This is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin.  Luckily we haven’t had much in the way of severe thunderstorms yet, but that will likely change over the next month or so.  It’s always a good thing to review severe weather terms, safety tips, and refresh your severe weather preparedness plans.  Do you and your family members know what to do in a variety of situations whether you are at home, school, work, shopping, driving, or outside?  Please take time to look over this important information.  It could reduce your risk of injury or death from severe weather.

On Thursday, April 19, a tornado drill will be conducted.  At 1 pm, a test Tornado Watch will be issued for all of Wisconsin.  The test watch will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio as a Required Weekly Test–RWT.  At 1:45 pm, the NWS Green Bay office will issue a test Tornado Warning.  The test warning will be broadcast as a test on NOAA Weather Radio using the actual Tornado Warning code.  The drill will conclude at 2 pm.

Here’s the schedule for the tornado drill:

1:00 p.m.  -  A test Tornado Watch is issued for all of Wisconsin by the Storm Prediction Center

1:45 p.m.  -  NWS offices in Wisconsin issue test Tornado Warnings using actual Tornado Warning code (broadcast will state this is a test)

2 p.m.  – Drill ends with the issuances of test Severe Weather Statements

Should severe weather be present anywhere in Wisconsin on the day of the drill, the test watch and warnings will be postponed until Friday.  If severe weather is forecast for Friday, the drill will be canceled.  

Wisconsin Severe Weather Facts

Wisconsin averages 23 tornadoes per year, with most tornadoes occurring in the 3 to 9 P.M. time frame.  The peak tornado season in Wisconsin is May through August, with June having the greatest number of tornadoes.  A record-setting 62 tornadoes occurred in 2005.  In 2011, Wisconsin had 38 tornadoes, 15 in northeast Wisconsin alone!

The “average” Wisconsin tornado has a 10 minute duration, a path length of about 6 miles, and a damage width of about 125 yards.

Another hazard of the warm-season is powerful, straight-line thunderstorm winds that can exceed 60 mph.  Every year Wisconsin will get a few storms that generate hurricane-force winds of at least 75 to 100 mph.  Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are issued for these wind events.

Large hail is also a hazard with thunderstorms.  Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are also issued for storms with hail of at least 1″ in diameter.

Other warm-season hazards localized flash floods or widespread river and lowland flooding, lightning, and excessive heat.

To learn much more about all types of severe weather that impacts our region please go to these great link from the National Weather Service. 

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/?n=taw-part4-tornado_stats

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grb/?n=safety

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/grb/outreach/TAW/TAW5.pdf

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/grb/outreach/TAW/TAW2.pdf

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/grb/outreach/TAW/TAW3.pdf

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/grb/outreach/TAW/TAW1.pdf

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

Kristen posted some information about Lightning Safety Awareness Week yesterday and you can find a lot of good information here (same link that Kristen posted). One thing I wanted to highlight about lightning safety is a habit that people need to break in order to stay safe – and that is hiding under trees. The normal thing to do during a rain storm is to go for the nearest shelter. If you are stuck outdoors, the nearest shelter is often a large tree, and this is the most dangerous place to be if lightning is striking. It is so natural to head for a tree to attempt to stay dry that almost everyone does it and this has led to many lightning related deaths through the years – sometimes multiple fatalities from a large group of people standing under a tree. The places this usually happens is on the golf course or outdoor athletic fields. The best place to go is indoors, but if you are outside during a thunderstorm break yourself of the habit of hiding under a tree. Just grin (or scowl) and bear it. Stand (or crouch) out in the rain and get wet and you will be much safer than standing under a lone large tree. Of course, if you are in a forest, you can’t help but stand under a tree, in which case you would want to stand under the smaller trees since the talls trees are the ones that tend to get struck. For all the golfers out there, keep a rain poncho in your bag. If you are far out on the 5th fairway and a thunderstorm pops up unexpectedly, just put on your rain poncho and stand in the rain. Having a rain poncho is better than holding an umbrella since lightning will tend to strike the tallest thing around, and an umbrella makes you slightly taller.

Speaking of lightning, we could have a bit more later this afternoon as a cold front moves through the area. There is a slight risk of severe weather as some of the storms could produce high winds or large hail. Another concern is heavy rain. Some locations in Price county received 2 to 4 inches of rain earlier this morning which caused some localized flooding, and thunderstorms this afternoon could produce an inch or so of rain in the heavier downpours. Remember, never drive through a water covered roadway – turn around, don’t drown. The good news in the forecast is that dry and comfortable weather should develop for tomorrow and continue for most of Friday. The bad news is that off-and-on thunderstorms will likely develop again Friday night and continue off-and-on for Saturday and Sunday. Once again it looks like there could be some severe weather and heavy rain over the weekend, so keep that in mind if you have outdoor plans. If you are hoping for a longer stretch of dry weather, it looks like next week will deliver. At this point conditions look mostly sunny from Tuesday through Thursday.

Special Note: Once again some technical trouble developed this morning so I was not able to upload the “Weather Show” to our weather page. Here is hoping things are fixed for tomorrow, although it is out of my hands.

Now an update on a story that has been rearing its head from time-to-time over the last 5 years – colony collapse disorder. This is some form of disease that is killing a lot of honeybees in the U.S. I originally took note of the issue because it was originally blamed on AGW (anthropogenic global warming). Other theories have been offered over the last couple years and now some think it might be caused by something imported with Australian honeybees. Read about it here.

Since I brought up AGW, I might as well share this prediction with you. Humans will be extinct in 100 years – mainly due to AGW. This comes from world renowned scientist Frank Fenner. If I was still keeping my AGW list, this would go on it. Are there some flaws in his prediction? Yes. Human population growth is no longer exponential and is slowing. Some population forecasters expect the population to top out around 9 to 10 billion in a couple decades and start decreasing during the second half of this century. Also, our technological progress continues at a rapid pace. If we don’t kill ourselves with our technology, we will likely use it to clean up the planet. Unless Fenner thinks progress is done, then there is certainly some hope.

Lastly, just because it is cool, how about a picture of an aurora taken from space. See a large image here. For more information on auroras check this article.

Have a nice Wednesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under AGW, Climate Change, Environment, Flooding, Weather Safety