“White Gold” fell in the northwoods this week. It was the biggest snow (other than lake effect snow) I can remember in the last 15 years for not only the northwoods but for the entire viewing area. In fact, it was in March of 1997 (15 years ago) that we had over 20 inches of snow in parts of Juneau, Adams, and Waushara counties. Earlier this week there were a handful of reports of 20 to 24 inches of snow and now the snowmobilers can have some fun – at least in the northern half of the area – at least for this weekend. As it looks right now, this weekend could be the last true Winter-like weekend with good snow conditions on the ground. The snowmobile trails will likely be able to remain open in the north for the following weekend as well (because it takes a long time to melt 20 inches of snow) but the overall weather trend is looking much more Spring-like for next week and toward the middle of the month.

Sure we could have a big snowstorm yet at some point later this month or even in April, but I think this will be the last weekend of real Winter where you can enjoy all of the Winter activities. For all the people who can’t wait for warmer weather, here is the latest 8 to 14 day temperature outlook from the Climate Prediction Center. There is a high chance that the eastern three-quarters of the country – including Wisconsin – will have above normal temperatures.

Be safe on the snowmobile trails – they will likely be crowded this weekend.

Have a great weekend!  Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Recreation & Sports, Snow Totals, Winter Weather

With the first week of February upon us the annual tradition of Groundhog Day has once again come and gone.  You’ve likely heard of the famous Punxsutawney Phil, who based on seeing his shadow or not can “predict” how much longer the winter season will last. 

Given the rather bizarre weather we have seen this season, many people are asking where winter has been all year.  We’ve seen temperatures quite untypical for February.  Snow cover is low or in many places around Wisconsin, non existent.  Snowmobilers are frustrated while those who could do without the cold and snow are enjoying every minute. 

While we bask in the warmth of temps that are nearly twice as warm as the typically are this time of year, the National Weather Service has release an  interesting article about the history and accuracy of Punxsutawney Phil and Groundhog Day as a whole. 

To have a look at this interesting article, follow this link to the National Weather Service: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/special-reports/groundhog-day.php 

Happy reading, and happy Groundhog Day!

Posted under Ecology, Education, Environment, forecast, Nature, Records, Recreation & Sports, Science, Seasonal Items, Spring, Weather History, Weather NEws, Winter Weather

Lightning image from the National Weather Service

Improved education on the dangers of and safety precautions associated with lightning has given 2011 the lowest number of lightning deaths recorded in the United States, according to the National Weather Service.

Of the 26 people killed by lightning in the United States and Territories, one was in Wisconsin.  According to NWS statistics, McKenzie Klar an 11-year old camping in Burnett County this past July was killed after she was struck by lightning when under a tree.

Both Utah and Michigan recorded three deaths, while the remaining fatalities were reported in Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and Guam.   

The majority of the deaths were reported in late summer and early fall with July seeing the most.  Nine people were killed by lightning that month, but that number is down considerably from the 16 that is reported average amount.       

The 2011 totals beat the previous record low amount of fatalities by two since 2008.

To see the statistical breakdown of the numbers, check out this website: HERE.

And to see the complete article from the National Weather Service for yourself, check out this website: HERE.

Posted under Environment, Nature, Records, Recreation & Sports, Science, Seasonal Items, Severe Weather, Storms, Summer, Weather and Health, Weather History, Weather NEws, Weather Safety

Perhaps you are itching to get out over the holiday weekend for some winter recreation.  Unfortunately, most of the state does not have enough snow on the ground yet to support snowmobiling or cross-country skiing.   However several areas do have trails open.  Most of these are in northern Wisconsin where lake effect snow has boosted totals, or in other spots where snow-making equipment is used.

As of Wednesday Dec. 27th the Wisconsin Department of Tourism is listing the following conditions for various snowmobile trails.                                          

• Hurley   12-15″  base, fair
• St. Germain  5-7″      base, fair
• Mercer   5-7″      base, fair
• Land O’ Lakes   4-6″       base, fair
• Boulder Junction  3-6″       base, poor
• Eagle River   4-6″       base, poor
• Cable   1-5″        base, poor

It appears the Hurley area has the best snowmobiling conditions.  Of the 170 miles of groomed trails in that region, only 10 miles weren’t open.  They have a good foot of compacted snow on the trails.  Trail 7 from Upson to Saxon and Trail 3 from Saxon to the Ashland County Line are not open.  For daily updates on trail status please visit www.hurleywi.com

Riders are reminded that many rivers and some lakes are not fit for crossing yet due to the recent warm weather and variable ice conditions.  Don’t cross such areas until a route is clearly marked.

