If you haven’t checked it out yet, take a look at 2012 “by the numbers” in Northcentral Wisconsin. We had a lot of records including the warmest ever average max temperature in Wausau! Besides comparing the current year or month’s numbers against normal, I also try to find some interesting or odd patterns in the data. Given that weather is rather chaotic, most of the time the “numbers” seem to be random, but sometimes coincidences do happen. One interesting thing that happened this year is that the number 1.61 showed up 3 different times. We had 1.61 inches of precipitation in September, we had 1.61 inches of precipitation in December, and the largest record daily rainfall was also 1.61 inches and that occurred on July 19th.

One other little nugget for this blog post. Even though it might not feel like it, today the earth is at its closest orbital point to the sun. We are closer to the sun today than at any other point in the year. In fact, we are about 3 million miles closer to the sun than we will be on July 5th – when we are farthest away from the sun. Today’s date is the perihelion. July 5th is the aphelion (farthest point) of the earth’s orbit. So why is it cold this time of year? It is due to the tilt of the earth on its axis, a simple fact that many non-scientists do not understand. Most people think that we are closer to the sun in the Summer and that is why it is warmer, but that is not the case. During the winter we are on the hemisphere of the earth (northern) that is tilted away from the sun so the rays of sunlight do not hit us very directly (and they don’t hit the arctic at all) and it is not as warm. During the Summer, our hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and we receive more direct rays of light which warms things up more (and in the arctic they have 24 hours of sunlight).

Have a good Wednesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Records, Seasonal Items, Space, Weather NEws

We have counted down the top ten weather events of the year and now it is time to put it all in perspective with some year-end numbers. How does 2012 compare to normal? If you guessed it was warmer and drier than normal, you are correct. It is not too hard to figure out if you had looked at the top ten weather events. Most of them had to deal with abnormally warm and dry conditions. Without further ado, here are the numbers for 2012 in Wausau:

• Average High: 58.1  (normal 53.1)
• Average Low: 37.6  (normal 33.7)
• Mean temp: 47.9  (normal 43.4)
• Precipitation: 29.46″  (normal 32.41″)
• Snowfall: 51.7″  (normal 59.6″)
• Highest Temp: 98 on July 16th
• Lowest Temp: -14 on January 20th

The first thing I want to draw your attention to is the average high temperature. As far as the records I have available indicate, 2012 had the highest average high temperature in Wausau’s history. The second highest average high temp occurred in 1998 when it was just 58.0. So it appears we beat that record by just one tenth of a degree. However, it was not the hottest year in Wausau history if you go by the mean temperature. The mean temperature in 1998 was 48.7 which means we were almost a degree shy of the “hottest year ever” in Wausau. Now some of you might be wondering how we could have beat out all of those dust bowl years from back in the 1930s. Well, those years did have some of the hottest Summers on record, but the Winters were typically cold so the yearly mean kind-of “averaged out”. As far as the avrage low temperature goes, it is tied for third on the list for the warmest average low temp. 2012 is tied with 1987 which had an average low temp of 37.6. Higher on the list is 1931 which had an average low of 38.3 and 1998 which had an average low of 39.3.

Even though I spent a lot of blog time complaining about the lack of rain this year, the precipitation total actually ended up only about 3 inches below normal. I certainly would have been happy with an extra 3 inches of rain for my garden, but at least we had enough rain to pull us through most of the growing season. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for areas south of Marathon county where total precipitation was much less. Snowfall was surprisingly close to normal for the year, checking in at 51.7 inches, but that number is a bit deceiving. During January, Febraury and March of this year we had piddly little snowfalls from time to time (only one big one). No one could enjoy snow-related activities very much. The just at the end of the year in December we ended up with 21.8 inches of snow which really brought the number up close to normal. However, even in December we could not get out on the snowmobile trails because the first 5 inches of snow we received melted!

In some respects, 2012 was not as extreme as some recent years. The difference between the highest and lowest temps this year was 112 degrees. In 2011 the difference was 115 degress (warmest temp 94 and lowest temp -21). In 2009 the difference was a whopping 116 degrees! The most extreme year in recent memory was probably 1996 when the difference between the highest and lowest temp was 122 degrees (warmest temp was 91 and the coldest was -33).

