings so stay tuned to TV-9/34!!!  Stay safe!

Meteorologist Megan Syner

Posted under Science

Before the forecast, another really bad idea with regards to the high price of oil. There have been some rumblings of tapping the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in order to bring down the price of oil. This is really bad mojo – as if suing OPEC or stealing profits from oil companies wasn’t bad enough. The SPR currently holds 700 million barrels of oil. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it. Compared to the amount the U.S. uses everyday it is not that much. The U.S. burns through 20 million barrels a day. Therefore the SPR would only last 35 days if we had to completely replace our regular supply. In reality, only 4 million barrels can be extracted per day due to technical limitations, so it is about a 175 day supply. The main point here is that the SPR is supposed to be for emergencies! An emergency such as Iran closing down the straights of Hormuz and shutting off  30% or more of the world oil supply. Right now there is no emergency. There is pain at the pump but at least there is gas in the pump. It really steams people to pay $4 per gallon, but it isn’t a crisis. The country is still chugging ahead.

A secondary point is that releasing oil from the SPR would not have much affect, if any at all, on the price of oil. World demand is so high that any extra oil coming onto the market would be bought and used immediately. So not only would we be weakening our fail safe oil option, the price of gas would stay just about where it is at.

What makes the most sense is to find new solutions for getting around, specifically developing a new source of energy. The first country to move away from fossil fuels will be a world leader. I would rather see the U.S. lead the world in a new direction than just sit around using dirty fossil fuels for the next century while other countries take the lead.

Weekend Forecast

It looks very nice for today and tomorrow with plenty of sunshine and high temps reaching the mid to upper 60s today and the lower 70s on Saturday. Sunday is the day when you might have to dodge some rain. I am forecasting a 50% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday. It looks like there will be one round of scattered showers in the morning and then there could be some redevelopment in the afternoon. High temps should be in the low to mid 70s. On Memorial Day there is still a slight chance of showers in the southern half of the area, but most areas, especially from Marathon county on north should be dry. More sunshine and slightly cooler weather will return for Tuesday and Wednesday with high temps in the mid to upper 60s.

Severe Weather:

When thunderstorms move through our area on Sunday, there is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms, and there is even a slight chance of tornadoes. Hopefully, it will not be as bad as what has happened in other parts of the country so far this year. Here is a table of the monthly tornado statistics so far this year. The unofficial count is 1,005 tornadoes so far with 100 deaths attributed to those twisters. Both of these numbers are on a record pace. You will notice on the table that last year was very similar from February through May, then things settled down quite a bit for the summer. Hopefully this will be the case again this year. I don’t want to see any towns destroyed here in Northcentral Wisconsin.

Space News:

A big event happening this weekend is the landing of the Phoenix Science Laboratory on Mars. It is supposed to occur on Sunday, so hopefully we will have news and pictures on Monday. Here is an article from JPL about the landing site. Here is another article describing different possible landing sites. The one thing I still am a bit mystified about is why the lander will be stationary. It seems we have learned how to put wheels on these things, why not this one? What if it lands in a poor spot for sampling the Martian soil? If it had some form of locomotion, it could easily move and find a better spot.

Have a super holiday weekend! Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Uncategorized