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Monthly Archives: November 2024
What is climate change?
Climate can be defined as the collective state of the atmosphere for a given place over a specified interval of time. There are three parts to this definition: location, because climate can be defined for a globe, a continent, a region or a city; time, because climate must be defined over a specified period; and the collective state of the atmosphere, which includes averages and extremes of variables such as temperature, precipitation, pressure and winds.
Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. Continue reading
What is the National Weather Service?
The National Weather Service, or NWS, is an office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, which sits in the U.S. Department of Commerce. The connection to the Department of Commerce is sensible – it’s estimated that one-third of the U.S. economy is sensitive to weather and climate.
The mission of the National Weather Service is to “provide weather, water, and climate data, forecasts, warnings and impact-based decision support services for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy.” Continue reading
How unusual was our dry and warm October weather?
Meteorologists often compare current temperature and precipitation measurements to “normal” values to interpret unusual weather. The weather data observed over the 30-year period between 1991 and 2020 are used to define “normal” or “average” weather. These normals are recalculated every 10 years. The normals are determined on annual, seasonal, monthly, daily and even hourly timescales. The maximum and minimum values also are tracked for each day of the year.
The weather that southern Wisconsin has experienced this October has been different from our normal October weather. Throughout most of October, we experienced very dry conditions. Prior to the storms that occurred on Oct. 30 and 31, the total precipitation across most of the state was less than 50% of the normal precipitation. This lack of precipitation throughout the month was alleviated during the final two days. Many areas in Dane County received over 3 inches of rain on Oct. 30 and 31. Continue reading