What about the new daily records for the year? In this case, 2012 looked a lot like 2010 when we had many record high temps and many record warm low temps, but not records for cold. In fact, we have gone another year with no new record low temps during the winter. We haven’t experienced a record low during the Winter (the months of December, January, and February) since 1996. Here are the records:

Record High Temps:

• 47, January 10th
• 45, January 11th
• 61, March 10th
• 63, March 11th
• 75, March 14th
• 68, March 15th
• 72, March 16th
• 78, March 17th
• 78, March 18th
• 76, March 19th
• 78, March 20th
• 76, March 21st
• 71 (tie), March 22nd
• 88, May 19th
• 96, July 4th
• 96 (tie), July 5th
• 98 (tie), July 16th
• 93, August 30th
• 62 (tie), November 22nd

Record Low Temps: None

Record Warm Low Temps:

• 44, March 12th
• 44, March 15th
• 55, March 17th
• 54, March 18th
• 55, March 19th
• 57, March 20th
• 60, March 21st (the earliest we have ever had a low temp of 60)
• 57, March 22nd
• 53, March 23rd
• 74, July 5th
• 59, October 24th

Record Cold High Temps: None

Record Precipitation:

• 0.60 inches, February 29th
• 1.61 inches, July 19th
• 2.34 inches, October 25th
• 0.54 inches, December 20th

Record Snowfall:

• Trace, October 6th
• 10.9 inches, December 20th

And while I am in the mood to spit out all kinds of numbers, we always do a monthly recap, so how about the stats for December of 2012? December of 2012 was very similar to last December (2011) as far as temperatures go (well above normal) but much higher on the snowfall end of things. Once snowcover enveloped the land after the big storm on the 20th, temperatures were about normal to a little below. It was the first half of the month that was “hot” by Winter standards with a near record high temperature of 58 on the 3rd. So for December 2012 in Wausau…

• Average High: 31.6  (normal 26.5)
• Average Low: 19.1  (normal 11.4)
• Precipitation: 1.61 inches  (normal 1.36 inches)
• Snowfall: 21.8 inches  (normal 13.9 inches)
• Highest Temp: 58 on the 3rd
• Lowest Temp:

Posted under Monthly Recap, Records, Seasonal Items, Uncategorized, Weather NEws

The day has arrived. The last day of the year. We survived 2012 and it is time to reveal our top 3 weather events of 2012 for Northcentral Wisconsin. First, I will repost numbers 10 through 4 in case you weren’t paying attention last week.

• 10. The number 10 weather event was killing frost(s) in April. This would normally not be anything special because frost occurs very frequently in Wsiconsin during the month of April. What made the frost in April more significant this year is that temperatures had gotten so warm in March. It was warm enough in March to cause many fruit crops and trees to start growing and blossoming. Those blossoms were “ripe for the picking” so to speak, when the frost came around in April. Many apple orchards in Northcentral Wisconsin lost almost their entire crops. Other fruit trees were similarly hard hit.
• 9. October of 2012 was the 7th wettest October on record. We recorded 5.49 inches of rain during the month in Wausau. Some spots had even more. This might not have made the list except for the fact that it was also the wettest month of 2012 and the rain came too late to do much good. The growing season, which had been very dry, was over by the time we recived enough moisture to be beneficial to the crops.
• 8. Did I mention that 2012 was a warm year? It turns out that 10 out of the 12 months during 2012 were above normal, most of them were significantly above normal. The only two months that were below normal on temps were September and October. Even those two months were just barely below normal. 2012 was not a year when we had to complain about the cold too much. In fact, I think this year I have probably heard the least amount of complaints about “cold weather” in my entire career. It was a nice respite. Most years, most people complain nearly contantly about how cold it is, which always makes me wonder why more people do not move to warmer places.
• 7. Making it to number 7 on the list is a non-event. There was hardly any severe weather in the area. Since most of the year was quite warm, one might think there would have been more opportunity for severe weather to develop. Interestingly, sometimes it can be too warm. If there is not enough cold air to form cold fronts at the surface, or form instability higher in the atmosphere, then thunderstorms just won’t form. Of course, it was also quite dry for extended periods of time. If there is not enough moisture in the air then we will not end up with thunderstorms, and thus little severe weather. The most active period of severe weather was from June 14th through the 20th when we had a few rounds of thunderstorms and some tornado warnings in Marathon and Langlade counties.
• 6 – A very warm winter with little snow. This was a continuation of a trend that began in December of 2011. December (2011), January (2012), and February (2012) were all about 6 degrees above normal. Snowfall during January in Wausau was 12.9 inches but it fell over many different days and was not enough to open snowmobile trails in most of central Wisconsin. During February 12.2 inches of snow was reported in Wausau but most of that – 6.9 inches – fell on the last 2 days of the month. Snowmobile trails were able to open for a few days in some counties during early March. Because of the warm and relatively snowless Winter, the skating rink in downtown Wausau was never able to be opened. Total snowfall for the year (not including today’s light snow) in Wausau was 46.2 inches which is about 13 inches below normal for the year.
• 5 – A strong Winter storm on December 20th. This one should be fresh in everyone’s mind as it occurred only about a week ago. It was the biggest snowstorm of the year in Wausau with a record 10.9 inches for the day. 6 to 10 inches of snow was fairly common across much of central Wisconsin. The highest snowfall in the state was in the Madison area where some locations reported close to 20 inches. In addition to heavy snow there was some gusty wind which created blizzard conditions in the southern part of the area and southern third of the state. Check this past blog post for some extra details on the storm.
• 4 – Another strong Winter storm makes the list at number 4. This is the one that was referenced earlier, the one that occurred on February 28th and 29th. We ranked this one higher than the December 20th storm because the highest snow totals in the state were in our area. Around 20 inches of snow was reported in many locations in the northwoods. In Wausau the total was 6.9 inches. It was just enough snow to open a handful of snowmobile trails in the area, but it didn’t last long. By the 10th of March it was melting away fast. Check this past blog entry for a map of the snow totals from this storm. Check this blog post for additional information.

