Bart_Adrian's Blog

Here are the specifics on the Air Quality Watch from the DNR...

AIR QUALITY WATCH
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES MADISON WI
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1100 AM CDT SAT JUL 5 2008

...AIR QUALITY WATCH ISSUED FOR EASTERN WISCONSIN FOR SUNDAY JULY
6...

A HOT AND INCREASINGLY HUMID AIR MASS WILL MOVE INTO THE LAKE
MICHIGAN REGION FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY. WITH LIGHTER WINDS FORECAST
FOR SUNDAY...THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT OZONE CONCENTRATIONS WILL
REACH UNHEALTHY LEVELS FOR PERSONS IN SENSITIVE GROUPS IN THE WATCH
AREA.

DUE TO THE POSSIBLE ELEVATED LEVELS OF OZONE IN THE REGION...THE
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS ISSUED AN AIR QUALITY
WATCH FOR SUNDAY. THIS WATCH WILL EXPIRE AT MIDNIGHT SUNDAY EVENING.
FINE PARTICLE CONCENTRATIONS MAY INCREASE TO UNHEALTHY LEVELS FOR
SENSITIVE GROUPS ON MONDAY.

THE AIR QUALITY WATCH AFFECTS PEOPLE LIVING IN THE WISCONSIN
COUNTIES OF SHEBOYGAN...OZAUKEE...MILWAUKEE...RACINE...AND KENOSHA.

TO HELP PREVENT POLLUTION FROM REACHING UNHEALTHY LEVELS...PEOPLE IN
THE WATCH AREA ARE ENCOURAGED TO HELP DECREASE AIR POLLUTION BY
REDUCING DRIVING WHEN POSSIBLE...AVOID BURNING
LEAVES...GRASS...BRUSH...OR WOOD...MINIMIZE VEHICLE ENGINE
IDLING...POSTPONE USING SMALL GAS OR DIESEL POWERED OUTDOOR
EQUIPMENT...AND PRACTICE ENERGY CONSERVATION.

FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ON AIR QUALITY READINGS PLEASE CALL THE
DAILY AIR HOTLINE AT 1-866-DAILYAIR...1-866-324-5924.

Here is a link to the latest information from the local Milwaukee-Sullivan National Weather Service office regarding rainfall totals plus river levels in southern Wisconsin.....

 

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/crnews/display_story.php?w
f
o=mkx&storyid=15255&source=0

Tonight marks the tenth anniversary of one of the most memorable severe weather events of my career. Here's a description from our National Weather Service:

You can click on the above image to download the radar animation from the Storm Prediction Center’s "About Derechos" web page.

This Friday/Saturday marks the 10 year anniversary of one of the most widespread severe wind events in recorded Wisconsin history. Southern Wisconsin residents and travelers experienced a significant and devastating thunderstorm wind damage event during the late evening hours on Saturday May 30th into the early morning hours of Sunday May 31, 1998. Southern Wisconsin was impacted generally between 1 AM and 4 AM local time.

The damage across the Milwaukee/Sullivan county warning area (CWA) totaled about $55 million to property and about $1.49 million to crops. Many trees and power lines were blown down and hundreds of structures across Southern Wisconsin were damaged.

Three fatalities occurred during, or immediately after, the event. One was direct, and two were indirect. At least 37 injuries were reported. At one point just after the event 60,000 customers were without electricity in South-Central Wisconsin, and about 170,000 customers were without electricity in Southeast Wisconsin.

This severe wind event was termed a derecho, which is basically a widespread and long lasting wind storm that is associated with a line of thunderstorms. This line of thunderstorms gained strength over Minnesota and Northern Iowa and then swept east across Southern Wisconsin at 50 to 60 mph.

Of the 20 counties in the Milwaukee/Sullivan CWA, 12 experienced gusts of 100 mph or greater, either based on measurements or estimated based on damage surveys. Below is a summary of some of the notable wind gusts from this event.

128 mph measured 1.5 miles northwest of Lebanon in Dodge County.
105 mph measured in Erin in Washington County.
103 mph measured in Greenfield in Milwaukee County.
100 mph measured at WITI TV station in Milwaukee County.
100 mph measured in Marshall in Dane County.
90 mph measured in Port Washington in Ozaukee County.
83 mph measured in Ripon in Fond du Lac County.
80 mph measured at the Waukesha Airport in Waukesha County (KUES).
71 mph measured at WTMJ TV station in Milwaukee County.
68 mph measured in Briggsville in Marquette County.
64 mph measured at the Watertown Airport in Jefferson County (KRYV).
61 mph measured at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee County (KMKE).
61 mph measured at the National Weather Service in Sullivan (KMKX).


