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Monthly Archives: April 2021
What caused the snow showers of last week?
Last week’s snow showers garnered their fair share of attention.
The showers were intermittent, a snowy period often followed by a break in the clouds through which an interval of sunshine prevailed. On both days this showery activity ended near or just before sundown. Continue reading
Are April showers likely to be snow?
After a benevolent first week of April, we have really been brought back to reality as temperatures in Madison have been increasingly chillier since the monthly high of 79 was recorded on April 6.
April 14 was particularly chilly, with the high only getting to 40 under persistent clouds. It could be worse, however. Last Friday it snowed over southern New England — with totals as high as 9 inches in southern New Hampshire and widely greater than 2 inches in the northern suburbs of Boston. Continue reading
Does it rain only on Earth?
It does precipitate on other planets and moons in our solar system.
On Earth, when particles fall from clouds and reach the surface as precipitation, they do so primarily as rain, snow, freezing rain or sleet. Continue reading
What is a red flag warning?
The National Weather Service issues, and cancels, fire weather watches (FWW), and red flag warnings (RFW) in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service.
The weather service will not issue official warnings until certain threshold values, called red flag criteria, are forecast to occur. Red flag criteria differ from state to state. They usually include relative humidity values of 20% or less, winds of 20 mph or higher, and dry fuel conditions. Red Flag Warnings are usually only issued during the spring and fall fire weather seasons. Continue reading