And now on to the top three which should come as no surprise to anyone – as they once again are related to the warm year we had.

• 3. Heat waves! We had several heat waves during the year and the worst was from July 2nd to July 6th. In Wausau we had 5 days in a row with high temps in the 90s. On three of those days we had highs of 96. The 96 degree high temp on the 4th of July set a new record. The 96 degrees on the 5th of July tied the old record. High temps hit 100 in the southern part of our area and in the southern part of the state. As mentioned previously, it ended up being the 2nd hottest July on record in Wausau. Check these blog posts for a review of the July heat waves: Comparing to the 1930s, Holiday heat records. And, the southern half of the area had hotter temps during the July heat wave(s) because we had…
• 2. Severe Drought. It was bad. I remember driving into southern Wisconsin over the 4th of July and already by that time, everything was brown. The drought was quite severe in the southern half of the area, south of Marathon county, through the first 6 months of the year and then spread northward into early Fall. Thankfully, the southern half of the state did receive some beneficial rain later in the year, but it was not enough to save non-irrigated crops.
• 1. As many of you probably guessed, the number 1 weather event of the year was the record warm March. We had so much unusual warmth during March that we smashed all kinds of records all over the state, including here in Northcentral Wisconsin. We tied or broke 20 different daily records for warmth. It really felt a lot like early Summer in the middle of the month. All the snow melted and vegetation started turning green. We broke the old warm March monthly record (from 1910) by 2.5 degrees. Some further reading: Warmest March on record, Does a hot March foretell a hot Summer?, A warm spell for the ages.

And now a few more fun lists looking back at 2012 and looking forward to 2013:

• Actually this first one is something more dramatic and positive than fun. It is a look at amazing medical technologies that grew-up a bit in 2012 and should make a big impact in 2013. Medical progress continues at a rapid pace. Hopefully soon we will be able to more effectively combat the ravages of aging.
• Wired’s top image galleries of 2012. Many of which I have shared throughout the year.
• Wired’s top science images of the year.
• Some of the “big numbers” behind the big science and technology stories of the year.
• 100 best space photos of the year. A great gallery if you love space, but be sure to have a lot of time on your hands.
• What will be some of the top science stories of 2013. This article has a few cool candidates, including a comet that could outshine the moon.
• Five technologies that could continue to change our world in 2013.
• And how about 13 tech items you might have caught wind of but probably will not come to fruition in 2013.

Have a good Monday! Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Records, Seasonal Items, Top 10 List, Weather History, Weather NEws

Here at StormTrack9 we have been counting down the top ten weather events of 2012, specifically for Northcentral Wisconsin and our viewing area (part 1 here, part 2 here). For a more detailed lok at the weather for the entire state, check out this report from the National Weather Service (pdf). One of the positive highlights of the year was that there were only 4 tornadoes in the state and none of them caused any injuries or deaths. One of the tornadoes was in Marathon county and only blew down a few trees. On the negative side, the heat was the biggest story of the year, causing multiple deaths and millions of dollars of damage to crops and infrastructure. We will finish up our Northcentral Wisconsin top ten list on Monday with numbers 3 through 1.

