Oh Halloween how you come and go!  I can’t believe that we are kicking off November tomorrow.  Looking at October we will go down as a dry month with deficit probably close to a half an inch.  The real numbers won’t come out until tomorrow but I am thinking that it will be end up being an above average month in the way of temps but below in rain. 

Just wanted to share a link about the Hurricane that is pounding the Carribean.  Although Sept is usually the most active month sometimes we forget they can happen into the winter months.  This storm ripped through St. Lucia causing power outages, downed trees and roofs blown off. 

He will continue to move through the Caribbean eventually bring effects to  Jamaica, Haiti or the Dominican Republic.  This could be horrible for Haiti which is still in recovery mode from the Earthquake in January.  They issued the second highest storm alert, orange to warn residents.  Unfortunately most people are still living in tent cities.

Here is another article talking about what it will mean for the country.

Last year I blogged about the “perfect storm”.  Most people have heard of it since the book and movie were made.  It was the storm that formed from conditions you would only see in text books. For more info check out my blog post.

Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under forecast, Monthly Recap, Tropics

A study done from a storm in May of 2009 has revealed a new weather term a “Super Derecho”.  This derecho moved across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.  during the morning early afternoon

A Derecho is a storm that produces straight line winds which will push damage in one direction.  This differs from the swirling winds of a tornado which will cause damage spread in many directions since winds spin counter clockwise not straight. 

A bow echo on the radar causes derecho.  A bow echo is when a storm bows forward which is h0w it got its name! But the storm on May 8 formed an eye unlike any storm before.  During its path it spawned 18 tornadoes. This storm gained strength as it moved across Kansas with winds of 70 to 90 mph as it hit Springfield, Missouri. It only intensified with winds of 90 to 100 mph as it crossed the Mississippi River and caused more damage across Illinois.  It produced damage across a 100 mile wide area and the three states. 

The storm was forecasted 24 hour in advance with scientists predicting what the storm would look like on high resolution data.  They are currently using this information and the information from the storm to study super derechos.

To the left is what the storm really looked like on the radar.  The right image is what the forecast models outputted 24 hrs before the event actually happened.

Have a great night! Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under forecast, Science, Severe Weather, Spring, Storms, Weather NEws

Cool, Wet and Windy that is what we are going to see on our Tuesday.  Tomorrow winds are going to be the real issue.  Wind Advisories are popping up to the south of us but as of 7:30 pm they have not issued an advisory for us.  Tomorrow sustained winds will be from 20-30 mph, yes sustained winds.  This means gusts could range from 40 to 50 mph!!!  I can say it is not a day I would want to be out on the golf course.  This being said, be careful if you drive a high profile vehicle or have outdoor plans.

Why are the winds going to be so high?  If you look at the image below you can see a tight pressure gradient this is when the black lines are close together. If you look at the pressure gradient over Wisconsin compared to any other location in the US you can see that it is the tightest.  This is because the low pressure that is swinging the cold front though tonight is a fierce one.

Last but not least say hello to Hermine… Tropical Storm Hermine will make landfall tonight just south of Brownsville, Texas.  It is following almost the exact path that Hurricane Alex followed back in June.  Good news is that it is much weather since it is only a Tropical Storm with winds of 65 mph.  Alex was a Cat 2 with winds around 115 mph.  Texas will still deal with strong winds and possible flooding since they have already seen an abundant amount of rain this season.

Hope you all had a great Labor Day! Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Flooding, forecast, Science, Severe Weather, Storms, Tropics

It is sweltering out there and I am not just talking about here.  Widespread 90′s and triple digits are spread all acorss the Ohio Valley, Mid Missippi and the Central plains. Check out that map of the current temps.  There are 100 + readings in several states.  To top it off it is also humid with dewpoints in the 70′s and even 80′s that is plain uncomfortable.  This would typically be called the “ring of fire”.  This is where we have a blocking high and major storms move around the high.  It will break down in a couple days but it has been strong yesterday and today.  If you look at the surface map you can see where the high pressure is settled over the southeastern US.

This is helping to keep the heat settled in one area.   Although there are a scattered showers popping up thanks to instability.  Because of the high pressure settled in the southeast the midwest will continue to be the target for major systems.  This means tomorrows storm system will shoot across the central plains and eventually bring us more showers and storms late Tuesday through early Wednesday.  Another system will also move in from the north into our area.  This means we will continue to be the target for the next week, meaning a very active week through next weekend. 

Speaking off active weather check out these stats

2009 Tornadoes : Minnesota had 31 we had 19

So far in 2010, Tornadoes: Minnesota has 103 ( the most of any state!) we have had 56.  This data is preliminary and according to the Storm Prediction Center.  The raw data can be more than the official.  Right now Green Bay’s official county for Wisconsin is at 38. 

Here are the stats of all tornadoes in 2009.

