Yesterday it was windy! Gusts around the area averaged in the 30’s but there were a few places that peaked with gusts over 40 most in the evening.  Here are a few of the highest gusts:

Medford 40 mph

Wausau 43 mph

Rhinelander 43 mph

Antigo 44 mph

Waupaca 45 mph

Marshfield 46 mph

Clintonville 46 mph

Wisc Rapids 50 mph

Most people have heard of “The Perfect Storm” since it was a major motion picture but I think alot of people forget that it is actually called the Halloween Storm because it occurred on October 31st, 1991.  This is when all the ingredients came together to make a storm that usually occurs once every 50 to 100 years.  To find more info you can check out some of the links below:

1) A nice recap of the storm

2) Storm Track with Pictures

3) Synopsis by NOAA

4) Blog about the Storm

We saw warm temps yesterday but today it was a completely different story.  It is going to be even cooler tonight with low dropping into the 20’s!  People are going to need their winter jacket over their costume.  It is so funny that we live in a place that can see every kind of weather on Halloween.  Today we woke up to snow in north! Hard to believe tomorrow is the first day of November, we have basically seen November like weather all October!

Happy Halloween! Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Storms, Weather History, Winter Weather

The Law of Averages has proven true over the last two months.  We followed a warm and record dry September withwhat will be one of the coldest and wettest Octobers ever.  What a tale of two months.  In September it was sunny nearly everyday…we didn’t even see a quarter inch of rain the entire month.  So far this October we have seen at least a trace of precipitation on 20 out of the 30 days…totalling over 5 inches!!!  For Wausau, this will officially go down as the 8thwettest month on record.  It is also the 7thwettest month on record for Rhinelander.

N.W.S. Wet October Statement..

The monthly temperatures won’t break any records but it’s interesting to note that we went from 3 degrees above average in September to nearly 6 degrees below average in October!!  So if it felt like fall hit really hard this year, you weren’t imagining it. 

I think the fluctuation in temperature also did a number on this year’s fall foliage.  To me it seemed like the vibrant colors were really down this year.  I think we can 100% contribute that to the weather.  The leaves were able to hold strong with very little color change in September…then wham!!!..the weather was almost like November.  The leaves died just like that; turning dark bland colors and some not even changing at all before they fell. 

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Uncategorized

It is Friday so I don’t want to end the week of blog entries on a sour note, but I can’t help it. Hypocrisy is running rampant. I read this article today about how China is doing better than the U.S. in somemeasures of green (environmentally friendly) initiative. First, I can’t accept at face value, everything that the Chinese government reports. If people don’t believe half the information that comes from the U.S. government they should be twice as skeptical of the data coming from an authoritarian government such as China. Secondly, China is the most polluted country on earth and some of their polluted air crosses the Pacific and pollutes our air as well (aerosol and particulate pollution). China is also the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and ABSOLUTELY REFUSES TO SIGN ANY INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL WARMING TREATIES. Why do they get a pass on this? Why is Newscientist tripping over themselves write about China in such glowing terms? Let me tell you this, if the U.S. refused to sign any new AGW treaties, the condemnation would be unparalleled. Everyone would be caterwauling about how the U.S. is leading the way to the destruction of the environment, the oceans, polars bears, and what-not. Newscientist is already dumping on the U.S. (past articles) for not agreeing to larger emission cuts, even before any ink is dry.

Here is an interesting quote from this article:

“China is making substantial progress in controlling its emissions of climate gases,” says Deborah Seligsohn, the author of the WRI report. “The challenge for US-China collaboration in climate change mitigation is for each country to understand the other’s approaches, and to find creative solutions when those approaches don’t align.”

So the international community is supposed to understand China and work with them, while trashing the U.S. no matter what it does. I know some rather jaundiced commentators that would claim that since many environmentalists organizations are really “socialist” or “communist” in nature, they feel a kinship with the Chinese government, and thus go easy on them. I don’t know if this is true. I do know that China is making an effort to install more alternative energy and this should be applauded, but I don’t understand why they get a pass on new AGW treaties. I could go on-and-on about human rights violations, oppression in Tibet, the 3 gorges dam, and other issues, but it is Friday….end rant.

