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Category Archives: Climate
Are heat waves increasing?
A heat wave is a period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather.
The World Meteorological Organization is specific in its definition by stating that a heat wave is when the daily maximum temperature for more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 9 degrees. Continue reading
What happens to the wintertime cold pool in summer?
We have commented a number of times in the past few years about the areal extent of the hemispheric cold pool of air at 850 mb — about 1 mile above the surface — during the winter. As one might expect, that pool expands dramatically from October through February and then begins to contract as we move toward spring and summer.
Our analysis uses the minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) isotherm (line of constant temperature) and has shown that the average winter cold pool area has systematically shrunk in the past 75 years. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Meteorology, Seasons
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Has this been an unusually hot start to summer?
The recent stretch of warm, humid weather has got some people wondering if we have gotten off to an unusually hot start to summer this year in Madison.
There are a couple of ways one could approach that question. One way is to consider the departure from average for our daily high temperatures since May 1. From that perspective, we have been consistently warmer than normal with May daily highs averaging 3.2 degrees above normal and, June (through Friday) averaging 1.9 degrees above normal. Continue reading
What does the hurricane season look like?
The official Atlantic basin hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with an average of 10 to 15 storms each year.
The peak of activity in the Atlantic basic runs from mid-August to mid-October. During that subset of the entire season, more than 70% of all storms in the last 100 years have occurred. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Severe Weather, Tropical
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Is 2022 an active tornado season for the U.S?
Tornados can occur anytime of the year, so it is too early to answer this question.
Tornado season is based on when the ingredients for severe weather come together in a particular region. Because a change in wind with height is closely related to the presence of a jet stream, tornado season moves north and south during the year with a jet stream. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Meteorology, Severe Weather
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