PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1044 AM CST SUN DEC 16 2012

...RAINFALL TOTALS ACROSS THE AREA FOR DECEMBER 15-16TH...

LOCATION                   COUNTY            RAINFALL

NORTHEAST IOWA

OSAGE                      MITCHELL            0.77
SAINT ANSGAR               MITCHELL            0.73
IONIA                      CHICKASAW           0.71
OELWEIN                    FAYETTE             0.68
MONONA                     CLAYTON             0.66
CHARLES CITY               FLOYD               0.65
STRAWBERRY POINT           CLAYTON             0.64
NASHUA                     CHICKASAW           0.63
CRESCO 1NE                 HOWARD              0.60
CLERMONT                   FAYETTE             0.57
ELKADER 6SSW               CLAYTON             0.52
VOLGA                      CLAYTON             0.51
GUTTENBERG                 CLAYTON             0.43
DECORAH AWOS               WINNESHIEK          0.41

SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA

SPRING VALLEY 3E           FILLMORE            0.57
AUSTIN AWOS                MOWER               0.53
PRESTON                    FILLMORE            0.50
LANESBORO                  FILLMORE            0.50
BYRON                      OLMSTED             0.45
WABASHA                    WABASHA             0.45
ROCHESTER ASOS             OLMSTED             0.41
PRESTON AWOS               FILLMORE            0.41
LAKE CITY                  WABASHA             0.40
MINNESOTA CITY DAM 5       WINONA              0.43
ELGIN 2SSW                 WABASHA             0.43
THEILMAN                   WABASHA             0.40
LA CRESCENT                HOUSTON             0.38
WINONA DAM 5A              WINONA              0.37
DODGE CENTER AWOS          DODGE               0.30
WINONA AWOS                WINONA              0.26

SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN

RICHLAND CENTER 1NW        RICHLAND            0.71
SINSINAWA                  GRANT               0.70
FRIENDSHIP                 ADAMS               0.68
READSTOWN 4NE              VERNON              0.68
WARRENS 5WSW               MONROE              0.66
BOSCOBEL ASOS              GRANT               0.66
HILLSBORO                  VERNON              0.66
VOLK FIELD ASOS            JUNEAU              0.52
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN           CRAWFORD            0.52
GALESVILLE 3ENE            TREMPEALEAU         0.52
GALESVILLE 2WSW            TREMPEALEAU         0.52
LA CROSSE ASOS             LA CROSSE           0.45
OSSEO                      TREMPEALEAU         0.45
GENOA                      TREMPEALEAU         0.45
WESTBY 3ENE                VERNON              0.45
LYNXVILLE                  CRAWFORD            0.44
VIROQUA                    VERNON              0.44
PLATTEVILLE AWOS           GRANT               0.44
LA CROSSE 4NNW             LA CROSSE           0.43
LA CROSSE WFO              LA CROSSE           0.42
TUNNEL CITY 1S             MONROE              0.42
ETTRICK                    TREMPEALEAU         0.41
NEILLSVILLE                CLARK               0.40
BLACK RIVER FALLS          JACKSON             0.40
TREMPEALEAU                TREMPEALEAU         0.36
OWEN 2N                    CLARK               0.34
FOUR CORNERS               LA CROSSE           0.34
VIROQUA AWOS               VERNON              0.22
BLACK RIVER FALLS AWOS     JACKSON             0.21
SPARTA FT MCCOY AWOS       MONROE              0.09

Posted under rainfall, rainfall amounts

The weekend storm system that brought clouds, rain, and cold winds to the region allowed some locations to make a decent dent in the 2012 rainfall deficit while some other spots were disappointed with the totals.  Ahead of its arrival, we were anticipating quite a deluge of rain as well as some strong or severe thunderstorm activity.  The good news is, we avoided the severe weather, and while some spots did get the heavy rainfall that was promised, more than half of the area received less than an inch and remains in a moderate to severe drought.  Rochester received less than half an inch of rain from the two day storm between Friday night and midday Sunday and still has a small deficit for the month of October and a large deficit for the year.

Rochester is more than 7 inches below normal for rainfall this year and remains in a "Moderate Drought."

There will be some rain chances ahead for the middle and latter portion of the week, although the totals are expected to be much less impressive across the area.  The overall pattern does look a little more active in the next couple of weeks, so there may be more frequent bouts of light rain for the second half of the month.

