So for the first time in a very long time Tuesday morning we had a blizzard warning posted for central Wisconsin, including Marathon County.  But did we in fact have a ‘blizzard’ or was it just another very strong snowstorm.  Well a blizzard does in fact have a technical criteria.  Blizzard conditions are described as a combination of 2 things…

1.  Sustained winds or frequent gusts over 35 miles per hour

2.  Snow or blowing snow causing visibilities under a quarter mile.

And in order for the storm to be called a ‘blizzard’ we need to have these conditions for 3 straight hours.

Here in Wausau and most of central Wisconsin, we definitely had the 2nd criteria covered early Wednesday morning during the height of the storm but we lacked the winds a bit.  We did have some gusts over the 35 mph criteria..here are some area gusts reported..

Antigo: 39     Merrill: 38   Medford: 36    Wausau: 36    Marshfield: 39   Rapids: 35

Now again these are higher than the criteria but gusts this high were hardly frequent during the event, let alone sustained.  That’s the key…we need these conditions to last for over 3 hours.  So I would say briefly at times we had blizzard conditions, but I wouldn’t say we had a ‘blizzard’ in Central Wisconsin…just a very strong winter storm. 

Now Northeastern Wisconsin makes a much better case.  They saw even heavier snow and winds peaking over 50 mph in spots.  Winds frequently gusted over 40 Tuesday morning from Door County to the Fox Valley.  So just down highway 29…I would say Yup they definately had a ‘Blizzard’!

The N.W.S. Office in Green Bay did a fantastic summary of the event…check it out.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Winter Weather

I have always said that one of the biggest arguements about global warming is how you make your agruement.  In previous blogs I have warned you about how scientists will use the best timeframe or numbers available to prove their point…can you blame them..this is the smartest way to get a point across.  But what is going on with Climate-gate is flat out manipulation. 

Just like any other world issue, there is likely hidden agendas…usually having to do with $$$$$$$$$$$.  Phil Jones, the head of climate research unit at the Unversity of East Angelina, has stepped down after computer hackers dug into his email bag.  The hackers disovered that Jones altered climate change data.  I know this is only one research institution out of many worldwide, but who knows what else will turn up in the future.  Hopefully this is the only bad apple but I doubt it. 

In no way am I saying global warming is an overall hoax or that people don’t have an effect on climate change.  But I think certain scientist and government officials may go beyond bending numbers to make a stronger point. 

It is also very interesting that Fox News is the only national media outlet covering this story.  Yeah I know … Fox is supposedly right wing while the rest is supposedly left..blah blah blah.  Of course I get it and thats what the far right and left will argue.  But how is this not news???????  The national news is quick to report when a new study comes out claiming to prove or disprove global warming…this goes for every outlet.  How is it not news when a major player in the study of Climate Change has to step down for basically lying with his research?  I guess Tiger Wood’s love life is probably more important..that is some good dirt.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Climate Change

I am still amazed by the MVC (Mesoscale Vorticity Center) that brought a ton of rainfall to Wausau last night and continues to do so off to the east.  Currently the storm complex is centered over northern Lake Michigan. 

To address a couple comments…The storm definitely had or has the looks of a tropical cyclone when looking at radar and satellite imagery.  But the storms mechanics still remain different from a tropical cyclone.  Either way it looks pretty Cool!!

I wanted to pass you along to another blog which has archived some awesome imagery of the storm…

CIMSS Satellite Blog

I think you will also enjoy their discussion..

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Severe Weather, Storms, Viewer pictures

With the potential for thunderstorms tomorrow, I wanted to remind you all about a couple different tools available through waow.com.  First, this will be a great opportunity to use the new ITrak Radar.  The new radar interface will allow you to zoom to street level while analysing each storm.  The built in parameters will tell you the main threats with each storm cell.

Also, If you take any pictures of the storms, you can upload them at reportstorms.com.  You can also access reportstorms.com through our weather page or this link.  Once your picture is sent, it will be accessible by our graphics system and we can show it on air!!  Even if you don’t have a picture, you can report various weather conditions using Report Storms.  This will help us out a lot to get real weather observations.

Storms will be likely tomorrow afternoon.  Some of them could be strong, but I think the greatest severe potential will be to our south.  Have a safe and wonderful weekend.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Storms, Viewer pictures

Most places picked up some very nice rainfall this evening, and the severe weather was minimal…a big ++.  Now lets hope for some nice weather ahead.  I’m sure plans are already being made and many of you are already looking forward to the Memorial Day Weekend.  I thought we could take a quick look at a long range computer model to see what’s on the horizon for the unofficial opening to summer.  Here is the GFSx Forecast Model for Friday night and into Saturday.

Now keep in mind this is so far away but right now it looks like we could have a dominant area of high pressure, which would mean dry and sunny weather.  To make things even better…it looks warm!!  We shall see!!!

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Spring

Along with quite the lightning show and heavy rain, last night’s storms produced a lot of hail.  If your reading this, there is a pretty good chance at least one of the storm cells brought you some hail.  Fortunately most of the hail was less then one inch in diameter, but there were a few isolated occurrences where the hail was larger.  The largest hail reported was just northwest of Neillsville at 2 inches in Diameter.  Golf Ball size hail (1.75″) was also reported just west of Merrill and north of Wausau. 

