Good evening! I know Brian mentioned earlier in the week it is Air Quality Awareness Week across the country.  The American Lung Association just came up with there State of The Air Report.  In the report it says that 6 out of 10 or 60 percent of America live in an unhealthy air situation.  This ends up being 186.1 million people!  This is above last years mark of 125 million people. 

Some of the common health problems in regards to unhealthy air are coughing, heart attacks, lung cancer etc… 

Below, in alphabetical order, are the cleanest U.S. cities for ozone air pollution (only nine made the list since they were the only ones where no monitored ozone air pollution was found in unhealthful ranges):

• Billings, Mont.
• Carson City, Nev.
• Coeur d’Alene, Id.
• Fargo-Wahpeton, N.D.-Minn.
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Laredo, Texas
• Lincoln, Neb.
• Port St.Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
• Sioux Falls, S.D.

Below are the top 25 cleanest U.S. cities for long-term particle pollution:

1 Cheyenne, Wyo.
2 Santa Fe-Espanola, N.M.
3 Honolulu, Hawaii
4 Great Falls, Mont.
4 Farmington, N.M.
6 Anchorage, Alaska
6 Tucson, Ariz.
8 Bismarck, N.D.
9 Flagstaff, Ariz.
9 Salinas, Calif.
11 Redding, Calif.
12 Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.
13 Duluth, Minn.-Wis.
14 Colorado Springs, Colo.
14 Pueblo, Colo.
14 Fargo-Wahpeton, N.D.-Minn.
17 Albuquerque, N.M.
18 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
19 Midland-Odessa, Texas
20 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
20 Boise City-Nampa, Idaho
20 Reno-Sparks-Fernley, Nev.
23 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
24 Port St.Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
25 Billings, Mont.
25 Lincoln, Neb.

Below are people at risk in the 25 most ozone-polluted cities:

1 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2 Bakersfield, Calif. 
3 Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
4 Fresno-Madera, Calif.
5 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas
6 Sacramento-Arden-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
7 Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
8 Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, N.C.-S.C.
9 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
10 El Centro, Calif.
11 Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
12 Las Vegas-Paradise-Pahrump, Nev.
13 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
14 Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va.
15 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
16 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
17 St.Louis-St.Charles-Farmington, Mo.-Ill.
17 New York-Newark-Bridgeport, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa.
19 Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, Tenn.
20 Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala. 
21 Baton Rouge-Pierre Part, La.
22 Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.
23 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Ga.-Ala.
24 Merced, Calif.
25 Memphis, Tenn.

Below are people at risk in 25 U.S. cities most polluted by year-round particle pollution:

1 Bakersfield, Calif.
2 Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
3 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
4 Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
5 Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
6 Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
7 Fresno-Madera, Calif.
8 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
9 Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich.
10 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, Ohio
11 Charleston, W.Va.
11 Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio
11 Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, Ky.-Ind.
14 Macon-Warner Robins-Fort Valley, Ga.
14 St.Louis-St.Charles-Farmington, Mo.-Ill.
16 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH
17 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL
18 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, Ind.
18 Rome, Ga.
20 Canton-Massillon, Ohio
20 York-Hanover-Gettysburg, Pa.
22 Lancaster, Pa.
22 New York-Newark-Bridgeport, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa.
24 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va.
24 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas

For more information on the State of the Air click here, and for more about the article click here.

Posted under Uncategorized

I think I have some good news to report about our drought situation here in Wisconsin. The latest US Drought Monitor shows some improvement over the state of Wisconsin - if you are looking at the national map.If you click on the map and zoom into the Midwest and then click on Wisconsin, you will see data from last week - April 21st. Over the last couple of weeks the regional and state data does not seem to update at the same time as the national data. We will know for sure tomorrow. In any case, the national map seems to indicate a reduction in the areal coverage of the severe drought, which is great news. If we receive a little rain today (a quarter inch or so is possible) and if the rain for the middle of next week pans out as forecast (a chance of showers or thunderstorms each day from Tuesday through Thursday), then we will continue to slowly climb out of the drought. I would really like to see an above normal precipitation year. We have experienced 6 years in a row of below normal precipitation here in Wausau and most of Northcentral Wisconsin. Dick, our weather watcher from Merrill says it has been 8 years below normal at his place. Yikes. He also suggested I tabulate the total deficit for the last 6 years in Wausau. I can’t guarantee the data down to the last hundredth, but this is very very close to the actual rainfall deficit of the last 6 years in Wausau.

1. 2003, -8.93 inches
2. 2004, -2.18 inches
3. 2005, -7.87 inches
4. 2006, -5.28 inches
5. 2007, -4.89 inches
6. 2008, -5.84 inches

TOTAL DEFICIT: 34.99 inches

Since the normal annual precipitation is 33.36 inches, we have basically missed out on an entire year’s worht of precipitation over the last 6 years. We haven’t experienced a completely devastating drought like 1988 or 1976, but the persistent dryness is causing the water table, lakes, and rivers to go down.

Now back to filing snowmelt entries.