Some notable damage also occurred around the area. Estimated peak wind gusts from Sauk, Columbia, and Iowa Counties were in the 100 to 120 mph range based on significant tree damage and some damage to structures. In Lafayette County, 10 city blocks in Darlington were closed due to debris. In Dane County, there was a swath of particularly strong winds from Waunakee to Sun Prairie to Marshall. Cars were blown off Interstate-94 north of Madison. A roof was torn off a home in Marshall.

In Dodge County, there was an accident on Highway 41 when the strong winds blew over a semi-tractor truck. Near Clyman, hay wagons were blown onto the second floor of damaged barns. At New Glarus Woods State Park in Green County, tents were shredded and many trees blown down. At the West Bend Airport in Washington County, 6 hangars and 6 planes were destroyed. At Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee County, some of the hangars were blown in. Some stripped roof shingles were found to be embedded in nearby siding in Cudahy.

The peak wind gusts in the 110 to 130 mph range that were found in small pockets across Southern Wisconsin during this event are equivalent to the maximum 3-second wind gusts found in an EF-2 tornado (click for EF-Scale). Such powerful winds illustrate the importance of seeking shelter when severe thunderstorms approach!

The derecho pushed east during the early morning hours across Lower Michigan, and eventually into Southern Ontario and New York during the morning hours of May 31st.

The great Yogi Berra would definitely call this "deja vu all over again"! Here's the National Weather Service summary of our Wednesday night "pneumonia front" passage. (See also my previous blog.).....

 

Wednesday evening:

Interestingly, yet another "Pneumonia Front" moved down Lake Michigan and eastern Wisconsin during the evening hours of May 21st...roughly 24 hours after the first one.  This second pneumonia front generated northeast wind gusts to only 20 to 25 mph...about 10 to 15 mph less than the night before.  In this Wednesday evening situation, temperatures dropped from around 60 down into the mid to upper 40s near Lake Michigan after the front passed by.

Below is an image showing the surface weather map at 10:00 pm Wednesday evening, May 21, 2008.  The "Pneumonia Front" is indicated by the light blue line.  Note the cooler temperatures (mid to upper 40s) near Lake Michgan with gusty northeast winds. However, temperatures at 10 pm were still in the 50s west/southwest of the pneumonia front where west to northwest winds were common.  At each station plot...the number in the upper left is the air temperature and the number in the lower left is the dewpoint.  The number in the upper right is the barometric pressure (millibar system).  The number in the lower right is the 3-hourly pressure tendency between 7 pm and 10 pm.  Note the higher pressure rise values in the Lake Winnebago area to the Port Washington area.  If a reporting station has a small arrow pointing away from the circle...then the number at the end of the small arrow is the wind gust in knots.  For example...the Sheboygan C-MAN marine station had a gust from the northeast of 20 knots (23 mph) at 10 pm.

 

 

It's not a technical term. You won't find it in the AMS Glossary of Meteorology. But it is real!

Last night the official Milwaukee temperature at Mitchell International fell suddenly from 56 degrees at 10pm to 43 degrees at 11pm. The wind went from the west at less than 10 mph to the north-northeast gusting over 30 mph. That was the passage of a "pneumonia front"! Here's more about it from our local National Weather Service-Milwaukee/Sullivan...

Tuesday evening:

If you were outdoors near Lake Michigan between 7 pm and 1 am, you probably felt the effects of this "Pneumonia Front."  After the front passed through, gusty northeast winds to 25 to 40 mph ushered in much colder air which lowered temperatures from the mid 50s to lower 60s down to the low to mid 40s within 15 to 30 minutes!  It has happened before...and it will happen again!

We received an email from a weather observer/spotter from Sheboygan concerning this first "Pneumonia Front"....here it is:  Reference the article on your website, I can attest to this front when it moved through.  I was coaching a soccer game and prior to the front, we had a wind out of the NW and it was probably in the low 60’s at the time.  Suddenly the front came, wind switched to NE and a big gust that blew through kicking up dust and anything not tied down.  The kids on the bench grabbed for their warm team coats.  I threw another layer on too.  Although I did not have access to a thermometer at the time, I’m sure the temp did drop about 15 degrees, then add the wind-chill effect.  I would say it was around 8pm when this happened.

The fast movement of the front is related to the smoother water surface which has less friction than land, and the cooler air behind the front is refrigerated even more by the cooler water temperatures.  Sometimes this front will be highlighted by a low cloud band, which looks like a snowplow, that forms along the leading edge.

Below is a simple graphic showing the progression of the pneumonia front down Lake Michigan and nearby inland areas.

Here is a summary of peak wind gusts and the time at selected locations along the Lake Michigan shoreline:

Sheboygan Airport - 758 pm - 31 mph, Sheboygan harbor - 8 pm - 40 mph, Port Washingon harbor - 9 pm - 32 mph, Milwaukee Mitchell Field - 952 pm - 31 mph, Milwaukee Coast Guard - 10 pm - 30 mph, Racine Airport - 1019 pm - 31 mph, Kenosha Airport - 1053 pm - 26 mph, Kenosha Coast Guard - 11 pm - 28 mph.