There was also scattered reports of trees and limbs down across the area due to wind and lighting.  Tree Damage was reported in Phillips, Park Falls, Prentice( you can see the price county theme).  Tree damage was also reported in Spencer and Merrill.

Most importantly, most places picked up around an inch of rain.  Merrill saw about an inch and a half!!  This good soaking rain brought our April rain total back to around average, and with a lot more rain expected later tonight and into tomorrow, we could be well above average by Monday.

Here of some pictures sent in from the storms, thanks to all for taking them.  Don’t forget, you can also send us pictures using the Report Storms link on the top of the weather page. 

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Severe Weather, Spring, Storms, Viewer pictures

While some Midwest Ski Resorts close up shop for the year, Mountain resorts out west are gearing up for at least one last Hurrah!!  An intense storm system could dump over 2 feet of snow to Colorado Resorts by the end of the week, to the delight of many spring breakers who pass up beaches for one more chance of powder. 

Typically mild by this time of year…the Denver Metro area could see over a foot of snow.  I learned really quick during my time in Colorado that early spring can be quite the roller coaster ride.  Flowers and trees are already blossoming in the lower valleys while major snow seems to affect the high country every other day.  Sometimes the snow will work into the valley’s, following a 70 degree and sunny day…it was weird but kind of cool.

Here are some web cam shots along I-70 and Vail Ski Resort..  For more Vail Webcams follow this link…

This should set up some great T-Shirt Skiing by the weekend!!!

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Winter Weather

In Justin’s morning post he talked about the dedication and preparations we take before the upcoming severe weather season.  Here at Channel 9 we are also finding different ways for YOU to be involved.  We will soon launch a couple different interactive tools YOU can use to track storms.  First I want to talk about what will be called I-TRAK Radar.  This will be a new radar interface available at waow.com.  The new radar interface will give you more control of the radar tools we use on a daily basis.  Around the same time we will also start “Report Storms.”  This new tool will allow you to report weather conditions at your house along with other weather lovers nationwide.  This will come extremely in handing during severe weather situations.  By logging on to reportstorms.com, you will be able to report anything from high wind gusts, hail, storm damage, snow reports…etc.  You will also have the ability to attach pictures or videos to your report.  Your report will then automatically download into our graphic system for us to use ON-AIR….pretty cool eh!!!  In the coming weeks you will here much more about “Report Storms and “I-TRAK Radar” 

We will also be upgrading our Weather Crawl System which you see during Severe Weather Events.  The new crawl will allow us to provide more detailed information.  I think it will also be less distracting to the regular programing.  I hope you are excited about the New Tools as we are, and I’m happy to give you a quick inside on the happening here at Channel 9.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Severe Weather, Spring, Storms, Uncategorized, Viewer pictures

Two nights ago when we had winds top over 40 mph in Central Wisconsin, the winds gusted near 60 mph across Green Bay and Door County.  The high winds were actually strong enough to break off a huge section of ice in Green Bay and send it into Lake Michigan.  Totally awesome for us…Visible Satellite from the N.W.S. was able to capture this event…

Click on this linkfor a looping image of the ice.

Also for much more information check out the CIMSS Satellite Blog.

Hurricane Forecast Changes…

The National Hurricane Center is looking into changing a few things with their Hurricane forecasting procedures.  One of the biggest changes would be adding a specific “Storm Surge Warning” on top of the general Hurricane Warning.  Storm surge is referred to as the surge of water that accompanies Tropical Systems before and during landfall.  When it comes to Hurricanes, the storm surge often causes the most danger and destruction.  The storm surge is what brought the water over the Levees in New Orleans and leveled Biloxi.  More recently the storm surge with Hurricane Ike flooded Galveston last summer.  The new warning would specify a much smaller area that will likely be affected by the dangerous storm surge.  The strongest storm surge usually exists to the right of the storm’s eye.

For more on the other changes…check out Dr. Jeff Master’s Blog.

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Storms, Tropics, Winter Weather

Don’t forget to turn you clocks ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night.  As we ‘spring’ forward winter weather will return Sunday.  We are closely tracking a storm system that could bring significant snow to the area on Sunday.  The National Weather Service has already posted a Winter Storm Watch for much of the area for Sunday.  This storm system has great potential for big snow, but I also feel that the stars almost have to align for it to happen.  As we transition between seasons, storms systems generally become trickier.  The storm’s track and related temperatures are going to play a big role with this system.  Right now if you draw a line from Marshfield to Escanaba, that’s the likeliest spot for heavy snow. 

To the left is forecast map from NCEP, showing the snowfall potential.  The forecast shows the maximum snowfall for everyone north of Wisconsin Rapids at 5 inches or higher.  Now the same model run also shows very low confidence.

The Model puts most of us under only a 30% chance of seeing 2 or more inches of snow.  So there you have it, the storm has big potential but there are also many factors that could hamper the snow.  My biggest concern is temperatures… more specifically how much warm air will advance north ahead of the storm.  Even with a perfect storm track, we are riding a very thin line as far as precipitation type.  Any rain or sleet could dramatically alter snow totals.  This is really another wait and see what tomorrow(Saturday) brings.  The system is yet to even develop, and we will know so much more once it does tomorrow afternoon.  If this thing does pan out, right now Marshfield, Wausau, Stevens Point, Merrill, Antigo are all in line for heavy snow accumulation. 

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Science, Storms, Winter Weather