Category Archives: Seasons

How did this winter compare to average?

Less than two weeks ago, on Feb. 17, Madison reached its annual climatological amount of snowfall — 51 inches — with a 5.2-inch fall. This is yet another wrinkle in what has been a very unusual winter.

Almost everyone remembers the early snowfalls of late October and early November that delivered a total of 16 inches of seasonal snowfall by Nov. 11. Perhaps forgotten, however, is the seven-week snow drought that followed, with the next 1-inch snowfall — 1.5 inches to be exact — finally arriving on Dec. 30. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Seasons

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What’s up with the Antarctic weather?

On Feb. 6, a record high temperature of 65 degrees was recorded at a research base located at the most northern tip of Antarctica. That beats the previous record of 63.5 set in March 2015.

Then on Feb. 9, the temperature on Seymour Island in the Antarctic Peninsula reached 69.5, setting a new record. This is the warmest temperature measured on the world’s coldest continent. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Seasons

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What is snow sparkle?

Saturday was a bright, sunny day, and if you were walking by an undisturbed field of snow, the snow may have appeared to sparkle.

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Category: Phenomena, Seasons

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Was December’s unusual warmth widespread?

Despite the slight touch of winter on its last morning, December 2019 was an unusually warm month both locally and hemispherically.

Here in Madison, the month averaged 7 degrees above normal, with the highest temperature of the month, 55, occurring on Christmas Day, just one degree shy of the all-time daily record. Continue reading

Category: Climate, Seasons

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Why don’t the latest sunrise and earliest sunset match up with the winter solstice?

The winter solstice has the shortest daylight hours of the year and will occur at 10:19 p.m. CST on December 21, 2019.

On that day we have our shortest day and longest night of the year in terms of daylight. It’s the astronomical moment when the sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn. Continue reading

Category: Meteorology, Seasons

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