Here are the stats so far in 2010.

Stay cool and stay safe! Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under forecast, Heat, Severe Weather, Storms, Summer, Uncategorized

It has been a busy few days.  We again are seeing storms fire up again this evening mainly around the twin cities, they are pushing toward the east, southeast and will eventually bring rain to our western counties.  Clark and Monroe area already seeing storms and they will continue to spread in through the late evening and early overnight.  A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 2 am for Clark, Taylor and Monroe counties.   We are seeing gusty winds and small hail but the rain is the biggest nuisance.  We could see flooding from the heavy downpours embedded in the storms.

On the note of rain I wanted to list some of the higher totals from last nights storms.  Unbelievable that several areas saw over 2 inches!

Marshfield  2.57″

Prentice 2.50″

Plainfield 2.50″

Tomahawk 2.07″

Elton  2.04″

Polonia 2.03″

Scandinavia 2.00″

Rib Mountain 1.94″

Almond 1.90″

Stevens Point 1.84″

Whiting 1.80″

Merrill 1.62″

Weston 1.60″

Here in Wausau we have picked up atleast 1.63″, the exact total for the day will not come out until official records are posted after midnight.  However I do know that we broke our daily record of 1.47″ set back in 2000.

Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Drought, Storms, Summer

After a dormant couple of years…we were reminded once again of the power of mother nature.  One severe cell in particular was very intense.  This storm down countless trees from Medford,  Wausau, Wittenberg, and points in between. 

Some of the worst damage was on the northside of Wausau, in the Riverview neighborhood.  Some of the areas oldest and largest trees were snapped, uprooted, or just ripped apart.  Many of the trees fell on Houses and Garages.  Thankfully no one was injured. 

I took a drive through the area this evening and noticed the majority of trees were all lying in the same direction; to the south east.  The damage was over a wide area with pockets of heavier damage.  Given the corresponding radar imagery at the time, it is likely this storm damage was from a down burst.  Where the damage is heaviest, I would estimate the winds to be at least 70-80 mph.

There was also so extensive damage over towards Birnamwood and Wittenberg.  The NWS is looking into the possibility of a tornado touchdown in this area.  Winds downed trees, powers lines, took out a barn, and ripped up a roof of a local cell phone business.

There were also several reports of hail up to golf ball size with the storm.

By sure to send us your pics of the storms to weather@waow.com or use “see it shoot it share it”

http://my.waow.com/user/displayUserLoginPage.kickAction?as=29417&widgetId=82089

Also look for updated storm coverage on www.waow.com

Here is a link to area storm reports

Meteorologist Brian Niznansky

Posted under Severe Weather

Good Evening! Wow I missed an exciting weather week.  It seems we had one of the busiest days on Wednesday with over 100 watches and warnings.  From reading and talking to Brian, the damage was extensive largely in part due to strong straight line winds. And three rounds!?! Usually one round is enough for a day but I can’t believe we sawthree rounds of storms move on through during the course of a day.  I am sad that I was not able to be here and do my job but I was happy I was home visiting with my family. 

We saw another round of storms last night and early this morning.  For us it seems heavy rain was the biggest threat.  Most of the storms late last night lost their intensity as they pushed into our area but we still say heavy rain embedded in.  The rain also fired up this morning with storms around the area from mainly 4 am to 9am.  Some totals from weather watchers were over an inch!

Here are some of the latest rain totals from the late Saturday/Sunday storms:

Lindsey1.05″

City Point .95″

Antigo .86″

Merrill .84″

Stevens Point .81″

Polonia .72″

Scandinavia .60″

Rhinelander .54″

As we look ahead to this week we will see another unsettled pattern.  We will not see storms everyday all day but there will be almost a slight chance everyday.  Right now I am saying about a 20 to 30% for tomorrow and Tuesday.  I think we could dry out Wednesday and  early Thursday if the front stays south of us enough to keep the rain just out of our area.  Atleast hopefully one of the days will be dry the whole day.  As we head towards late week we will have another storm system that will bring us the best shot at storms.  Timing has flip flopped but should be either Thursday afternoon or early on Friday.  Since it is still 5 days out the timing could be altered.  What I do know is that we will see more rain this week adding to the hefty totals we have already seen.  This could cause problems for low lying areas or around creeks and rivers.  Flooding will be watched closely especially in the areas that have seen the highest rain this past week. 

Around the US the Oil Spill has been a huge topic and on Friday it seemed an end might be in site- a cap on the well.  Today there were discussions whether that cap was working after “bubbles” were reportedly found near the well.  Another interesting argument to the the well, should we produce the oil rather than plug it with cement?  This would mean we would have to remove the cap and spill the oil into the Gulf for around three days while they hooked up the piping to send the oil from the ocean floor to ships above.  But would it be worth it to save the Gulf coast that has lost billions of dollars from the spill?  This article explains more.  Its an interesting point to be discussed. 

Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under forecast, Natural Disasters, Science, Severe Weather, Storms, Summer, Technology

First I wanted to update you to some of the social media and features we have available….

As the cold front continues to push through the area you can track the storms using Itrak.  We have mentioned this nifty tool plenty of times.  It is on our website and you can zoom in all the way  to your town and even down to street level.  You can also look at different cells and see what they are producing(wind, hail etc) and in what direction they are moving. 

We also have our own Facebook page where you can like us and get updates about the forecast, our blogs and severe weather.

Last but not least if you have twitter you can always follow us at

Kconnolly_waow

Bniznansky_waow

Jloew_waow

Storms rolled through yesterday producing heavy rain mainly south of 29.  We did see one storm in Forest and Florence counties that was producing winds in excess of 60 mph and 1″ size hail.  These storms are what I would call “pop up” or “popcorn”.  They fired up along a disturbance in our upper levels and just down-poured where they hit.  Amazingly enough it down-poured at the Big Bull Falls Rib Fest and not a drop fell at the Woodchucks field! That is less than a five mile difference. 

 At the Rib Fest some vendors tents blew over along with trees near the area being knocked down.  In Portage county there was an estimated gust of 50 to 60 mph.  Also near Iola we had trees down, thankfully I didn’t hear any reports of damage to the classic cars.  Hail was also a large threat with over an 1 1/4 in Hatley.  Heavy rain feel around the area with Weston reporting over .75″ in just 30 minutes! 

Storms are continued to roll through tonight ahead of a cold front that will move through.  We have already seen downed power lines in Arbor Vitae just after 530pm.  They were spawning warnings earlier but have weakened enough to be called strong not severe.  The storms are producing gusts up to 40mph with .50″ size hail. 

Here are a few pictures of the damage from yesterday:

These are from 15 miles south of Wisc Rapids in Portage county.

From Wausau

There were some neat hail pictures emailed in but I couldn’t figure out how to attach them in the file they were in. Hopefully Justin can!

For all the reports from the weekend storms you can click here.

Here is also video on our website from the damage.

Have a good night! Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Severe Weather, Summer

One more round…yep that its.  We are going to deal with storms overnight again but then we will see a break. The greatest threat will be flooding from heavy rains and strong winds.  A ridge will build in this week and it looks like sunshine but cooler temps are in our forecast! We have only seen 6 dry days in June but it looks like we will really add to that through this week.

It is amazing to me that the grass count is so low for pollen.  I have to say that I have had the worst allergies of the year today.  I try to avoid taking medication that will make me drowsy but I had no choice because I could stop sniffling and sneezing.  I know alot of people have complained about allergies this year, it was one of the worst years we have seen, but until recently I hadn’t been sick at all.  Wow, now do I understand what people were going through!

Alright now I have a game for anyone who wants to take a stab at it!  This is actually a really neat tool from the National Weather Service office in Peachtree, GA.  They call it the HotSeat… I don’t want to give to many details away but it will put you in charge. See how good you can do.  If anything it is a great learning tool and will show you what we look at.

Last but not least…Say hello to Alex, he is our first named storm of the Atlantic season. 

Here are also some pictures from the library talk I did in Nekoosa.

Have a great night! Meteorologsit Kristen Connolly  

Posted under Allergies, Flooding, Severe Weather, Storms, Summer, Tropics, Weather History, Weather NEws, Weather Safety

I am going to be heading to another school talk today so just a short post. 

First things first…we are watching the possibility of severe storms again tonight.  We are in a moderate risk from the storm prediction center, mainly for our western counties.  Storms should fire up for all of us by the evening and continue into the overnight.  The biggest threat will be straight line winds and heavy rain in the thunderstorms.  We have the potential to see over an inch of rain.  This will be just the first round of two this weekend.  The second round of storms should move in by late Saturday through Sunday.  If you have outdoor plans or just want to enjoy some of the weekend right now Saturday afternoon is looking fairly decent. 

It seems that we have seen nothing but storms and more storms.  We need a break somewhere and our luck may have arrived.  Next week a strong ridge should build in here and that would mean high pressure taking over our pattern.  This means we could see 4 plus days of sunshine! Ironically along with the sunshine will come cooler temperatures.  Highs will range from the mid to upper 70′s.  This is just below normal for this time of year.  The reason is a cold front will move through Sunday bringing the cooler and drier air in.  This also one of the features that will produce the storms. 

I will be working all weekend and make sure to keep you informed of any severe weather heading our way.  As Brian mentioned, we have seen more this week then we did all last year! And as Justin mentioned, if we pick up decent rain totals we could go down as one of the wettest Junes possible.

Have a fantastic Friday!

Meteorologist Kristen Connolly

Posted under Severe Weather, Storms, Summer