Here’s a look at some of the local rainfall totals from the National Weather Service office in La Crosse: 

Rainfall Totals from Weekend Storm System

 

The mid-autumn storm system that swept through the Upper Midwest this past weekend brought widespread, beneficial rains to much of the area. The precipitation came in two main rounds, the first of which started late Friday night and continued into Saturday morning. The next wave began late Saturday night and persisted much of Sunday, slowly pushing east across the region by late afternoon. Rainfall amounts varied from less than 0.50″ across parts of southeast Minnesota and north central Wisconsin to a healthy swath of 1 to 3 inches extending from northeast Iowa to southwest and central Wisconsin. There were isolated amounts between 3 and 4 inches reported. The image below shows the 48 hour radar derived rainfall totals (Friday night through 5pm Sunday). For reference, green shading represents 1.0 – 2.0 inches, blue and cyan colors are 2.0 – 3.0″, and orange and yellow between 3.0 – 5.0″. Also note the white outlined oval near La Crosse, which is a data artifcact. This reduction is due to how the radar algorithms estimate rainfall, and amounts are likely a bit higher here.

48-hour radar derived rainfall totals ending 5pm Sunday October 14th

The widespread rains are expected to provide some, but minimal, improvement in the ongoing drought plaguing the region. Normal rainfall for a week in mid-October is between 0.5 to 0.7 inches, and current deficits since January 1st are running around 7 inches or more. This rain will help, but certainly won’t end the drought. More information on how this rain will impact the drought will be provided in the upcoming weekly drought statement. The listing below is a preliminary 48 hour rainfall listing from around the area (Friday October 12th through Sunday October 14th). A more complete listing will be published Monday once official cooperative observers report rainfall from Sunday.

 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
855 PM CDT SUN OCT 14 2012

...48 HOUR RAINFALL TOTALS ENDING 7 PM SUNDAY OCTOBER 14TH...

...LOCATION...                             ...TIME...      ...AMT...

...IOWA...

...ALLAMAKEE COUNTY...
LANSING 4SE                                700 PM OCT 14     2.17 IN
WAUKON                                     700 PM OCT 14     2.00 IN
ION                                        700 PM OCT 14     1.96 IN
DORCHESTER HWY 76                          700 PM OCT 14     1.46 IN

...CHICKASAW COUNTY...
3 SW RICHFIELD                             700 PM OCT 14     2.52 IN

...CLAYTON COUNTY...
MONONA WWTP                                700 PM OCT 14     2.48 IN
VOLGA RVR                                  700 PM OCT 14     1.77 IN
ELKADER                                    700 PM OCT 14     1.60 IN
GARBER                                     700 PM OCT 14     1.51 IN
TURKEY RIVER                               700 PM OCT 14     1.40 IN

...FAYETTE COUNTY...
ELDORADO 1E                                700 PM OCT 14     3.26 IN
OELWEIN AWOS                               700 PM OCT 14     3.06 IN
FAYETTE                                    700 PM OCT 14     1.88 IN

...FLOYD COUNTY...
CHARLES CITY AWOS                          700 PM OCT 14     0.92 IN

...HOWARD COUNTY...
CRESCO                                     700 PM OCT 14     1.01 IN

...MITCHELL COUNTY...
SAINT ANSGAR                               700 PM OCT 14     0.32 IN

...WINNESHIEK COUNTY...
DECORAH AWOS                               700 PM OCT 14     1.40 IN
DECORAH (860 FT)(COOP)                     700 PM OCT 14     1.39 IN
BLUFFTON                                   700 PM OCT 14     1.26 IN

...MINNESOTA...

...DODGE COUNTY...
DODGE CENTER AWOS                          700 PM OCT 14     0.18 IN

...FILLMORE COUNTY...
PILOT MOUND                                700 PM OCT 14     1.43 IN
LANESBORO                                  700 PM OCT 14     0.97 IN
PRESTON AWOS                               700 PM OCT 14     0.81 IN

...HOUSTON COUNTY...
BROWNSVILLE                                700 PM OCT 14     2.16 IN
CALEDONIA 5S                               700 PM OCT 14     1.95 IN
LA CRESCENT 1N                             700 PM OCT 14     1.63 IN
MOUND PRAIRIE                              700 PM OCT 14     1.40 IN

