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Category Archives: Meteorology
What can I do with home precipitation observations?
Precipitation can widely vary over a region; consequently, local observations of precipitation are valuable weather observations. Contributing your personal observations via a community-based network of volunteers can help with weather and river forecasts.
One well known observation network is the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS (https://www.cocorahs.org). This is a group of volunteers working together to measure precipitation across the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Bahamas. CoCoRaHS began on June 17, 1998 and now has over 26,000 observers. The variability of precipitation is such that observers are always needed. Joining is easy at https://www.cocorahs.org/application.aspx. There are many observers in Wisconsin and the surrounding region. Once you begin to participate, it is interesting to see the measurements of other observers in your area. Continue reading
How do we measure global cloud cover?
Because clouds are involved in the global water cycle as well as our planet’s energy gains and losses, they constitute an important component of our atmosphere, weather, and climate.
Determining global cloud cover requires observations that cover the entire planet. Observations from weather satellites provide a modern estimate of the global cloud cover. These satellites are operated by several countries and their data is shared through international agreements. Discrimination between clear and cloudy regions is a crucial first step in most applications of satellite data, such as estimating ocean temperature or assessing the health of land vegetation. Continue reading
What does the National Weather Service do?
The National Weather Service (NWS) is a subdivision of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is an agency within the United States Department of Commerce. It is the nation’s official source of weather information. The NWS’s primary responsibility is providing weather forecasts, warnings, and other weather-related services to the public. The NWS plays a crucial role in safeguarding lives and property as the office collaborates with emergency management agencies, the media, and private industries to ensure that the public receives good weather information in a timely manner. The NWS disseminates weather warnings and advisories through a wide variety of communication channels, such as radio, television, websites, and mobile apps. Continue reading
Why does the United States have a National Weather Service?
While successfully prosecuting the Civil War against the Confederacy, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant* had learned that weather information – even if NOT in the form of a forecast – was extremely valuable for operations. Coincidentally, in the years following the … Continue reading
Category: History, Meteorology
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What is this upside-down icicle?
The accompanying photo was taken by Daniel Dettmers in the morning of February 4 on frozen Lake Kegonsa. The high on the previous day was 37°F. This caused puddles of water to sit on the ice of Madison’s regional lakes during the day. Tuesday morning’s low temperature was below 20°F with calm winds. These are just the right conditions to form what are called ‘ice spikes,’ as shown in the photograph.
When water freezes, it expands and becomes less dense. Ice floats on water. But if the lake ice is thick, when puddles form on a warm day, they sit on the ice surface. With the cold nighttime temperatures, the surface of the puddle freezes, trapping liquid water below. As the puddle freezes, it can leave a small hole in the surface of the ice. Continue reading
