The focus of the blog continues to be on the storms from this past Sunday because such a large number of tornadoes as well a their strength is uncommon here in Wisconsin during the month of April.

It now appears that there might have been as many as two EF3 tornadoes in the state. As Tony pointed out yesterday, because the NWS of Green Bay was so busy in the Fox Valley they did not have time to visit Forest county so the NWS of Marquette Michigan helped out. They found evidence of two tornadoes in Forest county. One started 3 miles southeast of Argonne and ended in the far southwestern corner of Florence county. That tornado ended up being rated as an EF2. It had a damage path 600 yards wide at times. Another weaker tornado touched down near Armstrong Creek and was on the ground for a couple miles. Thankfully these areas are quite sparsely populated, otherwise we could have had similar scenes to what happened in Merrill.

Although the NWS of Green Bay has not finished the survey of damage in Marathon and Lincoln counties, they are estimating that it will be rated EF3. We will link to their final assessment when it  becomes available. Here is the preliminary report.

More dramatic video of the damage in Merrill shot from the air.

The NWS of Milwaukee has compared this April tornado outbreak to those of the past. Sunday’s tornadoes might end up being the largest April tornado outbreak in Wisconsin history.

Adams County Tornado Path

The NWS of La Crosse has finished their assessment of the Adams county tornado and have determined the tornado was on the ground for 17miles – almost completely crossing the county from west to east. It strengthened to an EF2 as it approached Cottonville and winds are estimated to have reached 125 mph. For a couple of miles the damage path was up to a half mile wide. For the complete analysis with pictures, check here.

Lastly, I want to remind everyone that an NWS Storm Spotter training course is coming up in Medford tomorrow. It will be hosted at the Medford fire station at 6:30 in the evening. It is free and open to the public. You sit back, relax, and learn about severe weather and how to spot it. There is no obligation to become an official weather spotter. If you enjoy learning about weather and watching videos of thunderstorms and tornadoes, then head on over to the Medford Fire Station tomorrow. There is also a course coming up in Clintonville on the 18th.

Have a pleasant Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Severe Weather, Storms, Tornadoes, Weather Safety

Even though it looks and feels a lot like winter outside right now, severe weather season is right around the corner. Therefore, it is time to remind everyone of the free storm spotter training courses that occur every Spring here in Northcentral Wisconsin. You can find a schedule of the Green Bay NWS seminars here, and the La Crosse NWS seminars here. Already next week on Monday the 28th there is a seminar in Adams at the Community Center - room 145B. It begins at 6:30pm. The very next day there is a spotter training course at the Wood County Courthouse in Wisconsin Rapids – also at 6:30 in the evening. These are free and open to the public. You go there and watch a presentation about severe weather and how to spot it. If you like following the weather, it is a very interesting presentation. 

There is no obligation for you to become an “official” weather spotter but you can put your name down if you like. If you do submit your name to the Weather Service after sitting through the presentation, then they will hold your reports in higher regard during times of severe weather. A problem I have noticed in the past and something the NWS probably finds as well, is that many people call in reports of “dark swirling clouds”, “low hanging clouds”, and “strong winds”. This is good to know, but it doesn’t tell us a lot about the real severity of the storms. A lot of storms look dangerous and ominous but not all of them produce severe weather. After you watch the presentation, you will know how to define severe weather and how to spot it. Your reports will become higher quality and more useful. The NWS (and us here at StormTrack9) will pay much more attention to your observations than anonymous public reports of “dark low-hanging clouds”.

Have a good weekend! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Severe Weather

As Brian mentioned yesterday, we smashed the record highs across northcentral Wisconsin yesterday. High temps were in the upper 70s to low 80s. We will likely break the record for record warm low temps today as well. The record in Wausau is a very vulnerable 47 set back in 1963. Our low this morning was 61 and if the temperature does not drop down to 47 before midnight tonight then we will have another record. As far as the record high today, I don’t think we will break it. The record is 76 set back in 1963. Even though temps started out very mild, the clouds are a bit thicker today and this will probably keep a lid on the temps. I expect low to mid 70s in the area but not quite 76.