...MOWER COUNTY...
AUSTIN AWOS                                700 PM OCT 14     0.44 IN
AUSTIN 3S                                  700 PM OCT 14     0.43 IN

...OLMSTED COUNTY...
DOVER 1E                                   700 PM OCT 14     0.94 IN
ROCHESTER 6NE                              700 PM OCT 14     0.59 IN
ROCHESTER AIRPORT                          700 PM OCT 14     0.48 IN
1 SSE STEWARTVILLE                         700 PM OCT 14     0.38 IN
ROCHESTER 3S                               700 PM OCT 14     0.30 IN

...WABASHA COUNTY...
WABASHA 5SE                                700 PM OCT 14     0.89 IN
1 E LAKE CITY                              700 PM OCT 14     0.28 IN

...WINONA COUNTY...
WINONA 5WSW                                700 PM OCT 14     1.81 IN
STOCKTON                                   700 PM OCT 14     1.75 IN
WINONA AWOS                                700 PM OCT 14     1.44 IN
BEAVER                                     700 PM OCT 14     0.87 IN

...WISCONSIN...

...ADAMS COUNTY...
FRIENDSHIP                                 700 PM OCT 14     2.58 IN

...BUFFALO COUNTY...
DODGE                                      700 PM OCT 14     0.84 IN

...CLARK COUNTY...
NEILLSVILLE                                700 PM OCT 14     1.75 IN

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...
STEUBEN                                    700 PM OCT 14     2.19 IN
LYNXVILLE DAM 9                            700 PM OCT 14     2.17 IN

...GRANT COUNTY...
BOSCOBEL RAWS                              700 PM OCT 14     2.18 IN
BOSCOBEL ASOS                              700 PM OCT 14     2.13 IN
PLATTEVILLE AWOS                           700 PM OCT 14     1.58 IN
CUBA CITY                                  700 PM OCT 14     0.99 IN

...JACKSON COUNTY...
BLACK RIVER FALLS AWOS                     700 PM OCT 14     1.69 IN
HATFIELD                                   700 PM OCT 14     1.35 IN

...JUNEAU COUNTY...
NECEDAH RAWS                               700 PM OCT 14     3.44 IN
NECEDAH 1W                                 700 PM OCT 14     2.09 IN
MAUSTON                                    700 PM OCT 14     1.81 IN
MATHER 3NW                                 700 PM OCT 14     1.75 IN

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...
LA CROSSE 5SSE                             700 PM OCT 14     2.35 IN
LA CROSSE NWS OFFICE                       700 PM OCT 14     2.01 IN
3 SW BARRE MILLS                           700 PM OCT 14     1.39 IN
LA CROSSE AIRPORT                          700 PM OCT 14     1.37 IN

...MONROE COUNTY...
KENDALL                                    700 PM OCT 14     2.20 IN
TUNNEL CITY 1S                             700 PM OCT 14     2.03 IN
WARRENS 5WSW                               700 PM OCT 14     1.86 IN
SPARTA / FT MCCOY AWOS                     700 PM OCT 14     1.76 IN

...RICHLAND COUNTY...
RICHLAND CENTER                            700 PM OCT 14     1.67 IN
RICHLAND CENTER 4N                         700 PM OCT 14     1.40 IN

...TAYLOR COUNTY...
GAD 6E                                     700 PM OCT 14     0.72 IN
MEDFORD                                    700 PM OCT 14     0.57 IN

...TREMPEALEAU COUNTY...
GALESVILLE 2SW                             700 PM OCT 14     1.20 IN
TREMPEALEAU DAM 6                          700 PM OCT 14     1.11 IN
GALESVILLE 2WSW                            700 PM OCT 14     1.07 IN
ETTRICK 4WNW                               700 PM OCT 14     0.99 IN

...VERNON COUNTY...
HILLSBORO                                  700 PM OCT 14     3.20 IN
ONTARIO                                    700 PM OCT 14     3.01 IN
STODDARD                                   700 PM OCT 14     2.06 IN
READSTOWN                                  700 PM OCT 14     1.92 IN
DE SOTO 1SE                                700 PM OCT 14     1.75 IN
GENOA DAM 8                                700 PM OCT 14     1.02 IN

Posted under rainfall

A storm system that we have been advertising for about a week has finally arrived.  Earlier in the week it appeared that it would have a much bigger impact on the area that it is currently having.  The Upper Level Low we were watching off of the coast of California not only weakened considerably, but it also took a track much more further south.  Since it took a more southerly track, the severe weather potential went south as well.  Here is a satellite and radar image from about 5:00 on Saturday. (10/13)  Numerous Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were in effect for portions of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

10/13 5:00pm radar image for Central Plains

We didn’t get completely snubbed.  A few places close to the area picked up over an inch of rain.  Although most stay in the quarter of an inch zone.  Here are a few totals as of 5:00pm on Saturday.