As far as weather goes for the weekend, it looks like a breezy afternoon today and again a breezy start to Saturday. For trick-or-treaters, it will be rather cold. The wind will die down by 6 or 7 in the evening but it will still feel cold as the temperature will be falling into the 30s during the normal trick-or-treating hours. At least it will be dry. The weather also looks dry for the big Packer-Viking game on Sunday. It is a late afternoon game and skies should be partly to mostly cloudy. The game time temps will be around 48 with temps dropping into the low 40s by the end of the game. Go Packers! For next week, high temps will remain in the 40s and it still looks like we could see a significant stretch of mild and tranquil weather during the 2nd week of November. Perhaps a few days with highs in the 50s.

A couple other follow up items:

The Ares 1X rocket developed a large dent at some point in its flight. Mission engineers are investigating but do not seem too concerned at this point, judging by the tone of the article.

The Global Green Challenge has a winner! The “Challenge” is the annual solar car race across Australia. This year’s winner is from Japan. Here is a video of the winning car crossing the finish line. They did a great job making the finish seem exciting and I liked the music, however, I was disappointed at the lack of a crowd at the finish line. The applause was anemic. I felt a little sorry for the driver after his important victory.  One would think this famous race would draw more of a crowd. Maybe they need to have the finish line be in a stadium or in a larger city where people can line the streets or something.

Here is an update on some highly speculative engineering that I first reported on last year – the EMdrive. It is a relativistic engine that is supposed to produce thrust (similar to a rocket thruster) even without any outside energy input. It is a closed system. The EMDrive uses resonant microwaves in a tapered chamber to create the thrust. I don’t even pretend to know the detailed mathematics and physics behind it, but it is plausible enough to draw interest from around the world. Many governments are working on the EMDrive and no one is talking about it. The inventor, of course, claims it works just fine, but it has yet to be publicly demonstrated. Even though there is some wiggle room within relativity theory and quantum mechanics to come up with “free energy”, these things almost always end up being mistakes (in the calculations) or cases of fraud.

Have a nice weekend! Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under AGW, Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Environment, Science, Space

The other day I was driving up to Phillips for a school talk.  Almost all the leaves were gone already but it still looked pretty from all these needles that had turned orange on the other trees.  I really wondered what was going on.  I had just met with a Natural Resources prof about why leaves change color but didn’t go into the Conifers we mainly had discussed the Deciduous trees.

Ironically I came back and we had received to nice pictures from Ed Reid in Minocqua taken up north by Arbor Vitae.  This all intrigued me more.

I researched but could not find near the amount I could find on the changing o fleaves.  What I have found out is that different conifers shed in different years.  Before they loose the needles they turn the orange color shown above.  Some species turn every year because they loose their needles every year while others can be up to seven years.  It is thought that pine drop every at least every three years while spruce can hold theirs up to seven years.  Alot of owners get alarmed when they begin to see their needles changing colors but most need not to be aware because it is a natural occurrence.

In our state the tamarackis the only tree that changes color and sheds all of its needles in the fall.  It is not considered an evergreen and is mainly in Northern Wisconsin.  I am going to assume this is mostly what I was seeing!

For more info this was the best website I found.       

Here is the kids I visited in Phillips:

Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Uncategorized

The Aires 1X rocket finally lifted off yesterday. Here is an article reviewing the launch, which was near perfect. Another article highlights the super-sonic vapor cone that developed as the rocket broke the sound barrier. You can see the vapor cone in this video of the launch as well. It is around the 1 minute and 20 second mark. Scientists are not completely certain how the supersonic vapor cone forms but it occurs as planes and rockets break the sound barrier. I suspect that the sound waves breaking around the front of the plane or rocket create an area of low pressure which causes the moisture in the air to condense. How the low pressure is initially created and expanded, that is the crux of the issue that remains unresolved, and is some pretty complicated physics.

