Tag Archives: Climate

How long is the solar cycle?

Since the invention of the telescope in the 1600s, observers have recorded variations in the numbers of dark spots, or sunspots, on the sun’s surface. Observations show that the sun exhibits a periodic change in the number of sunspots that normally follow a regular cycle with peaks 11 years apart. Continue reading

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How did this recent warm March impact maple sap harvesting?

Tapping maple trees usually occurs in late winter and early spring. In Wisconsin, March is a prime month for tapping sugar maple trees and this is when the sap is sweetest. But, only about 2 percent of the sap is sugar, so it has to be boiled down to remove the water and increase the sugar concentration. Continue reading

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How unusually warm has the March weather been?

What an amazing warm spell! March 14 was the first day of five consecutive days in which record-high temperatures were set in Madison. This matches the longest consecutive-day streak for setting record highs in our city’s history (the other two times were in the 1950s). Continue reading

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How unusual is this current warm spell?

Our high temperature of 78 degrees Farenheit on March 14 set the all-time record for the date and established a new record for the first 78-degree F temperature of the year, breaking the standing record of March 23, 1910 — over a century ago. Continue reading

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Does the warm winter mean a warm spring and summer?

We have continued to enjoy temperatures well above normal through most of February 2012, making this year’s Dec. 1–Feb. 20 the fifth-warmest on record with an average temperature of 28.3F in Madison. Barring an exceptionally warm last week of the month (which does not appear likely), that is where we will end up — the fifth-warmest winter (defined as December, January, February) of all time in Madison. Continue reading

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