I took another trip up to the mountain this morning and the snow pile was about one third the size it was yesterday but I cannot guarantee it will melt today. I have included the latest pictures in this blog post. It will be so close to finally melting today that I will have to take another trip out there this evening and monitor the situation. There might be just enough sunshine to melt it today. Stay tuned!

Have a nice Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Snowmelt 2012

As expected, the 80 degree weather really put a dent in the remaining snow on Rib Mountain. Another 80s degree day today should just about finish it off. I suspect we will have the final snow melt off of Rib Mountain either Tuesday or Wednesday. I am amazed that it has lasted this long, but the snow piles Granite Peak makes during the winter are very deep and they take a long time to melt. If the temperatures had not been so warm for much of this Spring, the snow might have lasted until the middle of June. In any case, good luck to everyone who picked dates for this week. You have a good shot at winning. Here are a few pictures from earlier today (Monday). I will be posting daily updates for the rest of this week. If the snow melts on Tuesday or Wednesday, we will likely hold the drawing for the top five prizes on Thursday on Wake-up Wisconsin.

Have a pleasant Memorial Day, Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Snowmelt 2012

A few years ago, when I saw the trees being cut down along highway 51 (I-39) south of Stevens Point, I got a sense of foreboding. That familiar sight for travelers, those rows of trees that lined the highway, were planted back in the dust bowl days or shortly thereafter in order to prevent soil erosion and dust storms (according to some local folks). When I saw the trees being cut down I thought about how human memories are short. Severe multi-year droughts do happen. There is nothing special about the present day that grants us immunity from dust storms and that is just what we had yesterday. Due to the dry weather over the last couple of weeks and Spring planting, there was a lot of dust and sand ready to be blown into the air. It was the worst dust storm I have seen in Wisconsin during my life, and I hear it was even worse in the Stevens Point area, around the central sands. The official visibility in Wausau dropped to 3 miles.

Dust Storm in Stevens Point May 25, picture provided by Phillip & Renee

In Stevens Point the visibility was officially as low as 2.5 miles (at the airport). Judging by pictures that some viewers sent in, it was much lower than that at times, probably less than 1 mile.

Now, I realize that the rows of trees south of Stevens Point would not have prevented the dust storm yesterday, but they would have helped at least a little bit. Also, due to more widespread irrigation, it would take a very significant drought to re-create the severity of the dust bowl days. However, I can’t help but dwell on how history repeats itself, if not exactly, then it at least rhymes. Prior to the dust bowl years (1930s), we had an economic crash. In 2008 we had another economic crash and are still mired in a recession. 2008 was about the time all of those trees were being taken out. A bad omen?

Which reminds me of another article I read recently about trees cooling streams. Although this would seem to be common sense, Australian researchers found that tree-lined streams remained much healthier than other streams (aside: Australia just emerged from their own decade-long dustbowl). In a potentially warmer world in the future we might want to make sure we don’t cut down too many trees around rivers and streams (as well as replanting them around some large farm fields). This might be particularly important for trouts streams in Wisconsin. Trout require cooler water than most fish.

Other than the high winds and dust storm, we did have some severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening. High straight-line winds brought down a few trees and power lines and there was one report of a very brief tornado touchdown near Marathon City in Marathon county.

For those of you who entered the snowmelt contest, no doubt the hot weather yesterday took a bite out of the snow pile and the hot weather I expect on Sunday (maybe 90) could put a final nail in the remaining snow.  I will try to get some pictures to share so stay tuned to the weather blog late in the weekend and early next week.

Have a fine Friday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Drought, Ecology, Nature, Storms, Weather History

Temperatures have been well above normal for the last few months, since November 2011, and it looks like that trend will continue for the next few days, but it might not continue for the entire Summer. I say “might not” because the weather is of course known to be quite temperamental and highly changeable here in Northcentral Wisconsin, but also because the CPC outlook does not indicate a strong trend toward the warm weather continuing. If I had too stick my neck out, I would say the Summer months ARE going to average above normal. How far above, I am not sure. I suspect we will have a couple of heat waves where the high temperature stays in the 90s for 2 or 3 days in a row, but I don’t think it will be super-hot all Summer long like a few people have told me (just in casual conversation on the street).

Summer CPC Forecast

The CPC has the northern half of the country in the “Equal Chances” category once again for the month of June and for the 3 month (June-July-August) period. The higher chance of above normal temps is expected to be in the southern half of the country. Precipitation for us is all indicated as “Equal Chances”.

With the warm weather we have had as of late, you would think that the snow on Rib Mountain would be gone. That is not the case. I you entered the contest back in April and are anxiously waiting because you picked a date toward the end of May, you are in luck. The snow is melting pretty fast. I think it will be gone or very close, over the holiday weekend. Here are a couple of pictures taken today – May 23rd. Have a nice Wednesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under CPC Outlook, Snowmelt 2012

It was warm over the weekend. We had a record high temperature of 88 in Wausau on Saturday. We beat the old record by 1 degree. Highs were in the 80s on Friday and Sunday as well, but it was not enough heat to melt all the snow out on Rib Mountain. When the snowmelt contest began, I felt quite certain that the snow would melt on a record early date this year. Now I am not so certain. It will most likely melt in May but it will probably not be the earliest melt we have ever observed. The heat did a number on the remaining snowpile, but it was not enough to get rid of it. I have included a picture taken yesterday – May 20th.

Snow Picture - May 20th

Besides the warm weather over the weekend, some thunderstorms developed on Sunday as we expected, but they were not very widespread. Most of the rain and heavy weather developed north of Marathon county. Trees and power lines were downed near Tripoli, Antigo, and Florence, as well as a few other spots. Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported in Conover and Sugar Camp in Vilas county.

For gardeners out there, you will probably need to plan a little watering because it doesn’t look like too much rain in the forecast this week. Another cold front will be moving through the area on Thursday and it will produce at least a 30% chance of thunderstorms. However, as things look now, any rain on Thursday will be hit-or-miss, not too widespread. If we don’t get rain on Thursday we might have to wait until Sunday or Monday (Memorial Day). I am not too concerned about drought development as of yet, but I know things are getting a little dry out there. The weather pattern is still pretty active so at least we will have opportunities for rain. It would be worse if we had a stagnant or blocked weather (or jet stream) pattern, which usually leads to several days up to a couple of weeks of no signs of precipitation.

Have a good Monday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Severe Weather, Snowmelt 2012, Storms