In addition to weather highlights, I have also been sharing a few other lists looking back at 2012 and forward to 2013. Here are a few more:

• Some real cool science videos of the year from Newscientist.
• One of those Newscientist videos is this mind blowing illusion.
• Some of the more interesting consumer electronics trends you will see in 2013.

Posted under Records, Seasonal Items, Weather NEws

Continuing our countdown of the top 10 weather events of 2012, today I will profile numbers six, five, and four. For numbers 10 through 7 please see yesterday’s blog post. The three events in today’s list are a study in contrast. Even during years with lower than normal precipitation and barely any real Winter conditions, there can still be single events which break records. Such was the case in 2012.

• 6 – A very warm winter with little snow. This was a continuation of a trend that began in December of 2011. December (2011), January (2012), and February (2012) were all about 6 degrees above normal. Snowfall during January in Wausau was 12.9 inches but it fell over many different days and was not enough to open snowmobile trails in most of central Wisconsin. During February 12.2 inches of snow was reported in Wausau but most of that – 6.9 inches – fell on the last 2 days of the month. Snowmobile trails were able to open for a few days in some counties during early March. Because of the warm and relatively snowless Winter, the skating rink in downtown Wausau was never able to be opened. Total snowfall for the year (not including today’s light snow) in Wausau was 46.2 inches which is about 13 inches below normal for the year.
• 5 – A strong Winter storm on December 20th. This one should be fresh in everyone’s mind as it occurred only about a week ago. It was the biggest snowstorm of the year in Wausau with a record 10.9 inches for the day. 6 to 10 inches of snow was fairly common across much of central Wisconsin. The highest snowfall in the state was in the Madison area where some locations reported close to 20 inches. In addition to heavy snow there was some gusty wind which created blizzard conditions in the southern part of the area and southern third of the state. Check this past blog post for some extra details on the storm.
• 4 – Another strong Winter storm makes the list at number 4. This is the one that was referenced earlier, the one that occurred on February 28th and 29th. We ranked this one higher than the December 20th storm because the highest snow totals in the state were in our area. Around 20 inches of snow was reported in many locations in the northwoods. In Wausau the total was 6.9 inches. It was just enough snow to open a handful of snowmobile trails in the area, but it didn’t last long. By the 10th of March it was melting away fast. Check this past blog entry for a map of the snow totals from this storm. Check this blog post for additional information.

And some year-end and year-forward lists for your enjoyment:

• How about the top ten physics breakthroughs for the year. As you might expect the discovery of the Higgs Boson ranks at the top of the list, but it is not my top pick. The Higgs discovery was expected, so that is one aspect that makes it less interesting for me. Another aspect of the discovery that takes it out of my #1 spot for discoveries is the remaining ambiguity. Scientists only discovered a “Higgs-like particle” within a certain statistical confidence. It wasn’t as if the Higgs particle came out and shook hands with the physicists saying, “I am Higgs”. In the tiny world of particle physics, there are only degrees of confidence. If I had to pick, I think the most spectacular physics development was the use of neutrinos for communication.
• Here is another list of top science stories from Wired. Again the kind-of discovery of the Higgs boson tops their list, but my favorite is the distance records set for quantum communication. Quantum communication and quantum computers could be quite the “wild cards” in technology in coming years.
• Looking forward to 2013, here are some science projects that could capture headlines. I am most looking forward to further investigations into cloaking.

Have a fine Friday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Records, Seasonal Items, snow, Weather NEws

It is that time of year for the “year in review” lists to commence. Perhaps you have been seeing some lists around the Internet and various media (like Tony’s blog post from yesterday of the most expensive weather events), so it is about time we listed StormTrack9′s top ten weather events in NorthCentral Wisconsin. I will publish numbers 10 through 7 today, numbers 6 through 4 on Friday, and 3 through 1 on Monday (New Year’s Eve). As always, please feel free to share your most memorable weather events of 2012 in the comment section

There were plenty of interesting things that occurred throughout the year but the most common theme you will find in our list if warmth. It was a warm year, record-setting at times, so it might seem odd start out with a “cold event”.

10. The number 10 weather event was killing frost(s) in April. This would normally not be anything special because frost occurs very frequently in Wsiconsin during the month of April. What made the frost in April more significant this year is that temperatures had gotten so warm in March. It was warm enough in March to cause many fruit crops and trees to start growing and blossoming. Those blossoms were “ripe for the picking” so to speak, when the frost came around in April. Many apple orchards in Northcentral Wisconsin lost almost their entire crops. Other fruit trees were similarly hard hit.

