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Category Archives: Meteorology
When is Wisconsin’s tornado season?
Tornadoes can happen in just about any location and at any time, although the chances of having one in late fall and winter are small.
For example, there have been only six tornadoes in Wisconsin during the month of November, and Wisconsin has never recorded a tornado in February.
On average, there have been 21 tornadoes touch down in Wisconsin in a year, with a record 62 tornadoes in 2005. For the 20-year period between 1991 and 2010, there was an average of nine tornadoes in the month of June. Continue reading
Did weather play a role in D-Day?
Friday marked the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Europe and the beginning of the end of Nazi tyranny and murder in World War II. A perfect combination of full moon (for nighttime aerial navigation purposes), low tide (so that German mines in Brittany would be exposed) and light winds were necessary to give the invasion any reasonable chance of success.
Thus, days on which the tides and phase of the moon were optimal were known some weeks in advance. As late May arrived, it became increasingly clear that choosing among those optimal days for invasion would depend crucially upon the weather and the ability to make an accurate forecast of weather conditions.
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Category: Meteorology, Severe Weather, Weather Dangers
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What causes urban flooding?
Urban flooding occurs when water flows into an urban region faster than it can be absorbed into the soil or moved to and stored in a lake or reservoir. It can be caused by flash flooding, coastal flooding, river floods or rapid snow melt.
On Tuesday, the Madison area experienced urban flooding caused by an intense rainfall. On that day, a daily record rainfall of 1.46 inches fell at Dane County Regional Airport, breaking the city’s previous May 27 record of 1.27 inches. The city sewage system and draining canals did not have the necessary capacity to drain away the large amounts of rain that fell in a short period of time. Continue reading
Do wind farms modify climate?
The turbines on wind farms convert the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. So, we might expect to see some changes in the region due to this energy conversion. The impact will be a function of how big the wind farm is and how long the turbines operate.
One way to estimate changes is through observations. The best method is to compare the observation of a region before and after wind farms are installed. Unfortunately, there are rarely enough observations before the wind farm installation to make strong conclusions about any observed relationships. Continue reading
How does carbon dioxide affect global warming?
Since 1958, a continuous measurement of the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere has been made at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. These observations were initiated by Charles Keeling, who died in 2005, and have been maintained by his son Ralph ever since.
Sunshine is a manifestation of solar radiation and when it is absorbed by the surface of the Earth, the surface heats up and emits a different kind of radiation, known as infrared radiation. Carbon dioxide is a special chemical in that it is transparent to solar radiation and yet it absorbs infrared radiation. Thus, the presence of carbon dioxode in our atmosphere allows sunshine to penetrate to the surface but inhibits the emission of infrared radiation to space.
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