 

Let's hope the forecast for clear skies tomorrow night (Wednesday, February 20th) holds true!That would allow us to see the last total lunar eclipse for nearly three years. The Earth’s shadow will begin to overtake the moon, creating a partial eclipse, at about 7:45 p.m., then upgrade to total eclipse at about 9 p.m., an effect which will cause the moon to glow a copper-red color. The planet Saturn will be visible just to the left and below the moon in the eastern sky. Here's a summary of the event timing:    

          Partial Eclipse starts:       7:43 p.m. 
          Total Eclipse starts:          9:00 p.m. 
       Total Eclipse ends:           9:51 p.m. 
         Partial Eclipse ends:        11:09 p.m.

Top 5 Snowiest Decembers

...SNOW CONTINUES TO PILE UP...

SO FAR...DECEMBER 2007 IN MILWAUKEE IS THE SECOND SNOWIEST ON RECORD
WITH 30.2 INCHES. THE SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD WAS IN 2000 WHEN
49.5 INCHES PILED UP. THE NORMAL DECEMBER SNOWFALL TOTAL IS 11.7
INCHES.

HERE IS A LISTING OF THE TOP 10 SNOWIEST DECEMBERS IN MILWAUKEE...

RANK YEAR AMOUNT /INCHES/

1 2000 49.5
2 2007 30.2
3 1978 27.9
4 1951 26.5
5 1887 24.9
6 1885 23.3
7 1950 22.6
8 1909 21.3
9 1977..1904 20.8
10 1987 19.9

THE TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THIS DECEMBER IN MADISON IS 32.8 INCHES SO
FAR. THAT MAKES DECEMBER 2007 TIED WITH DECEMBER 1987 FOR SECOND
SNOWIEST. THE SNOWIEST DECEMBER WAS IN 2000 WHEN 35.0 INCHES PILED
UP. THE NORMAL DECEMBER SNOWFALL TOTAL IS 12.6 INCHES.

HERE IS A LISTING OF THE TOP 9 SNOWIEST DECEMBERS IN MADISON...

RANK YEAR AMOUNT /INCHES/

1 2000 35.0
2 2007...1987 32.8
3 1977 24.6
4 1985 24.0
5 1887 23.9
6 1909 23.1
7 1990..1978 23.0
8 1983 22.6
9 1950 21.2

If you're down about our Saturday snowstorm, here's one from the "It could be worse" department...

On December 15, 1987, the entire Milwaukee metro area was practicaly shut down by a huge blizzard. The snow began around 1am and became heaviest from 6am to 10am. During that time period there were bursts of snow at 2 to 3 inches per hour with thundersnow. Winds gusted to 66 mph here at our studio. When all was said and done, the official total at Mitchell was 13.1 inches. Vince Condella and I were up practically all night for that one, and we still talk about it today!

Here are some snowfall totals from today's storm:

Milwaukee (Mitchell International)    3.0 inches

Madison (Dane County Regional)    5.1 inches

Sullivan (Jefferson County--National Weather Service Office)   5.0 inches

Brown Deer (FOX 6 Weather Deck)    4.2 inches

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
303 PM CST WED DEC 05 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0300 PM     HEAVY SNOW       MILWAUKEE INTL ARPT(KMK 42.96N 87.90W
12/05/2007  M7.8 INCH        MILWAUKEE          WI   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            4.2 INCHES OF SNOW ON TUESDAY AND 3.6 INCHES OF SNOW
            TODAY. STORM TOTAL 7.8 INCHES.

0300 PM     HEAVY SNOW       MADISON TRUAX AIRPORT   43.14N 89.33W
12/05/2007  M6.8 INCH        DANE               WI   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            5.6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL TUESDAY AND 1.2 INCHES TODAY.
            STORM TOTAL 6.8 INCHES.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
814 AM CST WED DEC 05 2007

THE TOTALS BELOW ARE SEPARATED INTO SNOW...AND ICE AND SLEET
CATEGORIES...THEN BY AMOUNT...AND ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE FINAL
AMOUNT FOR EACH LOCATION.

