Just a quick post this morning about the tornado devastation in Oklahoma. It reminds me of the discussion of SuperStorm Sandy. Check out this past post about SuperStorm risks, and this one about hardening infrastructure against violent storms. The cities in Oklahoma that were struck by the tornado could have used buried power lines. Stronger houses or more underground storm shelters would be beneficial. Maybe it is time to start considering underground shelters or large “storm rooms” for big public buildings like schools, factories, and churches. These are all great ideas, of course, but they all cost money. It is much cheaper to live in a trailer home even though the risk of dying in a severe weather event – in tornado alley no less – is much much greater. I am happy to see WPS is at least testing buried power cables in the Northwoods. I hope the test proves some benefit for buried cables, as then “downed” power lines would be one less thing to worry about in a severe weather situation.

UPDATE: Over the weekend I warned people about an upcoming threat of frost. At that point, it looked as if the highest threat of frost would be Saturday and Sunday morning. Now the main threat has shifted to Friday morning with only a minor threat of frost well to the northeast of Marathon county on Saturday morning. On Friday morning it is looking more likely that there will be a light frost across rural and low-lying areas of central Wisconsin. I am now forecasting a low of 35 even in the city. The Northwoods will have the highest chance of frost with some spots possibly seeing low temps in the upper 20s. I have NOT yet planted my peppers, melons, or tomatoes in the ground in my country garden and I will hold off on potting some tomatoes as well, until after Friday. I already have six frost sensitive plants in pots that I will have to (maybe) cover or move indoors Thursday night. I don’t need anymore to worry about. Hopefully this will be the last significant frost threat of the season. I plan on putting more plants in the ground this weekend.

Have a good Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew

Posted under Freeze, Gardening, Seasonal Items, Storms, Tornadoes

With tornado and severe weather season ramping up into high gear lately, it is a good time to review safety rules.  You probably have the safety tips for humans stuck in your head pretty well by now.  But how about for your pets?  What types of things do you need to have in place to keep them as safe as possible when a bad storm hits?  How about for caring for them in the aftermath?  The Humane Society of the U.S. has put together a comprehensive plan for pet owners.  You should definitely take a good look at this as there is much to learn on how to keep you precious animal friends cared for.  You will find it printed below.

• Put a collar with visible identification on your pets, including indoor-only pets.
• Keep pictures of your pets on hand for identification purposes. Ideally, you should also be in the photo.
• Create a pet emergency kit (see below). Items should be refreshed every few months.
• Talk to your neighbors about how they can help your pets if you are not at home if disaster strikes.
• Create a list of hotels that allow pets. Know where you can take your horses: Make arrangements with a friend or another horse owner to stable your horses if needed.

• Three-or-more-day supply of food in airtight, waterproof container, and drinking water.
• Bowls for food and water.
• Current photos and physical description of your pets, including details on markings.
• Medications, vaccination records and pet first aid supplies.
• Comfort items such as a toy and blanket.
• Small garbage bags.
• For dogs include: leash, harness and a sturdy carrier large enough to use as a sleeping area.
• For cats include: litter and litter box and a sturdy carrier large enough for transport.
• For horses include: Coggins tests, veterinary papers, identification photographs and vital information such as medical history and emergency phone numbers.

Posted under Education, Severe Weather, Storms, Tornadoes

Researchers at NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory and the University of Oklahoma have made some exciting new advances in tornado research.  They have found a strong relation between something called updraft helicity and and tornado track length.  Updraft helicity is essentially a measure of how fast the air is spinning in the rapidly rising column of warm moist air that feeds tornadic thunderstorms.  It can be inferred from the wind direction and speed at different heights in the atmosphere near the thunderstorms.  These researchers have improved their high resolution computer models enough to produce timely, small scale predictions of updraft helicity.  While the models can’t actually predict the tornado, they can with improved confidence show where the likelihood of a strong one forming will be.  As such it will be another handy tool for forecasters to use to help keep the public safe.

You can read a press release from NOAA on this topic from the following link.  http://researchmatters.noaa.gov/news/Pages/NSSLpredicting.aspx

Posted under Severe Weather, Storms, Tornadoes, Weather NEws

Despite the continued chilly conditions and even a chance of snow later in the week, this is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week across Wisconsin.  Our main severe weather season in Wisconsin runs from April through September, with the peak typically in June and July.  While last summer had very few severe storms and only 4 twisters, that is not typical.  The Badger State average 23 tornadoes per year with dozens more severe thunderstorms with damaging straight line winds, large hail, intense lightning, and flooding rain.  You definitely want to take this week to refresh your severe weather safety plan.  Please review what you would do whether you are at home, in the car, in a store or public building, or outside.  There will be a statewide test tornado watch issued Friday, April 19th at 1 p.m. with a test tornado warning issued at 1:45 p.m.  It has been pushed back from the orginal test date of Thursday due to the threat of severe thunderstorms in southeast Wisconsin Thursday.

