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Why is May 6 such a special day in weather science history?
Immediately after World War II, it became fashionable to imagine technologies that might allow human beings to control the weather.
In fact, one goal advanced by influential scientists was actually to explode nuclear bombs in the right locations and in the right quantity so as to alter the weather in favorable ways. Such an enterprise would require accurate forecasts of the weather thought possible by using the brand new computer technology to make the millions of requisite calculations. Continue reading
Category: History, Meteorology
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How do radars see tornadoes?
A weather radar consists of a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter emits pulses of radio waves outward in a circular pattern. Precipitation scatters these radio waves.
“Reflectivity” is the amount of transmitted power returned to the radar and measured by its receiver. The intensity of this received signal indicates the intensity of the precipitation.
Measuring the time it takes for the radio wave to leave the radar and return tells us how far away the storm is. The direction the radar is pointing locates the storm. Continue reading
More April snow?
The snow showers that visited our area on Thursday afternoon represented the fourth time snow had been in the air in Madison this month of April.
These showers were associated with the development and passage of a strong and sprawling cyclone that brought blizzard conditions to a number of locations in North Dakota and Montana from Tuesday night into Thursday. The town on Glenburn, North Dakota, received 30.5 inches of snow as of Thursday morning, with 30 to 36 inches variously reported around Minot. Continue reading
What was that stuff that fell on Wednesday and Thursday?
Last Wednesday and Thursday many locations in southern Wisconsin experienced snow squalls in which the falling precipitation was momentarily quite intense.
This event was an example of shallow convection — as opposed to the deep convection of summertime thunderstorms. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Seasons, Severe Weather
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How common is April snow in Madison?
The recent late March and early April snow in Madison may have stirred memories of, or raised questions about, past such late winter/early spring snows.
Perhaps unsurprisingly to Madisonians, April snow is by no means unusual here in town. Thirty Madison Aprils — out of 84 — since 1939 have had at least one 1-inch snowfall event. Continue reading
