How does weather variability affect our economy?

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Weather Guys Editor

Weather has a big impact on our economy at all levels — local, state and national. In our local economy, weather influences various business decisions, such as when to plant or harvest, when to pour concrete or shingle a roof in construction projects, or in predicting peak demand for electricity or gas for home heating.

Weather impacts can be complicated and affect various sectors of the economy in different ways. For example, a snowstorm may disrupt the economy negatively by driving up heating and snow removal costs, while boosting the economy through increased attendance at ski and snowmobile resorts. A prolonged dry spell can negatively affect agriculture while having a positive impact on construction projects by helping them to remain on schedule. Weather also affects the economy by impacting both supply and demand for the products and services of a particular industry. For example, consider the ice fishing industry where a good season is determined by the total days of ice on our lakes. A warm winter thus has a negative impact on that sector of the economy by reducing the supply of good lake ice.

A recent study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research explored the economy’s weather sensitivity, using weather variability as a factor affecting our gross domestic product. The study concluded that the impact of routine weather events on the U.S. annual economy is 3.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product — or about $485 billion (in 2008 dollars) for the 2008 U.S. economy! Overall, precipitation variations had a larger effect on the economy than temperature.

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Does sound travel better in fog?

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Weather Guys Editor

No. Sound is a sequence of pressure waves that propagate through a compressible medium, such as air or water. Sound has to move molecules in order to travel. Sound is transmitted from a source to the surrounding molecules, which vibrate or collide and pass the sound energy along until it eventually reaches our ears. The closer the molecules are to each other, the farther the sound can travel. This is why sound travels farther through water than it does through air and why it is impossible for sound to move through space.

Fog is made of tiny droplets of water. Sound waves interact with small droplets in such a way that sound undergoes attenuation and dispersion. Analogously, think of how clouds visibly appear white, even though they are made of water that is clear. It is because they are made of tiny water droplets, as is fog, and this affects how light, and sound, move through the medium.

Attenuation by sound waves in fog is a function of the frequency, or pitch, of the waves. This is why fog horns have a very low pitch, because their sound will travel farther than a screeching sound.

A recent sports blog argued that the Seattle Seahawks should hope for a home playoff game, as fog is common in Seattle. The idea was that with fog, the screeching cheers of the fans would travel a greater distance in a fogged-in stadium. However, if they get to play the Packers, they would do better to hope for non-union NFL referees.

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What are those rolls of snow in a farm field?

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Weather Guys Editor

Those cylinder-shaped masses of rolled-up snow are called “snow rollers.” Some appeared after the pre-Christmas storm, but they are uncommon in the Midwest. (The last time someone told us they saw snow rollers was in February 2003.) While they may look like someone was rolling snow to make a snowman, you won’t see any footprints in the snow as these rolls form naturally.

The formation of snow rollers requires just the right weather conditions. They form when strong winds consistently blow across a snow-covered field. The field is covered with an icy crusty snow layer upon which fresh snow will not stick. On top is a layer of snow that is sticky, similar to good snowman-making snow, so the snow can stick to the roll as it moves, being pushed by the wind. This loose, wet layer of snow cannot be too deep, maybe a couple of inches at most. If the snow is too deep, it will be hard for the wind to move it along.

As in building a snowman, an initial “seed” roller needs to be started. In some way, the wind starts a small mass of snow moving. Then as the wind moves this seed roller along, it collects snow, gets larger and larger, forming a log shape as it moves downwind.

Snow rollers range in size from the equivalent of eggs to small barrels, but the average size is about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Sometimes there may be a hole running lengthwise through the entire snow roller.

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How did you like that winter storm?

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Weather Guys Editor

We loved it!

It’s not often that all-time records for high temperature and 24 hour snowfall are set in the same winter month but we made a run at it this past week. Madison’s all-time record for greatest 24 hour snowfall was on Dec. 2-3, 1990, when 17.3 inches of snow fell. The official amount of snowfall on Thursday was 15.2 inches of snow, although weather enthusiasts in the area measured more than a foot and a half of snowfall.

Recall that conditions were dramatically different on Dec. 3 of this year when Madison set it all time December high temperature record of 65 degrees (unusual in that it occurred under cloudy skies). As you read this this morning, your muscles may still be sore from having removed a record amount of heavy snow last Thursday and Friday.

If you were outside Thursday morning shoveling that heavy snow, you may have heard thunder during the storm. You experienced thundersnow — a weather event that is not too common in Madison. If you were outside later in the day, you experienced near blizzard conditions. A blizzard is defined as an event with winds of at least 35 mph, combined with either falling snow or blowing snow to reduce visibilities to a quarter mile or less for at least three hours.

We hope some solace can be found in that we have lived through exciting and varied weather these first three weeks of December. The weather rarely spans so broad a range of extremes in the approach to a Madison winter as it has this year.

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How long has Milwaukee gone without snow?

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Weather Guys Editor

By Sunday, Dec. 9, Milwaukee had gone 280 consecutive days without measurable snowfall (defined as 0.1 inches or more of snow). That set the all-time record long streak for no snow in Milwaukee’s weather history. By the time you read this article, the streak will have continued into its 288th day — an amazing way to approach the end of a truly unusual, and in many ways, unsettling year of weather in our state.

The last time Milwaukee had measurable snow was on March 4, 2012, when nine-tenths of an inch fell. That same storm was our only snowstorm of the year in Madison last year that dropped more than 3 inches The latest date for the first measurable snow in a winter season in Milwaukee’s history is Dec. 26, 1888 when one-tenth of an inch of snow fell. The latest first 1-inch or greater snowfall was on Jan. 20, 1889 (the same winter) when 3.5 inches of snow finally fell.

Madison’s all-time longest snowless streak, surprisingly longer than Milwaukee’s, is 295 days and stretched from Feb. 6 to Nov. 28, 1902. This year we only got to 246 days as one-tenth of an inch of snow fell on Nov. 6.

The latest date for the first measurable snow in a winter season in Madison’s history is Dec. 15, 1999 when one-tenth of an inch of snow fell. The latest first 1-inch or greater snowfall was on Dec. 23, 2001. This year, we aren’t challenging any of those records.

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