Monthly Archives: June 2021

Are heat waves and droughts related?

The ongoing heat wave in the western states is shattering hundreds of high temperature records.

The extreme heat has now moved into the Pacific Northwest and threatens some all-time records in Seattle and Portland. Seattle has only ever recorded three days over 100 degrees in the last 76 years, but stood a decent chance of seeing three in a row over the weekend. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Seasons, Severe Weather

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What is the summer solstice?

The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year.

It is an astronomical event caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and its orbit around the sun.

Monuments such as Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, demonstrate that ancient cultures knew the path the sun traveled through our sky changed in a routine way throughout the year. They undoubtedly observed that how high the sun appears in the sky varied throughout the year and that the higher the sun gets in the sky, the longer the length of daylight. Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Seasons

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Is hot first part of June a sign of things to come?

A barely colder than normal May has been followed by an extremely warm and dry first two weeks of June.

Through Friday, Madison has had five days with high temperatures above 90 degrees, and the month has thus far averaged more than 11 degrees above normal. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Meteorology, Seasons

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How dangerous is hot weather?

Hot weather can be dangerous, particularly if the humidity is high as well.

Much of the Upper Midwest had temperatures near or above 90 degrees over the weekend, except along the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Several locations set record high daily temperatures — in Madison, Saturday’s high of 92 degrees tied the record for the day set in 1934. Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Seasons, Severe Weather

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What is the prediction for the 2021 hurricane season?

Tropical cyclones are large, whirling storms that obtain their energy from warm ocean waters. Hurricanes are tropical cyclones that originate in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico or the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Tropical storms have wind speeds … Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Seasons, Tropical

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