Category Archives: Meteorology

Was our recent snowfall typical for a Madison winter?

Our first substantial snowfall of the season visited Madison on Friday morning as a period of moderate to heavy snow fell from around 7 to 9:45 a.m.

In the end, we accumulated 4.4 inches of heavy wet snow timed perfectly to snarl the morning commute. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Meteorology, Seasons

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Was our weather this week related to the record event in Buffalo, New York?

It has been a fairly wintry week across the Great Lakes states, including here in southern Wisconsin.

Through Saturday night, it had snowed on five straight days in Madison, a total of 4.4 inches. The same pool of cold air above the ground that led to Madison’s intermittent snow showers stretched all the way across the Great Lakes. In fact, the Saturday morning temperature at 1.5km above the surface at Buffalo, New York, was minus 14 Celsius (about 7 degrees Fahrenheit). Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Severe Weather

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What makes the wind blow?

Southern Wisconsin has certainly experienced some windy days this past week. Wind is defined as the horizontal movement of air from one place to another. Wind exists because of differences in air pressure. Any movement requires a force, and in … Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Phenomena

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What is graupel?

Graupel is a type of frozen precipitation. Southern Wisconsin experienced this on Thursday afternoon.

Most clouds outside the tropical regions have temperatures that are below freezing somewhere in the cloud. These cold clouds are likely to have frozen cloud particles. They are also likely to include supercooled water drops, drops made of water that are below the freezing point. Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Seasons

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Will we hit 80 degrees again this year?

We will not see 80 degrees again this year.

The last time Madison was officially 80 degrees or warmer was Sept. 21, the last official day of summer. In fact, 13 of the first 21 days of last month we were at least that warm — fairly remarkable. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Meteorology, Seasons

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