9. October of 2012 was the 7th wettest October on record. We recorded 5.49 inches of rain during the month in Wausau. Some spots had even more. This might not have made the list except for the fact that it was also the wettest month of 2012 and the rain came too late to do much good. The growing season, which had been very dry, was over by the time we recived enough moisture to be beneficial to the crops.

8. Did I mention that 2012 was a warm year? It turns out that 10 out of the 12 months during 2012 were above normal, most of them were significantly above normal. The only two months that were below normal on temps were September and October. Even those two months were just barely below normal. 2012 was not a year when we had to complain about the cold too much. In fact, I think this year I have probably heard the least amount of complaints about “cold weather” in my entire career. It was a nice respite. Most years, most people complain nearly contantly about how cold it is, which always makes me wonder why more people do not move to warmer places.

7. Making it to number 7 on the list is a non-event. There was hardly any severe weather in the area. Since most of the year was quite warm, one might think there would have been more opportunity for severe weather to develop. Interestingly, sometimes it can be too warm. If there is not enough cold air to form cold fronts at the surface, or form instability higher in the atmosphere, then thunderstorms just won’t form. Of course, it was also quite dry for extended periods of time. If there is not enough moisture in the air then we will not end up with thunderstorms, and thus little severe weather. The most active period of severe weather was from June 14th through the 20th when we had a few rounds of thunderstorms and some tornado warnings in Marathon and Langlade counties.

Stay tuned for numbers 6 through 4 tomorrow.

Now a couple of other interesting list of different science and technology, both looking back at 2012 and looking forward to 2013.

Check out this list from Wired to see if you are wired, tired, or expired. I am generally fairly wired, but I can see the divide between “wired” (early adoption of new technology and trends) and “expired” (fine living just the way you are with your current tools), getting more extreme every year. Technology is advancing so fast that it will be impossible to stay “wired”. Or you might be “wired” within certain segments of society/business but find yourself ”expired” in others.

How about Wired’s gear of the year. A lot of things I wouldn’t mind having if I had more money.

IBM’s has listed it’s 5 in 5. While these are technological developments that will develop in the next few years and have a big impact on our lives, somehow, it doesn’t seem like IBM’s 5 in 5 is as interestnig in past years. This years lists seems to revolve around consumer technol

Posted under Monthly Recap, Records, Seasonal Items

We are rapidly approaching the Winter Solstice.  It happens this time around on Friday, December 21st at 5:12 a.m. CST.  This is when the sun will be lowest in the sky of the entire year in the Northern Hemisphere.  It’s only fitting we have snow in the forecast as we approach this event I suppose.  Through Monday, the Wausau area has picked up 5.4″ of snow in December.  Of course most of that melted this past weekend.  We have some work to do to get up to our normal for December which is almost 14″.  It is very possible if the big storm tracks the right way Wednesday night and Thursday that we will be pushed up to or even above our monthly average snowfall.  Central Wisconsin won’t be the only area dealing with this pre-winter solstice snowstorm.  In fact as you see from the map below, winter storm watches and even some blizzard watches were issued from the National Weather Service all the way from Colorado clear up into Michigan.  Clearly there will be widespread travel disruptions through the center of the nation, even in areas outside of the official watches.

One aspect of this storm that will be different than the storm that moved through here on the 9th of December is the fact that we will see a lot more wind this time.  There will be a fairly tight pressure gradient around the low pressure system as it deepense and pushes northeast up into southern Lake Michigan by midday Thursday.  On the model projection below, the pressure lines or isobars, are the black circles surrounding the L on the map.  The tighter they are packed, the stronger the winds generally area.  It appears we will we will have northeast to north winds early Thursday around 20 mph, becoming NW at 20 to 30 mph for the afternoon and evening.  This will create low visibilities to one-quarter mile or less in the heavier snow bands.  In addition drifting snow could be rather substantial in rural open areas.  I suspect some 2 to 3 foot snow drifts will build up by Thursday afternoon.  This of course will make traveling even more treacherous than the last storm did.  Please montior TV-9 newscasts throughout the day along with our website, waow.com for complete storm information as it draws closer.

Model projection for noon Thursday. Solid black lines are isobars or “pressure lines”.

