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Monthly Archives: April 2013
Has 2013 gotten off to a wet start?
If you’ve had any lingering suspicion that 2013 has gotten off to an amazingly wet start, that suspicion can now be confirmed. As of April 24, both Madison and Milwaukee have recorded the wettest start to a calendar year ever. Continue reading
How cold and wet has Spring been in Madison?
An incredible late winter/early spring of colder-than-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation continued unabated last week.
Through April 17, Madison had recorded 12.95 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation for the calendar year. That means that 2013 has gotten off to the third wettest start in Madison history. Milwaukee has received 13.15 inches of liquid equivalent this year, also making it the third wettest start to a year. Continue reading
What is the jet stream all about?
The jet stream is a ribbon of high wind speeds near the top of the troposphere (about 6 miles above the surface of the Earth). The major jet streams flow west to east. The existence of fast winds moving from west to east was long suspected because of the movement of storms, cloud systems and volcanic debris high in the atmosphere. Continue reading
Was March colder than normal?
Nearly everyone is happy to see March 2013 end, as it was an unusually persistent cold month. In fact, Madison ended up 7.4 degrees below normal for March 2013 making it the 18th coldest March in the city’s history. Madison had only four days when the average temperature was at or above normal. Of course, March 2013 followed on the heels of the warmest March ever in March 2012 when the daily average temperature was 16.1 degrees above normal. Continue reading
Category: Climate
Tags Climate, Cold, Seasons, Temperature
Comments Off on Was March colder than normal?
Tags Climate, Cold, Seasons, Temperature
Comments Off on Was March colder than normal?
What is an “atmospheric river”?
An atmospheric river is a term used to describe a relatively narrow region in the atmosphere that transports water vapor outside of the tropics northward. They are typically a few thousand miles long and 100 miles wide. There can be three to five of these “rivers” at any time covering the hemisphere. Continue reading