Below you can find some of the better sites to check out for cross country skiing at this point in the season.                                                                  

•  Trollhaugen, Dresser    18-36″ base, Excellent
• Sunburst Ski Area, Kewaskum    8 -24″  base, Good
• Montreal Ski Trail      6-8″  base, Good
• Minocqua Winter Park     3-6″  base, Fair
• Land O’ Lakes      4-6″ base, Fair
• Boulder Junction   3-6″  base, Poor (Not groomed)

Observers at Minocqua Winter Park say most of the trails are actually in pretty good shape, but there are spots that it is pretty rough yet.  So you may want to consider using rock skis yet.  Your best bet for any area is just to call ahead and double-check.  That is especially true now that we have several fast moving weather systems crossing Wisconsin through the weekend with a chance of some accumulating snow in various spots.

Have fun if you do manage to hit the trails!

Posted under Recreation & Sports, Seasonal Items, Winter Weather

I was very thankful it was chilly Saturday morning.  Low temperatures were in the 10s, plenty cold enough to get the ice on the creek in my yard plenty firm for some recreation.  It’s been a fluky ice skating season on the rink in my yard with the warm weather.  But I was really hoping it would work out for Christmas Eve as we hosted the Schumacher Christmas gathering.  Weeks earlier I had promoted to my brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces that they should bring their skates along and prepare for fun in the great outdoors! 

Well our party was great.  We spent a few hours inside during the late morning and early afternoon talking, laughing, eating, exchanging gifts, and generally being goofy.  Many stories of the past year were told and we all caught up with each other.  As this was all going on I carefully watched the blazing sunshine outside and wondered if my ice  would hold up?  The old thermometer had climbed to the freezing mark around lunchtime and I was a shade nervous.  But I had faith that the 13 degree low really penetrated into several inches of the ice.

The rink is about 300 feet from the house, so I didn’t have a chance to go out and check it out.  I just boldly announced it was time to go and skate and play broom hockey!  And that is just what we did.  Boy was I relieved to see the ice had held up really well, even with the sunshine.  It was slippery and smooth.  People just couldn’t believe how nice it was.  The 2 hours that we spent out slipping around on the ice was a highlight of the party for me.  Our family has always enjoyed doing sports together.  Sometimes it’s a football or kickball game, sometimes swimming at the lake, sometimes basketball, and in this case hockey.  It’s the first time for our annual gathering that we did hockey. 

We were a funny looking bunch.  Some had real hockey sticks, others had brooms, some had shovels, while still others had big branches of trees.  Each tried to talk up the advantage of their weapon.  Oh there were some great shots and lots of bad shots.  There were slips and falls.  Sometimes my family members fell trying to go fast.  Sometimes they fall just standing still.  There were some bruises and some jarred joints, but nothing serious.  Having the blue sky overhead, a fresh breeze, the glistening fresh inch of snow on the edge of the ice, and lots of food in the belly to burn off made the perfect combination. 

Some of my family who were not brave enough to get on the ice started a fire in a portable fire pit next to our frozen creek.  It was all good.  My niece Mara was the only one who got wet as far as I know.  She hit the one soft spot on our creek and got wet up halfway to her knees.  I suspect she was a bit upset, but it should help her remember the experience.

So it capped off a wonderful day, celebrating faith, family, fun, and life in general.  I’m a firm believer in that saying….a family that plays together stays together.  I hope you had a chance to play with your loved ones as well.

Posted under Recreation & Sports

With the Winter Solstice Wednesday night at 11:30 p.m. CST,  I have been daydreaming about how our weather and life for that matter would be different if the Earth’s axis was set much different than the current 23.5 degree tilt.  For example let’s say it were only a 5 degree tilt.  The amount and intensity of sunlight would vary little from season to season.  Thus the weather in any one spot probably woudn’t vary to much from season to season.  Likewise the climate of poleward latitudes might night be too much different than that of equatorial locations.  Of course there would still be differences based on position relative to mountains, oceans, deserts, and so on.   With a more uniform temperature structure across the globe, I imagine jet stream winds would be weaker, and thus storms would be weaker.  Perhaps hurricanes could get stronger and larger because they might have less wind aloft to shear them apart.