Posted under forecast, Seasonal Items, Severe Weather, snow, Winter Weather

VIDEO HERE: http://www.waow.com/story/20358716/2012/12/16/what-are-our-chances-for-a-white-christmas

Saturday’s combination of rain and warm temperatures ate up much of Central Wisconsin’s snow base this weekend.  And with fewer than 10 days until Christmas, the possibility of the region missing a so-called “white” Christmas has come top of mind for many looking forward to the holiday.

A Christmas is considered “white” when there is at least 1″ of snow on the ground on Dec. 25th.  And if nothing were to change in the weather between now and the holiday, this would be a “green” Christmas, as most of the Wausau metroplex has lost it’s snow base.

Northern Wisconsin is part of a few areas of the United States where “white” Christmases are considered the norm.  According to the National Weather Service, points north of Wausau historically see an inch of snow on the ground on Dec. 25th between 75 and 90% of the time, with the chances increasing closer to the border with upper Michigan.

Snow lovers and “white” Christmas proponents will want to pay close attention to the forecast this week.  The forecast models are advertising the potential for an organized storm system to develop over the southwestern United States, strengthen as it moves over the Plains, and become a large winter storm by the time it reaches the North American Great Lakes.

Of important note to Wisconsin is that the current projections place the track of the storm’s center moving south of the state.  That course would provide moisture, but combine it with colder air from Canada resulting in snow over much of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.  Warmer air would be contained south of the storm’s center of circulation giving rain to Indiana and Ohio.

Potential setup for Thursday

Forecasts change and systems don’t always come together as expected.  But should this system come to fruition, any snow Wisconsin picks up would likely last through Christmas.  Temperatures on the western side of the system are expected to bring daytime highs on Friday and Saturday in the 20s.

Stay up on the latest forecast projections as we get closer to Christmas with the Storm Track 9 weather team, Newsline 9 and waow.com.

Posted under forecast, Nature, Science, Seasonal Items, snow, Weather History, Weather NEws

Well, November certainly did not follow in the footsteps of October for weather.  If you remember October was our wettest month of the year with upwards of 6.0″ of moisture in parts of the TV-9 viewing area.  It was also a bit cooler than normal.

November on the other hand turned out on the mild and dry side in our region.  In the Wausau area the average high temperature was 42.4 degrees, 2.3 degrees above normal.  The average low temperature was 26.5 degrees, 1.6 degrees above normal.  We picked up just 1.27″ of rain or melted snow, which is .73″ less than usual.  Finally 2.3″ of snow fell which is 4.6″ below the normal for November.  The highest temperature in Wausau was 62 degrees on the 22nd.  The lowest temperature was 10 degrees on the both the 26th and 27th.

Here is a sneak peek at what December usually offers up.  The aveage high temperatures drop from the low 30s at the start of the month to the low 20s at the end.  The average low temperatures drop from the upper 10s early in the month to the single digits by the end.  We typically have several mornings where the mercury plunges below zero as well.  Our normal snowfall for December is fairly hefty, coming in just under 14″.  It will be interesting to see how things pan out this time around!

Posted under Monthly Recap, Seasonal Items

It’s always fun to think back to what kind of weather we’ve had on important landmark days like Thanksgiving. You can probably remember the time you had a very snow drive to Grandma’s house on Turkey Day. Or maybe you remember playing a rousing football game after a Thanksgiving meal in sunshine and 55 degrees. As it turns out, in the past 80 years, the Wausau area has had at least a trace of snowfall on Thanksgiving about 44% of the time.

Below you will see how the weather turned out over for the last 10 Thanksgiving Days in Wausau.

Year      High Temp      Precipitation

2011        51                       none

2010       33                      trace snow

2009       40                      trace snow

2008       35                       trace snow

2007        31                     trace snow

2006       55                      none

2005       16                      trace snow

2004       32                     .40” snow

2003       36                    .20” snow

Below are some additional weather statistics for various Wisconsin cities as put together by the National Weather Service in Green Bay.

Thanksgiving Day Weather Statistics

Green Bay

44% of Thanksgivings in Green Bay experienced at least a trace of snowfall (since 1886).

Appleton

35% of Thanksgivings in Appleton experienced at least a trace of snowfall (since 1901).

Wausau

44% of Thanksgivings in Wausau experienced at least a trace of snowfall (since 1933).

Rhinelander

43% of Thanksgivings in Rhinelander experienced at least a trace of snowfall (since 1908).

Posted under forecast, Seasonal Items, Travel, Weather History