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Category Archives: Severe Weather
Are heat waves and droughts related?
The ongoing heat wave in the western states is shattering hundreds of high temperature records.
The extreme heat has now moved into the Pacific Northwest and threatens some all-time records in Seattle and Portland. Seattle has only ever recorded three days over 100 degrees in the last 76 years, but stood a decent chance of seeing three in a row over the weekend. Continue reading
How dangerous is hot weather?
Hot weather can be dangerous, particularly if the humidity is high as well.
Much of the Upper Midwest had temperatures near or above 90 degrees over the weekend, except along the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Several locations set record high daily temperatures — in Madison, Saturday’s high of 92 degrees tied the record for the day set in 1934. Continue reading
What is a red flag warning?
The National Weather Service issues, and cancels, fire weather watches (FWW), and red flag warnings (RFW) in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service.
The weather service will not issue official warnings until certain threshold values, called red flag criteria, are forecast to occur. Red flag criteria differ from state to state. They usually include relative humidity values of 20% or less, winds of 20 mph or higher, and dry fuel conditions. Red Flag Warnings are usually only issued during the spring and fall fire weather seasons. Continue reading
How is tornado intensity determined?
A deadly tornado outbreak took place Wednesday through Friday in the southern United States.
Tornadoes are classified based on the damage the tornado does, which enables us to estimate the wind speed of its rotating winds.
All tornadoes are assigned a single number from the Enhanced Fujita scale, abbreviated EF, according to the most intense damage caused by the storm. Continue reading
Category: Meteorology, Severe Weather, Weather Dangers
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When does the last deep cold spell of the winter usually come?
As we all work to recover from our recent cold spell, the natural question is: Are we done with bitter cold for the winter?
If we use an overnight low temperature at or below zero as the definition of a cold spell, then 41 of the 81 winters since 1939-40 have seen a cold spell after Feb. 22 — that’s 50.6% of the time. In fact, in 1982 the last zero-degree or colder night was not until April 2, the latest date in the last 81 years. Continue reading
Category: Climate, Seasons, Severe Weather
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