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What forced last week’s strong winds?
Our windy Wednesday last week was a notable departure from a winter without many high-wind events.
The strong winds from Tuesday and Wednesday were a result of the passage of an intensifying low-pressure center (mid-latitude cyclone) nearly directly over Madison overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Continue reading
Did we have a normal winter this year?
As far as our winter time mean temperature, southern Wisconsin was above normal by about 5 degrees.
Being warmer than normal is typical during an El Nino year, and that is what we experienced this winter. Continue reading
How severe has this winter been?
It may not surprise anyone that the average temperature from Dec. 1 to Feb. 29 this season in Madison was 5.67 degrees above normal, with most of that surplus accumulated during an extremely warm December that was 12 degrees above average.
There are other ways to assess the winter severity that are less local in nature. Four times each day we calculate the areal extent of air colder than minus 5 degrees Celsius at 1 mile above the surface using weather data supplied by the National Center for Environmental Prediction. Averaging the four measurements per day together creates a daily value of the areal extent of this “cold pool.” Continue reading
What is “sea smoke” and where is it usually seen?
We recently got a question from a reader who had heard the term “sea smoke” while traveling near Superior on a windy, cold winter day.
Amazingly, sea smoke has a very similar physical origin to the “fog” we often encounter as we take a shower. Sea smoke is an example of a phenomena known broadly as steam fog. Continue reading
What is “black ice?”
The term “black ice” refers to one of two conditions: a new layer of ice on water, which appears dark in color because the ice is transparent and so we see the deep water below, or a layer of clear ice on a roadway, which makes for hazardous driving conditions.
In both cases the ice is not black, but transparent, and therefore shows the color of the underlying surface. Continue reading
