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Was the February 23 snowstorm in the Northeast really unusual?
The northeast United States experienced a once-in-a-generation storm on Feb. 23-24. It would take too much space to list all the remarkable snowfall records that were set during this event, though mentioning a couple is both irresistible and instructive.
Southeast Massachusetts and most of Rhode Island were hardest hit by both the snow and winds associated with this event. T.F. Green International Airport at Providence, Rhode Island, ended up with 37.9 inches of snow — its all-time two-day and single-day records — and suspended all operations on Feb. 23. Hurricane-force wind gusts were widespread in the region, with Wellfleet, Massachusetts recording a peak gust of 98 mph. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Seasons, Severe Weather
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What is a mesonet and what are they used for?
The term “mesonet” is a blending of the words “mesoscale” and “network.”
In meteorology, “mesoscale” refers to weather events that range in size from about one mile to about 150 miles. Mesoscale events last from several minutes to several hours. Thunderstorms, snow squalls and wind gusts are examples of mesoscale events. A mesonet refers to a network of collectively owned and operated automated weather stations that are installed close enough to each other and report data frequently enough to observe mesoscale meteorological phenomena. Continue reading
Why does the morning low temperature sometimes occur after sunrise?
Those who keep a particularly vigilant eye on the weather might have noticed that on certain mornings, in all seasons, the lowest temperature is often recorded just after sunrise.
One of us had a morning paper route as a boy and was puzzled for years about this seemingly counterintuitive phenomenon. How could the temperature continue to fall for the few minutes after sunrise on a cold winter morning? Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena
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Why is Wisconsin winter weather so cloudy and grey?
Climatologically, the winter months are the cloudiest time of the year in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s average monthly cloud cover for December, January, and February for the years 2006 to 2024 was 65.3%, 61.1% and 50.5% respectively. There are a few factors that contribute to this climate observation.
Wisconsin sits in a latitude band where synoptic scale storm systems often pass nearby. This scale is associated with large weather patterns like mid-latitude cyclones and anticyclones. During the winter, the mid-latitude storm tracks tend to be along the polar front and the upper tropospheric jet stream. These winter storms have large stratiform cloud shields that move across the Midwest, producing more persistent cloudy conditions. Even when storm centers miss the state, these cloud shields can linger for days afterward. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Meteorology, Seasons
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Will shifts in the polar vortex cause extreme day-to-day temperature fluctuations to become more common?
The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure in the lower stratosphere that is bordered on its southern edge by the polar night jet — so-called because it develops as the sun sets at high latitudes after the autumnal equinox, creating large and deep pools of cold air. The characteristics of this stratospheric polar vortex have a substantial influence on wintertime temperatures in the lowest part of the underlying troposphere, which is where we all live.
The nature of the polar vortex changes throughout the winter. When the vortex circulation is largely west-to-east around the pole, it tends to contain the most extreme cold air masses at high latitudes. When it is characterized by high amplitude waves, often associated with a weaker vortex, it can initiate rapid transport of warm air poleward in some locations and frigid air equatorward in others. Such waves, or lobes, of the polar vortex can pinwheel over the Northern Hemisphere, sending cold air southward in association with weather systems tied to the underlying tropospheric jet stream. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Phenomena, Seasons
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