After quite a warm and somewhat stormy weekend, we’re looking at a typical early April day today that will feature gusty winds and highs in the 50s.  In fact, the 50° highs we’re expecting today will be about 25° cooler than the near record warmth we experienced on Sunday before a potent cold front swept through the region.  Of course, that front was also the focus of some strong thunderstorm activity across parts of our area and through much of Wisconsin yesterday, producing seven tornadoes in the Badger state.  Here’s a summary of the severe weather outbreak Sunday from the National Weather Service in La Crosse:

**** This is a preliminary summary. Storm surveys will be conducted on Monday and more information will be added over the next few days. Check back often. ****

Storm Set-up

A strong, early spring storm moved across the region on the 9th and 10th of April, 2011. That Saturday (the 9th), a warm front was the focus for severe thunderstorm development, and resulted in several tornadoes over northwest Iowa along with large hail and damaging winds.

On Sunday the 10th, the warm front pushed north across northern Wisconsin. The severe weather focus shifted to an area of low pressure center and trailing cold front. The atmosphere was unstable ahead of the front, and the winds were very favorable for storm organization, include supercells capable of tornadoes. Warm air just above the surface though acted as a lid to thunderstorm development until later in the afternoon, with the front and low serving as the triggering mechanism. Storms started to fire by 3 pm, and once they got going, they developed rapidly with many producing severe weather within 20 to 30 minutes of initiation. The first warning locally was issued at 3:39 pm for portions of northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. The storms moved very rapidly, some approaching 70 mph. At these speeds, the storms exited into central and eastern Wisconsin by mid evening, leaving the local forecast area by 8 pm.

The severe storms produced very large hail, damaging winds, and possibly a few tornadoes. Storm surveys will be conducted over the next couple days to assess the potential tornadic and/or straight-line wind damage. Golf ball sized hail fell at the NWS La Crosse office, damaging several cars. The biggest hail reported was 3 inches at Hokah, MN at 4:42 pm.

 Damage path of straight-line winds in Houston county, MN

Radar Imagery

Radar animation from approximately 330 pm to 8 pm, every 10 minutes (large file)

Reflectivity image as storms approached La Crosse (437 pm cdt)

Reflectivity image as storms moved across Juneau and Adams counties (618 pm cdt)

Storm relative motion image depicting circulation in storm near Cottonville, WI (704 pm cdt)

Photos

Hail in La Crosse, WI

Damage Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
851 PM CDT SUN APR 10 2011

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

0340 PM     HAIL             ELMA                    43.25N 92.44W
04/10/2011  M0.75 INCH       HOWARD             IA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            40-50 MPH ESTIMATED WIND ALSO

0350 PM     HAIL             NELSON                  44.42N 92.00W
04/10/2011  M1.00 INCH       BUFFALO            WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0400 PM     HAIL             7 W HARMONY             43.56N 92.15W
04/10/2011  M0.75 INCH       FILLMORE           MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ALSO REPORTED 40 MPH WINDS

0411 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 N BURR OAK            43.48N 91.88W
04/10/2011                   WINNESHIEK         IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            SOME TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN AND BUILDING DAMAGE

0420 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 SW CANTON             43.51N 91.96W
04/10/2011                   FILLMORE           MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            2 FOOT DIAMETER TREE DOWN BLOCKING THE ROAD.

0424 PM     HAIL             NELSON                  44.42N 92.00W
04/10/2011  E0.88 INCH       BUFFALO            WI   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            ALSO SEEING OCCASIONAL WALL CLOUD WITH SOME SLIGHT
            LOWERING. NO ROTATION AT THIS TIME.

0427 PM     HAIL             HOUSTON                 43.76N 91.57W
04/10/2011  M1.75 INCH       HOUSTON            MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

0430 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 N CALEDONIA           43.71N 91.50W
04/10/2011                   HOUSTON            MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            MOBILE HOME KNOCKED OFF FOUNDATION

0432 PM     TSTM WND DMG     CALEDONIA               43.63N 91.50W
04/10/2011                   HOUSTON            MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            BARN DOWN JUST OUTSIDE CALEDONIA

0432 PM     HAIL             GOODVIEW                44.07N 91.71W
04/10/2011  E1.00 INCH       WINONA             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0434 PM     TSTM WND DMG     8 N CALEDONIA           43.75N 91.50W
04/10/2011                   HOUSTON            MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ALONG HWY 76

0435 PM     HAIL             5 E FOUNTAIN CITY       44.12N 91.60W
04/10/2011  E1.25 INCH       BUFFALO            WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0437 PM     HAIL             ARCADIA                 44.25N 91.49W
04/10/2011  E0.75 INCH       TREMPEALEAU        WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0438 PM     TSTM WND DMG     BLACK HAMMER            43.61N 91.67W
04/10/2011                   HOUSTON            MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            SEVERAL TREES DOWN ALONG COUNTY ROAD 19. POSSIBLE TORNADO
            TOUCHDOWN. DEPUTY ON THE WAY TO INVESTIGATE.