People tend to welcome the out of season warmth and I would certainly welcome some out of season precipitation – something (rain or snow)  heavy. Unfortunately, the front that is moving through tonight and Saturday has picked up speed. It is now starting to look like rain amounts will be less than a half inch and it will be overwith by midday Saturday. Boo! Yesterday it had looked more like a soaking rain for most of the day on Saturday and up to an inch in the rain guage. Now it looks more meager and short-lived. However, there is still hope! Another significant storm system will be moving through the upper Midwest on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. This one again has the potential to produce heavier rain. Keep your fingers crossed.

Even though it feels like summer outside, we haven’t experienced any summer-like severe weather yet, which gives us more time to prepare by learning how to identify severe storms. The NWS is traveling across the viewing area this Spring offering free Severe Storm Spotting Classes. Next week there is a session in Manawa (Monday, 6:30pm) and in Waupaca (Wednesday, 6:30 pm). You can find more details here

Some other reminders:

With the rain coming into the area later tonight and Saturday morning, remember that you can keep “trak” of it by using iTrak – our interactive radar technology on the weather page at waow.com. It is really handy during severe weather when you can zoom in on individual storms and find out what type of threat each storm represents.

Also, starting today we now have a StormTrak9 fan page on Facebook. If you are on facebook just search StormTrak9 and you will find the page. We will be using this page for announcements and forecasts in the future.

Have a fine Friday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under iTRAK, new media, Records

You won’t be able to tell the difference on your end…but as I write this post I’m just getting used to the new look of our blog posting platform.  It looks fancy, hopefully it will be even easier to blog to you guys…ha

It’s that time of year again… Do you love weather?  Do you love severe weather?  Why not become a National Weather Service Storm Spotter again.  The NWS will be visiting a location near you over the next couple of weeks, providing a 2 hour training seminars.  The class is free and everyone is welcome to attend. 

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have more eyes on the sky.  During severe weather it is always nice to have a trained visual confirmation of what is happening with a storm to go along with radar analysis.  Severe weather may be happening even if not indicated by Doppler radar.  Storm Spotter reports will help the NWS issue and verify warnings.  Which in turn makes it easier for us to get the most accurate information to the public when severe weather hits.

Here is a schedule for spotter training courses in the area…

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

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/arx/?n=skywarn_schedule

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Severe Weather

Since this week is flood safety awareness week, here are a few more tips to consider, provided by the National Weather Service of Green Bay. It basically boils down to 2 main themes: “Turn around, don’t drown”, and “move to higher ground”. It is surprising how many people die in floods nowadays given the advanced warning system. It boils down to people driving through flooded roadways. That is how most people die in floods in the modern day. Less than a foot of moving water can float your car off of a roadway. Thankfully here in Wisconsin we have not been afflicted with flash flood apathy. I wasn’t able to find recent flash flood fatality statistics for Wisconsin but I did find out that only 6 people died in floods in the state during the 1990s. That is less than one death per year. Good job staying safe from floods everyone! Deaths from lightning and tornadoes are also extremely low in Wisconsin over the last couple decades. I guess we are well prepared. Let us keep it that way this year.

No flooding is in our forecast which is a good thing, but we could use some heavy precipitation. Most of northcentral Wisconsin is suffering through a severe drought. The drought started late last summer. The first two weeks of March have been well below normal as well. We could use more, but no heavy rain is in the forecast until Monday of next week when there could be a half inch or so. Otherwise there is only a 20% chance of light showers late Friday and again on Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the warmth on this St. Patrick’s Day because a northwest wind will develop this afternoon and cool things down a bit. After high temps in the mid 50s to mid 60s today, the mercury will top out in the upper 40s tomorrow and in the upper 30s on Thursday. Temps should rebound back into the 40s on Friday and Saturday and into the low 50s Sunday and Monday.

Talking about flash safety reminded me that severe weather awareness week is coming up next month and I need to let you know about severe weather spotter training courses. Here is a list of dates and towns that will have spotter training courses taught by the NWS of Green Bay and another list for towns covered by the NWS of La Crosse.

Have a good Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Spring, Storms