Below is an informational statement from the National Weather Service.

IN 2012...WISCONSIN HAD 4 DOCUMENTED TORNADOES. THERE WERE NO 
FATALITIES OR INJURIES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE TORNADOES.

THERE HAVE BEEN 1499 DOCUMENTED TORNADOES IN WISCONSIN SINCE
1844...CAUSING 511 DIRECTLY-RELATED DEATHS AND AT LEAST 3049
DIRECTLY-RELATED INJURIES.  DATA PRIOR TO 1950 IS INCOMPLETE BECAUSE
IN MANY CASES...ONLY LARGE TORNADOES WERE REPORTED AND MANY RURAL
TORNADOES WENT UNDETECTED.

THE FOLLOWING ARE WISCONSIN TORNADO OCCURRENCES BY MONTH...

          J   F   M   A   M   J   J   A   S   O   N   D  TOTAL
1844-2012 3   0  18  117 238 430 325 197 126 30   9   6   1499
Only 2012 0   0   0    0   2  0   0   1   1   0   0   0      4

30 YEAR NORMAL /1981-2010/  ...23 TORNADOES PER YEAR IN WISCONSIN.

THE YEAR OF 2005 HAD THE GREATEST STATE TOTAL WITH 62 TORNADOES.

THE YEAR OF 1952 HAD THE FEWEST NUMBER WITH 1 TORNADO.

OTHER YEARLY WISCONSIN TOTALS INCLUDE...

1980...43 1981...21 1982...16 1983...31 1984...34
1985...16 1986...14 1987...16 1988...35 1989...17
1990...09 1991...10 1992...26 1993...37 1994...35
1995...07 1996...21 1997...14 1998...11 1999...11
2000...18 2001...12 2002...26 2003...14 2004...36
2005...62 2006...13 2007...18 2008...38 2009...16
2010...46 2011...38 2012...04
------------------------------------------------------------------
THE FOLLOWING ARE STATISTICS FOR THE AVERAGE TORNADO IN WISCONSIN
FROM 1950 THROUGH JANUARY 2008...

DURATION....9.8 MINUTES
LENGTH......5.5 MILES
MAX WIDTH...121 YARDS
INTENSITY...1.1 ON THE EF-SCALE

THE FOLLOWING ARE STATISTICS FOR THE AVERAGE TORNADO IN WISCONSIN
FROM 1982 THROUGH JANUARY 2008...

DURATION...7.1 MINUTES
LENGTH.....3.7 MILES
WIDTH......118 YARDS
----------------------------------------------------------------

...WISCONSIN`S WORST TORNADO...
     NEW RICHMOND /ST. CROIX COUNTY/ TORNADO ON JUNE 12 1899...
     KILLING 117...INJURING 125...AND DESTROYING OVER 300 BUILDINGS.

...OTHER COSTLY WISCONSIN TORNADOES INCLUDE...
     OAKFIELD /FOND DU LAC COUNTY/ TORNADO ON JULY 18 1996...INJURING
     ONLY 12 WITH DAMAGE PEGGED AT 40.4 MILLION DOLLARS IN 1996
     DOLLARS /59.78 MILLION IN 2013 DOLLARS. IT BECAME A F5 TORNADO

     EAST OF OAKFIELD. 
     BARNEVELD/IOWA COUNTY/ TORNADO ON JUNE 8 1984...KILLED 9 AND
     INJURED 200 WITH WITH DAMAGED PEGGED AT 40 MILLION DOLLARS
     IN 1984 DOLLARS /89.38 MILLININ 2013 DOLLARS. THIS WAS AN F5 TORNADO.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

...NUMBER OF THUNDERSTORM DAYS IN WISCONSIN...
ON AVERAGE...THE NUMBER OF DAYS PER YEAR WITH THUNDERSTORMS RANGES
FROM AROUND 30 ALONG THE LAKE MICHIGAN SHORELINE TO AROUND 40 OVER
THE SOUTHWEST THIRD OF THE STATE.