SNOW REPORTS LISTED BY AMOUNT

INCHES  LOCATION                 ST  COUNTY           TIME
------  -----------------------  --  --------------   -------
  9.00   MOUNT HOREB              WI  DANE             0730 AM
  6.00   UNION GROVE              WI  RACINE           0753 AM
  6.00   FORT ATKINSON            WI  JEFFERSON        0752 AM
  6.00   SUN PRAIRIE              WI  DANE             0752 AM
  6.00   WEST ALLIS               WI  MILWAUKEE        0751 AM
  6.00   LODI                     WI  COLUMBIA         0741 AM
  6.00   POYNETTE                 WI  COLUMBIA         0726 AM
  6.00   10 NW MILWAUKEE          WI  MILWAUKEE        0718 AM
  6.00   REEDSBURG                WI  SAUK             0718 AM
  6.00   WATERFORD                WI  RACINE           0718 AM
  6.00   BURLINGTON               WI  RACINE           0718 AM
  5.70   MIDDLETON                WI  DANE             0718 AM
  5.60   CEDARBURG                WI  OZAUKEE          0718 AM
  5.50   MONROE                   WI  GREEN            0734 AM
  5.50   LAKE MILLS               WI  JEFFERSON        0725 AM
  5.50   ARGYLE                   WI  LAFAYETTE        0718 AM
  5.00   1 NE GLENDALE            WI  MILWAUKEE        0730 AM
  5.00   AFTON                    WI  ROCK             0718 AM
  5.00   4 NW MUKWONAGO           WI  WAUKESHA         0718 AM
  5.00   PADDOCK LAKE             WI  KENOSHA          0718 AM
  4.90   WATERLOO                 WI  JEFFERSON        0752 AM
  4.80   HALES CORNERS            WI  MILWAUKEE        0746 AM
  4.60   BRODHEAD                 WI  GREEN            0722 AM
  4.50   MARKESAN                 WI  GREEN LAKE       0718 AM
  4.50   JACKSON                  WI  WASHINGTON       0718 AM
  4.50   WATERTOWN                WI  JEFFERSON        0718 AM
  4.30   COLGATE                  WI  WAUKESHA         0718 AM
  4.20   1 S SHEBOYGAN            WI  SHEBOYGAN        0718 AM
  4.00   WAUKESHA                 WI  WAUKESHA         0718 AM
  3.40   KEWASKUM                 WI  WASHINGTON       0739 AM
  3.00   DODGEVILLE               WI  IOWA             0722 AM
  3.00   ALLENTON                 WI  WASHINGTON       0718 AM
  2.00   2 S SHEBOYGAN            WI  SHEBOYGAN        0718 AM
  1.80   TAYCHEEDAH               WI  FOND DU LAC      0718 AM
  1.00   HOWARDS GROVE            WI  SHEBOYGAN        0718 AM

You’ve been hearing a lot in the past couple of weeks about the Santa Ana winds driving the wildfires in southern California. The wind coming down the mountain slopes is very warm and dry, because the air is heated by compression as it descends. The rate of heating is 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 feet of descent. In other words, air that is at 60 degrees at the top of a 5,000 foot slope will warm to 87.5 degrees when it descends to the bottom. This warm, dry downslope wind occurs in other parts of the world, but goes by different names. For example, on the east side of the Rocky Mountains it is referred to as the chinook wind. In the European Alps, it is called the foehn wind. And in Argentina, the same wind goes by the name zonda.

Here's a link to some amazing images of the southern California wildfires from NASA's polar orbiting satellites...

http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2007296
-1023/California.A2007296.1825.1km.jpg

     During August 2007, the National Weather Service unofficial observer in Viroqua, Wisconsin (Vernon County) recorded 21.74 inches of rainfall! This exceeded not only the August monthly rainfall record (16.61 inches in Phelps in August 1966) for Wisconsin, but also the wettest month ever recorded in Wisconsin (18.33 inches in Port Washington in June 1996).
     A member of the State Climate Extremes Committee visited the Viroqua site recently.  He was satisfied with the location of the rain gage, that proper measuring techniques were followed, and that the data looked feasible.  The committee is in agreement that the Viroqua value of 21.74 inches should be accepted as a preliminary record monthly rainfall for any month and for August in the state of Wisconsin. Wow!

Fall begins with the Autumnal Equinox tomorrow morning at 4:51am, and here are few benchmarks to note on the calendar...

Daylight Saving Time Ends....2:00am Sunday, November 4th

*Due to changes in the law, this is a week later than we've been accustomed to changing the clocks back!

 

Average First Freeze...October 20th

*We typically regard this as the official end of the growing season.

 

Average First Snowflakes...October 28th

*We typically start to worry about shovelling at this point. (No, I'm just kidding!)

 

A viewer recently asked why it seems we don't always hear about named tropical storms in alphabetical order. Last month, for example, residents of the continental U.S. heard much more about Tropical Storm Erin before they ever heard about Hurricane Dean.

The explanation is that tropical storms are named alphabetically as they develop. Dean developed into a named storm off the west coast of Africa on the morning of Tuesday, August 14th. Erin became a named storm nearly 24 hours later. Because Erin developed in the Gulf of Mexico and grew into an immediate threat to Texas, it received instant publicity in the continental U.S. Dean didn't receive much attention in the news until a few days later, when it began to threaten the eastern Caribbean.