0442 PM     HAIL             2 E HOKAH               43.76N 91.31W
04/10/2011  M2.75 INCH       HOUSTON            MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

0442 PM     HAIL             ARCADIA                 44.25N 91.49W
04/10/2011  E1.25 INCH       TREMPEALEAU        WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0442 PM     HAIL             HOKAH                   43.76N 91.35W
04/10/2011  E3.00 INCH       HOUSTON            MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL COVERING THE GROUND WITH SOME TREES DOWN.

0444 PM     HAIL             1 S HOKAH               43.75N 91.35W
04/10/2011  M1.00 INCH       HOUSTON            MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

            ALSO 0.50 INCHES OF RAIN IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES AND VERY
            STRONG WINDS. POWER WENT OUT.

0445 PM     HAIL             3 NW BROWNSVILLE        43.73N 91.32W
04/10/2011  E1.75 INCH       HOUSTON            MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0445 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 N CALEDONIA           43.71N 91.50W
04/10/2011                   HOUSTON            MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            BARN DOWN AND TRAILER BLOWN OFF ITS FOUNDATION.

0451 PM     HAIL             2 S LA CROSSE           43.80N 91.23W
04/10/2011  E1.50 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   AMATEUR RADIO

            HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL

0451 PM     TSTM WND GST     2 S LA CROSSE           43.80N 91.23W
04/10/2011  E60.00 MPH       LA CROSSE          WI   AMATEUR RADIO

0452 PM     HAIL             2 S LA CROSSE           43.80N 91.23W
04/10/2011  E1.00 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            ON WARD AVENUE IN SOUTH LA CROSSE

0453 PM     HAIL             3 SE LA CROSSE          43.80N 91.19W
04/10/2011  E2.50 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   AMATEUR RADIO

            AT SOUTHERN BLUFFS SCHOOL

0453 PM     HAIL             2 S LA CROSSE           43.80N 91.23W
04/10/2011  E2.00 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   PUBLIC

            EXTENSIVE HAIL DAMAGE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF LA CROSSE NEAR
            WAL MART. WINDOWS BROKEN AND SIDING DAMAGED TO AN
            ESTIMATED 10 TO 15 HOMES. SEVERAL VEHICLES ALSO DAMAGED
            WITH DENTS AND BROKEN WINDOWS AND MIRRORS.

0454 PM     HAIL             5 S OSSEO               44.51N 91.22W
04/10/2011  E1.75 INCH       TREMPEALEAU        WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0454 PM     HAIL             3 E LA CROSSE           43.83N 91.17W
04/10/2011  E1.75 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   NWS EMPLOYEE

            AT NWS OFFICE

0454 PM     HAIL             2 S LA CROSSE           43.80N 91.23W
04/10/2011  E2.00 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   AMATEUR RADIO

            SOUTH SIDE

0455 PM     HAIL             3 E LA CROSSE           43.83N 91.17W
04/10/2011  M1.75 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            AT HWY 14 AND CTH MM

0456 PM     TSTM WND GST     1 E LA CROSSE           43.83N 91.21W
04/10/2011  M52.00 MPH       LA CROSSE          WI   NWS EMPLOYEE

            AT NWS OFFICE

0459 PM     HAIL             WEST SALEM              43.90N 91.08W
04/10/2011  M1.00 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   NWS EMPLOYEE

            ALSO 40 MPH WIND

0500 PM     TSTM WND DMG     OSSEO                   44.58N 91.22W
04/10/2011                   TREMPEALEAU        WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            LOTS OF WINDOWS BROKEN AND CARS DENTED FROM WHAT APPEARS
            TO BE WIND BLOWN DEBRIS.

