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Category Archives: Seasons
What determines the amount of daylight?
Our amount of daylight hours depends on our latitude and how Earth orbits the sun. Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted from its orbital plane and always points in the same direction — toward the North Star. As a result, the orientation of Earth’s axis to the sun is always changing throughout the year as we revolve around the sun. Sometimes the axis points toward the sun and other times away from the sun. Continue reading
How does this summer compare to last summer?
What a difference a year makes!
Despite the recent hot and very humid weather we have had as August ended, this summer has been remarkably mild compared to our real scorcher last summer.
Recall that by the end of August last year, we had recorded 37 days on which the high temperature had been at or above 90 F. This year the grand total is seven (five of them in a row from July 15-19). Continue reading
Has 2013 gotten off to a wet start?
If you’ve had any lingering suspicion that 2013 has gotten off to an amazingly wet start, that suspicion can now be confirmed. As of April 24, both Madison and Milwaukee have recorded the wettest start to a calendar year ever. Continue reading
How cold and wet has Spring been in Madison?
An incredible late winter/early spring of colder-than-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation continued unabated last week.
Through April 17, Madison had recorded 12.95 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation for the calendar year. That means that 2013 has gotten off to the third wettest start in Madison history. Milwaukee has received 13.15 inches of liquid equivalent this year, also making it the third wettest start to a year. Continue reading
When will Spring arrive?
By two measures, spring has arrived. Astronomically, spring, or the vernal equinox, occurs around March 20 each year. It is defined as when the tilt of Earth’s axis is inclined neither toward nor away from the Sun. The moment that marks the beginning of spring is when the sun is directly overhead at the equator. This year that occurred on March 20, when the maximum temperature in Madison was only 21 degrees. Continue reading