I was reviewing some recent alternative energy news yesterday and it reminded me of the Solar Decathlon. The 2009 contest just finished and the winners have been announced. Here is a picture gallery of the event and some of the energy efficient house designs. I would love to have one of those houses as my own, even if they are a bit small. I can’t imagine living in a house with zero or near zero energy costs (no heating or electric bill). I know a few folks around Northcentral Wisconsin have instituted energy efficiency into their homes and I am jealous. They have incorporated things such as geothermal heat and solar panels into new homes. Being that my house is old (over 100 years old) and I live in town, it restricts my ability to modify things. Another restriction is cost. Alternative energy designs are still quite expensive (unless you are a very capable do-it-your-selfer). I didn’t see a run down of the costs of the houses built for the Solar Decathlon but I know in past years some of these lilliputian houses cost almost a quarter million to build. The winning design from Germany was almost completely covered with solar panels. I know that ain’t cheap.

And to stay on the alternative energy topic, wind turbines could be made more efficient if they used a continuously variable transmission (CVT) to deliver steady alternating current to the grid. The problem is that CVTs are not tough enough to stand up to the demanding stress/torque that is inherent in the world’s largest wind turbines. One of the companies that received a government energy grant thinks it has found a solution with a new CVT design and it will be undergoing more extensive tests over the next year.

And an update on the changing weather pattern. Once again today, the extended range computer models are showing a milder trend and a zonal jet stream pattern during the first half of November. This should mean above normal temperatures and not much heavy precipitation next week and perhaps the week after. Right now it looks like high temps will be in the 40s early next week and then rise into the 50s late next week. I know many of you welcome this news, the only problem is that we might not have much precipitation. The latest US Drought Monitor indicates improving drought conditions here in Wisconsin and I would welcome a continuation of the wet weather we experienced during most of October in order to keep drought in the rear view mirror.

Have a good Thursday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Alternative Energy, Drought, Space

The snow is really starting to pile up from the eastern plains of Colorado to Denver Metro and up into the Mountains.  A few spots in the foothills have already received up to 30 inches of snow!!!!…with at least another foot expected.  Downtown Denver may end up with almost 2 feet of snow.

Here are the latest totals as of Wednesday evening…

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=BOU&product=LSR&issuedby=BOU

And the latest N.W.S. forecast statement…pretty crazy..imagine if this was your forecast leading into Halloween..

http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=bou&wwa=winter%20storm%20warning

As of Wednesday evening it looks like I-70…pretty much the only way through the mountains…is still open. 

Below here are some shots from the freeway traffic cameras…

I would not want to be driving there…

This same storm will bring us rain and possibly a thunderstorm tomorrow night.  We will be on the warm side of things so only wet stuff is expected.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Winter Weather

We are still about 10 days away from our next monthly El Nino update (there are weekly updates but in my view the weekly variations do not accurately represent the long term trend) and the weather pattern is starting to look more like an El Nino pattern, which makes me wonder if it has strengthened in the last couple weeks. An El Nino pattern for the U.S. would be when the jet stream flows zonally (west to east) across the country – basically straight across with no bends or curves (areas where storms form). For most of October we have seen a very amplified (non-zonal) jet stream flow. This has routinely brought cold air from the north/arctic into Northcentral Wisconsin. There are hints (no guarantee) that a zonal jet stream pattern and warmer than normal weather will develop during the second week of November and stick around for a while. If it does stick around a couple of weeks, it could be a sign of things to come for the winter. We will know more when the next El Nino update is released.

Alternative Energy News:

The Volt might have an uphill climb to claim a large market share of EVs but at least it is now out climbing hills on the freeway. The first beta-Volts recently took a drive from Michigan to West Virginia to find out how they perform in real world situations.

While the Volt is taking its “first steps”, the Tesla Roadster is setting records. During the Global Green Challenge in Australia, a Tesla Roadster traveled 313 miles on one charge. That is pretty awesome considering the current battery technology and that the stated range on one charge is only 240 miles. Maybe they had the wind at their back. Now all we need is for the price to come down.