Now imagine an Earth with an axis tilt of say 45 degrees!  The seasons might be unbearable.  The hemisphere tilted away from the sun would have incredibly long, dark, and extremely cold winters.  Think Siberia over most of the Northern Hemisphere and drop the temperatures another 80 or 100 degrees.  I don’t think life would survive.  The summer hemisphere would conversely be incredibly hot with near continuous sunlight for months at a time.  I envision high temperatures commonly over 150 degrees F in large land areas, maybe 200 degrees plus!  I have no clue as to what this would do to storm and precipitation patterns but it probably would be really wild.  I guess this should remind us to be thankful that our Earth is positioned in such a way to be hospitable to life!

WHAT-IF IT STAYS WARM & DRY THIS WINTER?

Besides the downfall of snowmobiling, skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and businesses that rely on snow, a mild winter would impact the Great Lakes.  The lower the ice cover is on the Great Lakes, the more evaporation of water will take place.  This will end up lowering the water level of the Great Lakes a fair amount.  You don’t think of water evaporating in the winter because it is cool and often cloudy.  But it certainly does.   Evaporation without replenishment from enough precipitation means lower lake levels.  This could have impacts for boating and fishing interest come spring.  It’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

Posted under Recreation & Sports, Seasonal Items, World Weather

The healthy wet snow event Saturday evening definitely went a long way in getting the turf covered and white in a good chunk of the Upper Midwest.  Of course it is still not enough in most areas for things like skiing and snowmobiling but you have to start somewhere, right?   The weekend storm put down a decent swath of snow all the way from the Southern Rockies to Lake Superior.  Check out the latest national snow depth map below.  As to be expected early in the season, the greatest depths, over 1 foot, are generally confined to the mountainous states out west, with some near 1 foot amounts in some lake effect locations of Upper Michigan as well.

Snow Depth, Dec. 5th, 2011

The areas from Texas northeast through the Ohio Valley and eastward have been unseasonably warm the past few weeks being on the eastern side of the storm tracks.  That’s why their ground is brown.  They have had inches of rain in some of those areas.  Just imagine how much snow that would have been had it been colder out!

Closer to home, about the northwest two-thirds of Wisconsin has snow on the ground.  It’s generally from 1 to 5″ deep in most spots.   There is also a strip of an inch or less from around Wautoma down to Madison and Whitewater, mainly from what fell early Monday morning.  You can get a closer look at it on the map below.

Snow Depth, Dec. 5th, 2011

Posted under forecast, Recreation & Sports, Snow Totals, Travel, Winter Weather

With the World Series underway during this fickle month of October, I thought it would be fun to look at how weather impacts the game.  In particular does the weather skew how far balls are hit beyond the obvious impacts of wind?  I for one hate playing baseball or softball for that matter in cold weather.  If you don’t hit the ball on the perfect spot on the bat you get that nasty “stinging” sensation in your hands.  The Cardinals and Rangers shouldn’t have to worry about that issue at least for the games in Arlington as high temperatures are projected in the 80s and 70s there through the middle of next week with overnight lows in the upper 50s and 60s.  Keep in mind that air expands as it warms and gets less dense.  Thus there is less resistance on a ball and it should increase home run potential playing in Texas this time of the year versus in colder locations.

Second,  altitude makes a difference in ball flight.  The higher up in the atmosphere you go the lower the air pressure is.  The air is less dense with fewer air molecules to slow down a ball.  Thus an equally hit ball will fly farther in Denver than in Florida.  Now in the case of the Cardinals and Rangers, there isn’t too much difference.  The elevation of St. Louis is about 465 feet while Arlington is slightly higher at just over 600 feet.  Furthermore if the weather setup is such that a low pressure system is nearby the stadium, that should technically aid ball flight, albeit a tiny amount.

Third, humidity also has an influence on ball flight.  As humidity increase air actually gets less dense.   This is counter-intuitive as we often say humid air feels “heavy”.  Or when it is really muggy out we might say, “it’s so thick you could cut it with a knife”.  But in reality humid air is less dense and will help a ball fly a bit farther.  Of course if it is humid and raining out, the ball won’t fly farther because it will weigh more with water sitting on it.  Plus the rain drops themselves will add extra friction to the ball.

Low, high, cold, hot, windy, humid, or dry….the World Series must go on.  Maybe, just maybe the weather will be like an invisible 10th player on a team, giving them an edge.  Enjoy the rest of the Series!

Posted under Recreation & Sports