Rainfall amounts as of Saturday (10/13)

Posted under rainfall, rainfall amounts

Sources:
US Drought Monitor
NWS La Crosse Drought Page 
For specific, local effects of the drought, check out the NWS La Crosse Drought Page linked above.

Moderate to severe drought continues in our southern tier of counties in southeast to south-central MN

…and Iowa is still in rough shape despite last week’s rainfall with 100% of the state suffering from drought.

Posted under Drought, rainfall

The front that began to push through the area last evening, sparking a handful of thunderstorms in the evening across southeastern Minnesota is now draped across the Minnesota-Iowa border and may again act as the focus of more activity today.  Right now areas south of the front are sweltering in the 90s with heat indices approaching triple figures again while areas to the north area feeling a little than the past few days as 80s are much more common.  A disturbance riding along that front will produce some more thunderstorms across the area through the afternoon and evening before exiting the area to the east later tonight and making us then wait until late in the weekend to get some more much needed rain.  A few of today’s storms may become severe with strong, gusty winds and perhaps a little hail as well while a brief downpour can’t be ruled out in some of the heavier thundershowers.  Rainfall totals as a whole aren’t expected to be large, however, with up to a quarter of an inch possible.  If we can get through the next few days that will be hot, sunny, and rain-free, there will be a few more rain chances possibly showing up for the upcoming week, but then again it could be another mirage as this summer has certainly been desert-like for many of us.

Our entire area is in the Storm Prediction Center's "Slight Risk" category of severe weather for today and tonight as some of the thunderstorms locally may produce some strong winds or hail.

Posted under rainfall, severe weather

This came from our friends at the NWS La Crosse office yesterday. Here is a list of how this summer so far compares to the driest summers on record in Rochester. “Summer” is defined, in this case, as June 1st through August 31st. If we didn’t get any further measurable rainfall this summer, this would be the 3rd driest summer on record – the driest in 102 years. The good news here is that we’ve still got 46 days left to add to our paltry 4.21″ so far this summer

Rochester Area Extremes

Lowest Total Precipitation inches

Days: 6/1 - 8/31

Length of period: 92 days

Years: 1850-2012

Rank  Value  Ending Date

  1    2.81    8/31/1886 (30)

  2    3.78    8/31/1910

  3    4.21    8/31/2012 (47)

  4    4.33    8/31/1964

  5    4.71    8/31/1888 (30)

  6    4.84    8/31/1976

  7    5.52    8/31/1988

  8    6.60    8/31/1992

  9    7.33    8/31/1932

 10    7.61    8/31/1933

 11    7.75    8/31/1936

 12    8.05    8/31/1941

 13    8.08    8/31/1893 (28)

 14    8.40    8/31/1955

 15    8.47    8/31/2003

 16    8.55    8/31/1909

 17    8.86    8/31/1946

 18    8.91    8/31/1985

 19    8.94    8/31/1960

 20    9.01    8/31/1984

 21    9.21    8/31/1972

 22    9.26    8/31/1944

 23    9.28    8/31/1916

 24    9.30    8/31/1958

 25    9.33    8/31/1970

Posted under Drought, rainfall, Rochester

We’re enjoying a bright, fairly dry Thursday with some seasonably warm weather across the area while hopes for some rain persist.  A weak storm system in the Dakotas is edging its way eastward, offering us at least the potential for a little relief from these very dry conditions.  Cloud cover will slowly increase today ahead of that storm system and its cold front with some light rain possibly developing as soon as the wee hours of Friday for us.  While there will be a chance for light rain through much of tomorrow and tomorrow night, possibly through early Saturday, rainfall totals do NOT look promising.  I know “every little bit helps,” right?  Well, right now I’m just hoping we all get at least a measurable amount of rain from this as the showers will battle some dry air initially and the front isn’t looking tremendously strong.  After this, there won’t be any decent rain chances until the middle of latter parts of next week, so there’s a lot of pressure on this storm system to deliver something useful.  Right now our rainfall deficit for the month is officially two and a half inches and more than four inches for the past month overall with some spots to the south drier than that.

