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Category Archives: Severe Weather
Is winter finally here?
Though we have enjoyed a remarkably warm December and first half of January in Madison this year, we are now entering deep winter.
The period from Dec. 1 through Jan. 17 has averaged 7.4 degrees above normal this year and has contributed to our breaking or approaching several obscure, but nonetheless, interesting records of prolonged warmth — provided courtesy of Jordan Gerth at the Space Science and Engineering Center at UW-Madison. Continue reading
Is the number of tornadoes increasing?
Tornadoes are sometimes not seen and thus sometimes not counted. Particularly early in the record keeping. But scientists interested in this question have studied the change in the key ingredients that form tornadoes, such as wind shear, atmospheric stability and … Continue reading
How accurate was the forecast for Hurricane Michael?
Five days in advance of Hurricane Michael’s landfall, the National Hurricane Center forecast showed the storm making landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, with 80 mph winds, just above Category 1 hurricane force.
As we all know by now, the storm lashed the coast with winds in the 155-mph range, or strong Category 4 intensity. Continue reading
Category: Severe Weather, Tropical, Weather Dangers
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Comments Off on How accurate was the forecast for Hurricane Michael?
What caused last month’s flooding?
The nearly unprecedented flooding that has plagued the southern half of the state over most of the last two weeks began with the incredibly heavy rains that fell on Dane County and surrounding areas in the afternoon and evening of Aug. 20.
Western parts of Middleton recorded over 12 inches of rain, and a staggering total of 14.7 inches fell in Cross Plains in well less than 24 hours. Continue reading
When is tornado season?
Tornadoes form in regions of the atmosphere that have abundant warm and moist air near the surface with drier air above, a change in wind speed and direction with height, and weather systems such as fronts that force air upward.
The United States provides these three ingredients in abundance, so it is not surprising that the majority of the world’s reported tornadoes occur in the U.S. Continue reading