...NUMBER OF TORNADO DAYS IN WISCONSIN...
IN THE TORNADO DEPARTMENT...SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN NEAR THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER AVERAGES ABOUT 1 DAY PER YEAR WITH A TORNADO. THIS
AVERAGE DECREASES DOWN TO 0.7 DAYS PER YEAR FOR THE MADISON AREA...
0.6 TORNADO DAYS PER YEAR FOR MILWAUKEE AREA...0.4 DAYS PER YEAR
FOR THE GREEN BAY AREA...AND 0.2 TORNADO DAYS PER YEAR FOR NORTHERN
WISCONSIN.

...NUMBER OF WARNINGS PER YEAR IN WISCONSIN...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES THAT SERVICE WISCONSIN ISSUE...ON
AVERAGE...ONLY 1 TO 2 TORNADO WARNINGS AND 5 TO 10 SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS PER COUNTY PER YEAR FOR THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES.
THE AVERAGES ARE LESS FOR NORTHERN WISCONSIN COUNTIES.

...NUMBER OF WATCHES PER YEAR IN WISCONSIN...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WISCONSIN ISSUES ON AVERAGE ABOUT
29 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES PER YEAR THAT COVER AT LEAST SOME PART
OF WISCONSIN. THE NUMBER FOR TORNADO WATCHES IN WISCONSIN IS ABOUT
11 PER YEAR.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

THE U.S. NATIONAL AVERAGES FOR THE PERIOD 1982-2012...
     ...1132 TORNADOES PER YEAR
     ...73 DEATHS PER YEAR
     ...22 KILLER TORNADOES PER YEAR

YEAR-BY-YEAR BREAKDOWN FOR U.S. FOR 1982-2012 FOLLOWS...

    YEAR        TORNADOES         DEATHS           KILLER TORNADOES
-------------------------------------------------------------------
    1982          1047               64                   31
    1983           812               34                   26
    1984           907              122                   33
    1985           684               94                   20
    1986           713               15                   11
    1987           656               59                   14
    1988           698               32                   19
    1989           856               50                   13
    1990          1133               53                   17
    1991          1127               39                   15
    1992          1297               39                   16
    1993          1173               33                   16
    1994          1085               68                   23
    1995          1234               29                   14
    1996          1173               25                   13
    1997          1148               67                   22
    1998          1417              130                   33
    1999          1300               95                   29
    2000          1071               40                   14
    2001          1216               40                   23
    2002           941               55                   28
    2003          1376               54                   23
    2004          1817               36                   20
    2005          1264               38                   13
    2006          1103               67                   25
    2007          1098               81                   26
    2008          1692              126                   37
    2009          1146               21                    9
    2010          1282               45                   21
    2011          1691              553                   59
    2012           939               70                   22

/TOTAL OF 1817 IN 2004 IS AN ALL-TIME YEARLY RECORD/

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TORNADOES...PLEASE REFER TO:

http://spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/pagelist.htm

FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION...UP TO DATE FORECASTS...
AND ANY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES PLEASE VISIT:

http://weather.gov/mkx



You can see much more information on severe weather at this link.  http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grb/?n=taw_week

Posted under Severe Weather, Storms, Weather Safety

The Skywarn Spotter training program is in high gear right now as we prepare for the severe thunderstorm season.   The National Weather Service is holding numerous sessions around the area for those interested in learning about severe weather and how to report on it.    They include:

• April 2nd:  Wood County Courthouse in Wisconsin Rapids, 6:00 p.m.
• April 10th:  Waushara County Courthouse in Wautoma, 6:00 p.m.
• April 11th:  Antigo High School, 6:00 p.m.
• April 15th:  Law Enforcement Center in Adams, 6:30 p.m.
• May 22nd:  Oneida County Law Enforcement Center in Rhinelander, 6:00 p.m.

Several live webinars will be held as well.  You need to have high speed internet and phone to take part in these. 

• March 28th:  7:00 p.m.  Conducted by the Green Bay National Weather Service (you need to live in their county warning area-covers much of the TV-9 area)
• April 9th:  2:00 p.m.  Conducted by the La Crosse National Weather Service ( includes Taylor, Clark, Jackson, Monroe, Juneau, and Adams Counties)

A third option to become Skywarn certified is to take an online self study course.