Have a nice Thursday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Drought

A very pronounced dry line has set up along the southern plains this Wednesday evening causing a number of long sustaining super cells containing tornadoes.  So what is a Dry line??  Think of a dry line as a front, but solely a change in moisture not temperature.  First Check out the current dew point map(dew point=measurement of moisture) below.  Notice the dry line set up along western Texas through western Kansas.  Dew points east of the dry line are as high as 65, and 20 miles just to the west we have dew points in the 20’s. 

Combining the dry line with favorable shear values….about 5 discrete super cells have developed, each with a history of tornadoes.

Lets take a closer look at the farthest north storm to the west of Dodge City Kansas.  This is a good opportunity to explain storm velocity radar images.  When we’ve seen rotating storms here, we may have switched the radar over to velocity mode.  When we do this we are looking for rotation with in the storm.  What we are looking for is a defined area in the storm where winds are moving in opposite directions.  To the right we have a classic case, hence a TORNADO.  The circled area is the location of concern.  Orange colors are moving toward the radar site in Dodge City, while green shades are moving away from the radar.  Notice the small area where the two colors line up against each other,  there is our potential tornado. 

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Severe Weather, Storms

You know I like to keep track of space exploration and I am particularly excited about private space flight. While routine trips to space are a few years away, videos like the the one found here, keep my hopes up that the day will come sooner than later. This fellow, Steve Eves, created a 36 foot tall model rocket and broke the record for the largest model ever launched. It traveled between 3,000 to 4,000 feet up into the air and if you watch to the end of the video you will notice the motor part of the rocket landed upright. No word on how much it cost, but I suspect many thousands of dollars. I also suspect that the height of the launch was limited by government regulations. Judging by the size of the rocket, I would think it has enough fuel capacity to reach the edge of space. It was modeled after the Saturn V.

Private space travel to earth orbit, the moon, or Mars are achievable goals in the next decade or two, but what about the dream of traveling to the stars, ala Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica? That remains a dream. Highly speculative methods of travel such as wormholes may never pan out and that means a trip to the nearest start would take a few hundred years and require too much conventional fuel to be practical. What about nuclear powered micro satellites? Read about the suggestion here.These could be sent off into space and achieve speeds at a significant fraction of the speed of light. They still would not reach their target within a normal human lifespan but it would be a lot quicker than sending humans and we could still experience what other far off worlds are like through telepresence (the data that is sent back from the micro satellites). of course, these ideas are all based on the technology we have and can conceive of in the near future, but with the rapid pace of technological progress and scientific discovery, who knows what will be possible in 2040 or 2050. Just in case we don’t make any big space travel breakthroughs in the next 40 years or so, I say lets send one of these nuclear powered minis on a trip ASAP.

Now I have to get back to filing snowmelt entries. Tomorrow is the last day to enter (remember: only 1 entry per person, otherwise you are disqualified).

Have a fine Wednesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Space

Last week was Severe Weather Awareness week, now this week is Air Quality Awareness week.  Thankfully we do not live in an area known for its man made pollution.  But even if we’re doing are part, sometimes the weather can enhance pollution levels.  Pollution build ups in Central Wisconsin are usually caused by a temperatures inversion.  This is when denser cold air becomes trapped below the warmer air.  This can happen when we have an area of high pressure for a long period of time.  Under these conditions we have light winds and quiet weather.  The air can become stagnant.  Sometimes warmer air will move in aloft, while cooler air remains near the surface.  This temperature profile can be tough to break due to the density issues mentioned above.  Now how does this affect our pollution?  Well, with the colder air trapped the air near the surface in general is trapped, and everyday pollution can build up quickly.  The easiest way to break this trend would be a front or area of low pressure, which would mix our air up again.  During these times, we would likely see an Air Quality Watch, Advisory, or Warning.  When issued, sensitive groups should limit strenuous activities. 

For more on Air Quality Awareness Week, follow this link..

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Pollution, Uncategorized

I hope everyone is enjoying the content inthe blog as of late. Kristen an Brian are doing a super job of coming up with some interesting topics, pictures, and stats. My entries have not been as voluminous as normal because I have been dealing with some office stuff and the snowmelt contest. Let us know how much you like or dislike the daily topics by using the comment section below. Some of you have already. That is great. We like to get feedback. It is also interesting to hear opinions on weather subjects and find out new and interesting stuff that we might not have come across.

Speaking of uninteresting stuff, the weather is settling down for the rest of this week. The next chance of rain (60%) will be Wednesday night through about midday Thursday. If we are lucky, it could be over a half inch. Otherwise temps will be at or a little below normal all the way through Sunday with highs staying primarily in the 50s. For the big fishing opener on Saturday it will be cool and breezy. High temps will be in the mid 50s and there is a slight chance of brief isolated showers in the afternoon.