One of the most expensive parts of the Tesla (and Volt for that matter) is the battery. The lithium ion batteries are the best choice right now but do not produce a super range for the price. What might help is lithium air batteries – which I have discussed in the blog before – but they still have some technological and safety hurdles to overcome. What is closer at hand is zinc-air batteries. A Swiss company has developed a new zinc-air battery that will theoretically be half the cost of lithium ion batteries while delivering 3 times the power. I am not sure how this will translate to the range on EVs, but it has the potential to be a game-changer in the short term. The company is so far only producing very small button batteries and it will probably take a couple years before they have car-sized batteries. Batteries (or energy storage technologies in general) were the lion-share a list of 5 things needed for an energy revolution – compiled by the Wall Street Journal.

Something else in the prototype stage is the Nissan Landglider vehicle, which looks like one of those concept cars that will never make it onto the highway. However, rumor has it that it might be picked up by Infinity. The prototype fits 2 people but rear-impact safety requirements will likely mean it is a 1-seater if it ever comes out for sale. Some other interesting vehicles were recently displayed at the Tokyo Auto Show.

On the wind energy front it isn’t as rosy or simple as it looks. Developers such as Boone Pickens have found red tape is restricting more building of wind turbines. What is needed are new high voltage power lines from the remote wind turbines to urban areas. Pickens had trouble getting local officials to allow new power lines and permits for new wind turbines. Some environmentalists are also concerned about the impact of turbines on birds and bats. Although the problem is not huge, it is not known what long term effects will occur on local populations. Another negative effect on wind turbine operation I was not aware of is icing. Apparently it is a problem in the midwest. Icing causes the turbine to become unbalanced and operate inefficiently. If there is enough ice, the turbine might stop altogether. A possible solution: put heating elements in the blades.

Fuel cells and the “hydrogen economy” may have fallen out of the limelight for the time being, but the US Navy is still experimenting with this form of clean propulsion. They have been testing a fuel cell plane recently. The very small spy-type autonomous aircraft (the Ion Tiger) flew just over 23 hours on fuel cell power alone.

Not only are alternative energy technologies coming to big things like cars, batteries packs, planes, and wind turbines, they are making their way into everyday products as well. A backpack that had flexible solar panels was recently displayed at the Hong Kong technology show. The solar panel is meant for charging things like mp3 players and cell phones when you are not near an outlet.

Have a nice Wednesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Alternative Energy, ENSO Update

First I want to follow up on some technology I have been tracking for the last couple of years and that is LED lighting. What should be a “true revolution in lighting” is having a tough time getting into the market place. Here is an article reviewing some recent developmentsin LEDs (not only for lighting but for flat screen TVs as well). Also, some researchers have calculated that the lifetime cost of LEDsmight be the same as compact fluorescent bulbs, which is somewhat of a surprise, however, I would estimate LEDs still have a lot of room for improvement. I have been using a couple different LED bulbs in my house for the last 2 years and they seem to be doing fine. Still, judging by the data in the articles, it looks like we will be waiting a couple more years for a chance of screwing LEDs en masse into our light sockets.

I am excited about the LED bulbs for the potential energy and cost savings. It doesn’t take much prodding for me to test out new energy saving ideas. When I saw this article “Scientists Say Greenhouse Gas Cuts Start at Home” I thought they might be talking about me, since i have blogged about saving energy for years now. It got me to thinking about the different ways I save energy at home. I am a fairly miserly fellow when it comes to energy use (and saving money). Here are some things I do, and I don’t suggest these are good for everyone.