• Please go to the following link to learn more about the online self study.   https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_course.php?id=23

There is a wealth of information online regarding severe weather information, spotting, and safety.  Please visit the Green Bay National Weather Service Skywarn page, http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grb/spotters.php

Another great link is the National Skywarn Homepage.  http://skywarn.org/

Spotters, thanks for all your hard work and dedication.  You really help keep the public as safe and informed as possible during severe weather.  Keep up the good work!

Posted under Seasonal Items, Severe Weather, Storms, Tornadoes, Weather NEws, Weather Safety

A viewer recently sent me a question regarding how many storms we have had from a Sunday to Monday this winter?  They heard that we had one basically every Sunday-Monday couplet since mid-December.  So I checked the old weather records here at WAOW-TV for the Wausau area.  As it turns out, from November 1st until now, we have had seven significant storms during a Sunday-Monday time frame.  That’s seven out of  a possible twenty-one Sunday-Monday couplets.  In other words, we have been buried with snow or ice storms 33% of the time when the calendar said Sunday or Monday.  That’s fairly frequent.  Since Mondays tend to get people down anyway, this winter’s Mondays were especially tough.

There were also a few times where the storms hit other corners of the state but not right here in our area.  Also some of the Sunday and Mondays I did not include certainly had minor amounts of precipitation as well.  Precipitation has fallen in fact probably on at least 70% percent of all days this winter.  I suppose some people think the weather is personally picking on them if storms hit  on a day when they like to travel or do certain things outside.  This seems to be especially true in the summer.  If it rains a lot on weekends, we tend to get a lot of emails and calls from upset people.  They just don’t think it’s fair to have their picnic, or wedding, or camping trip, or ball game ruined by the weather.  Well anyway, you know it is time for winter to end when I write a blog on a subject like this (on what days of the week our storms have occurred.)

Posted under snow, Storms, Winter Weather

Eastern Wisconsin is digging out as you probably know from a very wet heavy snowfall.  This latest major winter storm has left a swath of deep snow on the ground all the way from the Texas Panhandle to Michigan.    If you recall, up to 20″ fell around Amarillo, TX (one of their biggest storms ever).  Areas around and east of Kansas City had over 15″.   Of course this is on top of a major snowstorm that hit the same general part of the country about a week earlier.  Many residents in the southern and central Plains region say they haven’t seen snow like this in 20 years.  While the travel troubles it has caused have not been good, in large part the moisture it will provide to the ground and streams and lakes when it melts is very good.  Much of the Plains has been in quite a drought in recent years.  By the way, Chicago got over 5″.  While that doesn’t seem like too much, it is the largest storm for them this season.  In fact it accounts for about 30% of their season so far.  They have been missed by most of the snows that have frequently hit Wisconsin this winter.

In Wisconsin, the heaviest snow piled up around Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Racine, and Kenosha with 12 to 15″ reported.  This combined with northeast to north winds of 20 to 40 mph created huge drifts to 4 feet deep.  Travel on certain roads was basically impossible Tuesday night to early Wednesday morning.  The extra snow they got in the eastern part of the state came basically because of the way the moisture wrapped in from the east on the north side of the low pressure system that traveled from central Illinois to southern Lower Michigan.  The band just stayed on top of them the longest.  There was no true lake effect contributing to the totals because the air wasn’t cold enough for that.  However, there probably was some lake enhancement.  That is, the snow bands that were already present from the storm picked up just a little extra moisture as they crossed over the humid air over Lake Michigan.

Posted under snow, Storms, Weather NEws, Winter Weather

Snow, snow, and more snow.  Since January 1st, we have had only 18 days without at least a trace of snow in the Wausau area.  In fact the really snow stretch started on January 23rd.  From January 23rd until February 20th, we have had only 6 days without measurable snow.  It’s no wonder you might be feeling like you are constantly scraping your driveway with the shovel or firing up the snow blower.   For the winter season so far, over 50″ has accumulated on the Wausau area.  Normal for this point in the winter season is about 42″.  What a difference a year makes.  Last year to this point in the season we had only picked up just over 27″ of snow.

It sure looks like February will be an even more impressive snow month than January was.  We’ve already had 10.1″ of snow in Wausau for February, while normal to this point is 6.8″.  Last year in February through the 20th we picked up just 2.8″.  It looks like another 4″ or so could fall on us Friday, with possibly that much again around Tuesday of next week.  So it is very realistic to think we could get up to the 20″ mark for the month of February.

That’s a good amount of snow.  Whether it is a good or bad thing really depends on who you ask.  Weather is kind of like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.  No matter what your opinion, please be extra careful on the roads over the next week with the hazards the new storm storms will be bringing.  Take care.

