Tag Archives: Meteorology

What is Groundhog Day and do the forecasts work?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Weather Guys Editor

Long before computers, the Weather Channel and the Internet, humans needed weather forecasts. Farmers and sailors particularly needed to know if storms were approaching. Over time, various folklore forecasts, often in the form of short rhymes, were devised and passed down through the generations. Although memorable, the folklore forecasts are of uneven quality — some good, others bad. Continue reading →

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What were the top Wisconsin Weather Events for 2011?

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Weather Guys Editor

Each season in 2011 had a memorable weather event, some with negative impacts. There were two good snow storms in February. The Groundhog Day blizzard had wind gusts of up to 60 mph and snowfall depths ranging from 1 to 2 feet. That resulted in snow drifts of 6 to 10 feet. The second storm occurred on February 20-21 with snow accumulations between 8 and 15 inches. Freezing rain and sleet also fell across southern Wisconsin. Continue reading →

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When does winter really start in Madison?

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Weather Guys Editor

The most common way to define the start of winter is to appeal to the solstice, the day on which the noontime sun is positioned at its farthest southern point of the year. This is the astronomical start of winter — Dec. 22 this year. On that day, the noontime sun will be directly overhead at 23.5 S latitude. Continue reading →

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How can you forecast frost?

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Weather Guys Editor

There are a series of questions you can ask yourself to aid in predicting the formation of frost for your own backyard: Continue reading →

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Why was it so windy last week?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Weather Guys Editor

The wind is air in motion. Moving anything requires a force. Violent destructive winds, as well as gentle summer breezes, result from a complex interplay of different forces. One of these forces results from a pressure gradient, or how fast pressure changes over distance. Strong winds almost always result from large pressure gradients. Recently, southern Wisconsin has been under the influence of a weather pattern that has strong pressure gradients, and thus strong winds. Continue reading →

Category: Phenomena
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