1. I have plastic on many of my windows.
2. I got new siding, in part, to increase the R value of my walls.
3. The thermostat is set at 63 F all winter long.
4. I limit my shower time to about 1-2 minutes.
5. I have a front loading washer which uses less water.
6. During the winter, I open the window shades/curtains during the day and close them at night to better manage the natural sunlight and resultant heat.
7. I only use the air conditioner at night when the temperature is over 80 degrees in the house.
8. I have started unplugging gadgets and appliances that are not being used.
9. I don’t let my tea pot whistle. Now that is getting miserly…lol. I find that the water is plenty hot even before the pot starts to whistle. I only save a tiny fraction of a percent off my total energy bill by turning the burner off, but it is something.
10. Of course you know that both my cars get over 30 mpg.

You might also know that I encourage people to save energy (and money) but I don’t advocate forcing people to adopt certain practices, whether it be through laws/regulations or increased taxes. I just don’t like the feeling of all-controlling bureaucrats dictating everyone’s life. Before you know it, they will be taking away our cars, our food options, and even pets. Yes, Pets! Don’t you know they are bad for the environment? Some researchers have calculated that a medium to large sized dog has more negative environmental impact than an SUV!! Here is the article. It is not a farce. I was frightened when I read this, because I am the guardian of a couple cats and I love them. I shudder to think that in the name of limiting greenhouse gases, that pet companionship would be restricted or outlawed. Looking at the “greenhouse gas” or environmental aspect of typical pets is only one part of the equation. For those of us who have pets, we know there are numerous and important intangible benefits of having a pet. Not only that, it has been shown through studies that household pets lift the mood of people (especially the elderly) and reduce the incidence of allergies in children.

And to complete the encroaching regulation theme for today’s post, at least one researcher does not want to stop at regulating and limiting carbon dioxide emissions. Stacy Jackson from the University of California Berkeley is hoping world leaders will eventually regulate all types of effluent that might contribute to AGW (anthropogenic global warming), which is pretty much everything that humans emit into the atmosphere, from methane, to ozone, to soot.

I would have covered the ARES-1X launch but at the time of this writing it had not taken off. Also, it wasn’t going into orbit today and it won’t be carrying humans for a couple more years either, so it is not the most spectacular event.

Have a fine Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under AGW, Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Environment, Pollution, Space

First I’d like to thank everyone for the recent comments on the “Weather Channel Movie blog”.  I especially liked the remark about how you don’t even get music on the Country Music Channel anymore.  Ha..that’s so true…when was the last time you turned a music channel(Vh1,MTV,CMT) and actually saw a music video.  Let’s hope the day doesn’t come when you can’t get a forecast from the Weather Channel….well we’ll still have weather here:)

Exciting times in the Rocky Mountains as the ski season is now underway!!! A-Basin is now open and sports a modest 18 inch base.  This time of year always makes me think of my time out there.  The resort is the first to open in Colorado.  Wolf Creek should be the next..expected to open on Halloween.  Check out the pics I grabbed today from A-Basin’s webcam.

Pretty Narly!!!!!!!!!!!!

A lot more snow is expected across the west this week…winter storm warnings have been posted.  This storm will hopefully get the season off to a great start! 

Our ski season is also just around the corner.  I’m sure the first chance Granite Peak gets, they’ll start making snow.  They usually like consistent nights in the 20’s to start making snow.  As of right now, a stretch like that is not in the forecast.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Winter Weather

I have had many people send in and ask me questions about why leaves change colors.  Since the season is finally to it’s end I thought I would explain how the process works.  I blogged about it last year on here but this year I explained in more detail on my new page www.waow.com/wonder.  

I also went down to UWSP and spoke to Dr Brenda Lackey a professor in the College of Natural Resources and have a clip of some of the leaves she should me.

I met her at the Schmeeckle Reserve and was really impressed by the place.  Although I couldn’t explore outside( it was pouring, windy and cold!) the inside had some amazing artifacts and interesting history about our area.  It would be a great place to take your kids or even just something to see on a rainy or non rainy day!  Although I have not lived here to long I feel that this place is a hidden jem so close to home.

 They have many programs going on all the time even one this Friday, the 30th called “Insects of the Night”.

On of the facts I saw that interest me was that we were the first state to use planes to fight wildfires!  

Hope you get a chance to visit! Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Fall Color, Science, Travel, Weather History