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Does a cold end to October signal an early winter?
October ended up to be about normal in terms of temperature despite the chilly last couple of weeks. In fact, 14 of the last 17 days of the month were at or below normal. A natural question arises in the face of this cool spell — namely, does this portend a cold start to the winter? Continue reading
What was that dashed line in the sky on Nov. 3?
If you watch jets fly high above, you may notice that sometimes white clouds trail them. These condensation trails are called contrails. Most clouds form as air rises. Contrails form by a mixing process that is similar to the cloud you see when you exhale and “see your breath”. Continue reading
What determines the amount of daylight?
Our amount of daylight hours depends on our latitude and how Earth orbits the sun. Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted from its orbital plane and always points in the same direction — toward the North Star. As a result, the orientation of Earth’s axis to the sun is always changing throughout the year as we revolve around the sun. Sometimes the axis points toward the sun and other times away from the sun. Continue reading
What is the status of the ozone hole?
The ozone hole occurs high in the stratosphere, about 18 miles high, and over the continent of Antarctica. It is not actually a hole, but the appearance of very low values of ozone in the stratosphere. Typically, the Antarctic ozone hole has its largest area in early September and lowest values in late September to early October. Continue reading
How rare was that early blizzard in South Dakota?
Our autumnal weather in southern Wisconsin last week was tame in comparison to the devastating blizzard that hit the western portions of South Dakota earlier this month. On Oct. 4, Rapid City, S.D., approached its all-time single-day snowfall record when it received 19 inches, ranking it the third-snowiest day in the city’s history. Interestingly, the two record-setting days ahead of it occurred in late April (in 1970 and 2001). Continue reading
