Tag Archives: Winter

Just how snowy has it been these past six weeks?

It sure has been a snowy last few weeks. As of Jan. 1, 2013, Madison had officially received only 32.4 inches of snow — nearly half of which (15.2 inches) was delivered in our Dec. 19-20 snowstorm. However, since Feb. 1 we have accumulated 30.8 additional inches of snow (as of March 14). Continue reading

Category: Seasons
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How do citrus farmers battle the cold?

Last week was one of the coldest of the season in the southeast United States. Though not as bad as prior cold air outbreaks in late January or early February, such events have been known to present a substantial threat to the citrus industry in Florida. The problem is that when the temperature gets below freezing, the fruit itself can freeze rendering it substantially less valuable to the market. Continue reading

Category: Climate
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Why has it snowed nearly every day recently?

Lately our fair city has been the recipient of continuous dustings of light snow evoking images of a Brueghel painting. In fact, Thursday was the ninth consecutive day with measurable snow, tying a record set only one other time (Feb. 23-March 3, 2007) in Madison’s history. Continue reading

Category: Seasons
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What are ice pellets?

Ice pellets are a form of precipitation. They are small, translucent or clear balls of ice. Ice pellets are rain drops that have frozen before they hit the ground. When they hit the ground, they bounce. Ice pellets are also called sleet and can be accompanied by freezing rain. Continue reading

Category: Meteorology
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How cold has this winter been, historically?

Wednesday is the 62nd anniversary of the coldest day ever in Madison — Jan. 30, 1951 — when the temperature dropped to minus 37 F.

As we described in a column a couple of years ago, to get the air that desperately cold in Madison a healthy snow cover is necessary. This January, we had a warm spell near mid-month that effectively melted most of the snow remaining from our December snowstorm. Thus, even though last week’s cold was the worst of the season thus far, it was a lot less cold than it might have been had it occurred while we had a deep, fresh snow cover. Continue reading

Category: Climate
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