Speaking of more interesting stuff, here is some engineering science I have been following over the last couple of years and posting about in the blog: cloaking. Yes, real cloaking. Back in 2006, Duke University researchers created a material that was invisible to microwave radiation and worked in one dimension. Now 2 additional research teams have created materials that cloak in the far red and near infrared wavelengths, which is getting closer to functional visible light cloaking. The researchers are using meta-materials to achieve this result. These are materials that are engineered to bend light in the opposite direction it normally would. What happens is the light enters the material and stays within the material (a thin layered structure) until it exits on the other side of whatever it was covering/surrounding. In order to visualize this think of the cloak as being round like a transparent beach ball (hiding some object inside). Light entering the front of the ball would get bent into the plastic that makes up the ball. The light would then travel through the outside skin and come out on the other side. The light would not enter the middle of the ball and illuminate the object. In order for it to work properly, the “beach ball” cloak would have to be perfectly spherical (or very nearly so) and it would have to re-direct all wavelengths of light (the full spectrum). If you were inside this type of cloak, it would be completely dark. You would not be able to see the outside world by conventional means (your eyes). How far away is a fully functional cloak? Who knows? It might be nearly impossible to cloak many different wavelengths at one time. In any case, growing up watching Star Trek, I never though I would see “cloaking” in my natural lifespan. Interesting to see what new technologies are emerging in the world today.

Have a nice day! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Science

Last week was Severe Weather and Tornado Awareness Week which was very fitting considering we had a first round of severe storms in our area on Friday night.  The biggest threat we saw with the storms was the hail up to two inches in diameter that fell in many of the storms ! This of course is a good reminder that we are getting into the spring/summer months when we will see more thunderstorms around the area. 

Storms can be scary for us as humans but they can also be freighting for pets.  In my life I have had several dogs that are scarred of storms so much so that I have to give them medicine.  I wanted to share some articles about dogs and thunderstorms because I know this is a common fear among pets. 

Here is an article with tips, and here is another.

Some of the tips that I have learned or been told are these:

- try to distract the dog by playing with him, talking with the dog and making him happy.

-have other noise on in the house ( TV, Radio) something to disguise the loud thunder.

-put them in a room or area farther away from windows where they could hear the noise more easily.

-talk to your veterinarian about medications to help sedate the dog during these events.

 Hope some of this helps!

Over the next couple days we will get a slight break from the activity. Highs pressure moves in for tomorrow which means sunshine heading back to Wisconsin.  Enjoy any outdoor plans because clouds return back by Wednesday with rain chances late Wednesday through early Friday.  The weekend has the chance to be alot of nicer then the past one if we can keep the storms away. Right now thinking partly sunny skies with highs around 60. 

Here is a couple more pictures from the storms on Friday sent in by Chris Jones in Marshfield

Have a great night. Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Science, Severe Weather, Spring, Storms, Uncategorized

First note: I noticed a few people putting their snowmelt predictions in the comment area of the blog. Please send an email to weather@waow instead. Make sure to include your name, address, and prediction. It is even easier to use our website form: http://www.waow.com/Global/story.asp?S=10186347

Something that typically helps the snow melt a little earlier is rainfall and we finally picked up some decent amount over the last few days. Between Friday and Today most of the area received 1 to 3 inches of rain. The total precipitation in Wausau for the month of April now stands at 3.07 inches which is above normal - and you know I am smiling. I realize that the rain ruined some outdoor activities but we really needed some moisture. Now the flowers will come out, the grass will turn green, and I can plant some of my frost tolerant vegetables in the garden. The next storm system to affect the area will move in late Wednesday and exit Friday morning. Once again we could see some decent amounts, perhaps over a half inch. Temps will be cool through the week, mainly in the 50s. This upcoming weekend will also be cool with a slight chance of showers on Saturday afternoon.

One thing we got from the storms last Friday besides severe warnings, hail, and isolated wind damage, was nice viewer pictures. Take a look at some of these lightning and mammatus pictures:

Picture by Dave KallawayPicture by Carrie HackerPicture by Timothy KwarcianyPicture by Brenda WeberPicture by Amy WilhelmiPicture by Roger Cockrane

Sorry about the poor formatting of the pictures. Kind-of makes the blog look a little disorganized. Anyway, something else to note in the forecast is a slight change in the long range computer outlooks from the CPC. For the last 2 years the CPC models have pretty consistently forecast “Equal Chances” or a greater chance of above normal temps. This is especially true once you look a couple months out and further. In contrast, most of our weather over the last 2 years has been below normal. The latest outlooks indicate “Equal Chances” (of above or below normal temps and precip) for Wisconsin through the summer but show a greater chance of below normal temps just to our west in Minnesota and in the Dakotas. Does this mean we will have another summer without hitting 90 here in Wausau? No way to say for sure at this point. It would be highly unusual for us to have 2 years in a row without hitting 90 degrees. The key will be precipitation. If we have adequate or above normal rainfall then it is less likely that we will hit 90. If we have a significant dry spell in the middle of summer, then mulitple 90 degree days become more likely. Here is the temp prediction for April and the prediction for the 3 month period of May, June, and July.

April Temp Forecast from CPCMay, June, July Temp Forecast from CPC

Have a good Monday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.