Posted under snow, Storms, Winter Weather

2012 certainly did not have any shortage of extreme weather events across the United States.  In fact according to NOAA, there were 11 weather disasters that caused at least one billion dollars worth of damage.  Hurricanes, fires, droughts, floods, and tornadoes all made the list.  I suspect the greater our population becomes, and the more people that live along the coasts and in fire prone areas of the west and southwest, the greater the disaster potential will be in upcoming years.  The news article from NOAA printed below is a good summary with additional links if you want to dig in deeper to what happenned in 2012 and even prior years.  Keep in mind the NOAA article was written before the destructive storm that hit the southern and eastern U.S. on December 25th and 26th.

Preliminary Info on 2012 U.S. Billion-Dollar Extreme Weather/Climate Events

(source:  NOAA)

 

Today, NOAA released preliminary information on extreme weather and climate events in the U.S. for 2012 that are known to have reached the $1 billion threshold in losses. As of December 20, NOAA estimates that the nation experienced 11 such events, to include seven severe weather/tornado events, two tropical storm/hurricane events, and the yearlong drought and associated wildfires.

These eleven events combined are believed to have caused 349 deaths, with the most significant losses of life occurring during Sandy (131) and the summer-long heat wave and associated drought, which caused over 123 direct deaths (though an estimate of the excess mortality due to heat stress is still unknown).

The eleven events include:

• Southeast/Ohio Valley Tornadoes — March 2–3 2012
• Texas Tornadoes — April 2–3 2012
• Great Plains Tornadoes — April 13–14 2012
• Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather — April 28–May 1 2012
• Southern Plains/Midwest/Northeast Severe Weather — May 25–30 2012
• Rockies/Southwest Severe Weather — June 6–12 2012
• Plains/East/Northeast Severe Weather (“Derecho”) — June 29–July 2 2012
• Hurricane Isaac — August 26–31 2012
• Western Wildfires — Summer–Fall, 2012
• Hurricane Sandy — October 29–31 2012
• U.S. Drought/Heatwave — throughout 2012

Economic losses for two events, Sandy and the yearlong drought, are the big drivers this year in terms of costs and are still being calculated. It will take months to develop a final, reliable estimate for each. Given how big these events are likely to be, NOAA estimates 2012 will surpass 2011 (exceeding $60 billion, CPI-adjusted to 2012 dollars) in terms of aggregate costs for annual billion-dollar disasters, even with fewer number of billion-dollar disasters. The greatest annual loss to date was 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Dennis struck Florida and the Gulf Coast states (costs exceeded $187 billion, CPI-adjusted to 2012 dollars).

Further information about each of these eleven events can be found at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events.

The impacts of natural disasters, as seen this year, are a stark reminder of how deadly and destructive weather can be and how important it is to be prepared. Through NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation initiative, we are taking steps to lessen the impacts of extreme weather on our communities and our nation’s economy. To learn more, visit http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/.

Posted under Flooding, Hurricanes, Natural Disasters, Severe Weather, Storms, Tornadoes, Weather NEws

Perhaps you are struggling with what gift to get for somebody in your life that already seems to have everything.  Hey I’ve got a good one for you.  It’s very possible they don’t have this very useful, safety providing gift…..a NOAA weather radio.  In case you haven’t looked into them before, there have been great advances in this technology in recent years.  You can now choose which type of weather warnings you are concerned about for you area to trigger the alarm.  If you are not concerned about dense fog advisories or severe thunderstorm watches, you can screen them out.  Likewise you can pick and choose which counties you want your radio to pick up warnings for.  Otherwise it will play a nearly continuous feed of the latest forecast for your area.   It is really very slick.  Also you can receive all sorts of other non weather related civil emergency messages.

They come in numerous shapes, styles, sizes, and colors.  They have battery backup and some are portable like walkie-talkies.  Others are water-proof.  That would be perfect for someone who goes on a lot of camping trips.  For those that may be hearing impaired, you can purchase flashing strobes to attach to the radio to alert the person of severe warnings.  Generally the cost is fairly reasonable ranging generally from about $20 for very basic models to perhaps as much as $90 for really loaded models.

You can learn much more about weather radios, where the transmitter locations are, and where to buy them by checking out the following link from the National Weather Service.  http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grb/?n=nwr    Happy shopping now, and Happy Holidays!

Posted under Storms, Technology, Weather Safety