The latest Drought Monitor has been released by the USDA and parts of our area are now back into “Abnormally Dry” or “Moderate Drought” categories.

Drought conditions are developing across southern and western Minnesota where rain has been sparse over the past month.

Moderate drought conditions are being experienced across northern Iowa while Severe Drought is just south of us.

The local rainfall forecast for Friday through Saturday morning. Totals look to be on the low side, but hopefully we'll get at least this much as atmospheric dryness may reduce amounts some.

Much of our area is in the Slight Risk of severe weather in the Storm Prediction Center's Friday outlook. Strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible in our area late Friday through Friday night along an approaching cold front. Large hail and strong winds will be possible.

Posted under Drought, rainfall, severe weather

When it rains, it pours.  That has been the case this spring and summer for sure.  It hasn’t rained for very many days but when it did we were able to pick up a good amount of liquid.  Over the past few months though there has not been any consistency.  As a matter of fact, if you recall the heavy rain events in Goodhue and Rice counties in mid June, most of us, at least north of I-90 saw well over an inch of rain.  Now of course in those two counties anywhere from 10-14 inches of rain fell.  As hard as it is to believe, alot of folks got snubbed of rainfall that night.  That is really the last time measurable rain fell across most of the area.  In fact, at the Rochester International Airport, measurable rain has not been recorded since all the way back on June 20th.  There were a few days that recorded a trace, but that means nothing.  Mother nature also picked a horrible time to stop sending us the moisture as everything in the ground desperately needs rain and over the last 20 days (more in some places) we just haven’t had any.  Even though we don’t have official numbers like this everywhere due to the lack of official recording stations, it has been dry everywhere.  Here is a breakdown of where Rochester stands.  It only shows us being 2″ inches in the deficit, but remember May started off extremely wet, and then the brakes were put on in June so to speak.

Rain break down to date (7/9/12) (RST)

In the near term unfortunately there is no relief in sight for those needing rain.  There is a slight chance this weekend, but I would not bet on this chance at all.  I am being extremely optimistic in even adding it into the seven day forecast so keep your fingers crossed.  The water bill will no doubt take a hit if you want a green lawn or are trying to save your garden and you will have to keep watering in order to do that.  More importantly for our farmers, rain can’t come soon enough.

Posted under climate, Drought, rainfall, Uncategorized

The good news from having hardly any snow in the Upper Midwest this past winter meant no news headlines of flooding down the Mississippi River.  However, over the last few weeks, the overall weather pattern has been driving storm systems through the region.  While SE MN and NE IA haven’t always always benefited from these recent rains streams and smaller rivers that drain into the might Mississippi have sure had a lot.

All of the heavy rain over the same area’s have caused the river to rise and thus a Flood Warning is in effect for Wabasha  County as the Mississippi River there is expected to crest just above Minor Flood Stage in the upcoming days.  Below is the river forecast put out  by the river forecast crew of the National Weather Service.

Mississippi River Forecast at Wabasha

Posted under flooding, rainfall

Over the last week, pretty much every day someone was seeing some type of severe weather.  With that severe weather came a lot of beneficial rain.  Every day so far (Through the first 6 days) we have seen at least a trace of rain, with 4 of those 6 days being above .25 inches. (Amounts coming from the Rochester International Airport.)

Below is graphic of the state of Minnesota showing the clear deficit  in SE MN from last August til the end of April.  Even with the wet second half of April, we were just about 8 or so inches in the hole, but after a crazy wet start to May, things will be a bit better by the next issuance of this graphic by the DNR.

Heavy thunderstorms once again rolled through area late Saturday night into early Sunday morning and produced more heavy rain.  Below are some of the totals from the last 24 hours. (There are errors at both the Austin ans Albert Lea reporting sites.  Both sites picked up around .30 inches of rain)

Here is the breakdown heading into last summer.  The graphic shows it all and it is clear that tables are turning in a positive manner.  Through the last seven and a half months we have picked up only 8.8 inches of rain.  Over the last 24 days, we have picked up over half of what we got in about the last 8 months combined.

Rainfall Comparison

Posted under climate, history, minnesota, rainfall, rainfall amounts, spring, weather