0516 PM     HAIL             1 S SPARTA              43.93N 90.81W
04/10/2011  M1.00 INCH       MONROE             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            AT I-90 EXIT 25

0525 PM     HAIL             7 E SPARTA              43.94N 90.67W
04/10/2011  M1.75 INCH       MONROE             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            AT HWY 16 AND CTH A

0530 PM     HAIL             MEDFORD                 45.14N 90.35W
04/10/2011  E1.00 INCH       TAYLOR             WI   PUBLIC

0530 PM     HAIL             1 N TOMAH               44.00N 90.50W
04/10/2011  M1.25 INCH       MONROE             WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0532 PM     HAIL             TUNNEL CITY             44.00N 90.57W
04/10/2011  M0.50 INCH       MONROE             WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0536 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 SW OAKDALE            43.93N 90.42W
04/10/2011                   MONROE             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            POSSIBLE FUNNEL REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0538 PM     HAIL             WARRENS                 44.13N 90.50W
04/10/2011  E1.00 INCH       MONROE             WI   AMATEUR RADIO

0538 PM     HAIL             2 W TOMAH               43.99N 90.54W
04/10/2011  M0.75 INCH       MONROE             WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0539 PM     HAIL             3 W WITHEE              44.95N 90.66W
04/10/2011  M0.25 INCH       CLARK              WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0542 PM     HAIL             4 SW STETSONVILLE       45.04N 90.37W
04/10/2011  E1.00 INCH       TAYLOR             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0608 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 SE NECEDAH            43.99N 90.03W
04/10/2011                   JUNEAU             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            8 TO 10 INCH PINE TREES UPROOTED AND A GARAGE DOWN. WINDS
            ESTIMATED 60 MPH.

0610 PM     TSTM WND GST     VOLK FIELD              43.93N 90.27W
04/10/2011  M56.00 MPH       JUNEAU             WI   ASOS

0610 PM     TORNADO          1 NW ARKDALE            44.04N 89.90W
04/10/2011                   ADAMS              WI   PUBLIC

            POSSIBLE TORNADO REPORTED BY PUBLIC. CONSIDERABLE TREE
            DAMAGE.

0610 PM     TSTM WND DMG     NECEDAH                 44.02N 90.07W
04/10/2011                   JUNEAU             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            FUNNEL CLOUD WITH TREES DOWN.

0618 PM     HAIL             3 SE NECEDAH            43.99N 90.03W
04/10/2011  M1.25 INCH       JUNEAU             WI   AMATEUR RADIO

0618 PM     HAIL             1 E NECEDAH             44.02N 90.05W
04/10/2011  M1.25 INCH       JUNEAU             WI   AMATEUR RADIO

0623 PM     HAIL             BIG FLATS               44.12N 89.80W
04/10/2011  E1.00 INCH       ADAMS              WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0625 PM     TSTM WND DMG     COTTONVILLE             44.06N 89.81W
04/10/2011                   ADAMS              WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREES DOWN.

0630 PM     HAIL             NEW ROME                44.24N 89.88W
04/10/2011  E0.75 INCH       ADAMS              WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0630 PM     TORNADO          COTTONVILLE             44.06N 89.81W
04/10/2011                   ADAMS              WI   AMATEUR RADIO

            REPORTED BY SPOTTER

0725 PM     HAIL             2 S FRIENDSHIP          43.95N 89.82W
04/10/2011  M0.88 INCH       ADAMS              WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            DIME HAIL IN ADAMS

0727 PM     HAIL             ADAMS                   43.96N 89.82W
04/10/2011  E0.75 INCH       ADAMS              WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

Posted under severe weather

Spring has certainly been taking its time in showing up this year after our long, cold, and snowy winter.  Our current sunny weather pattern has finally been feeling a little warmer for us as slightly milder air is beginning to flow into the region on the back side of the large area of high pressure that has been instrumental in keeping us dry and sunny for several days now.  However, as we’ve seen a few times this month already, spring will only be here for a brief moment today before a storm system tomorrow brings clouds and unsettled weather for the last day of March.  It looks like March will go out like a lion tomorrow because of the gloomy, damp weather we’re expecting, but nothing too devastating is expected other than a few wet snowflakes mixing with the rain as things cool off in the evening.  April, on the other hand, may be starting out on a wintry note as there will be enough cold air aloft to produce a little snow Friday morning, especially on grassy locations and in the higher ridge tops of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.  Only a light “dusting” is expected and anything that fall will likely melt during the day Friday as rain and near 40 degree weather is expected.  It’ll be a great opportunity for Mother Nature to show her sense of humor on April Fool’s Day. 

The latest Climate Prediction Center 30 Day Outlook has us looking pretty cool and brisk through April.The latest Climate Prediction Center forecast for April has our area looking wetter than normal.

The latest Climate Prediction Center forecast has our area looking wetter than normal for April.

 Looking ahead at the longer term weather outlook, we are seeing more of this cool theme where we’re consistently experiencing “retro weather” or weather that would have been typical of a month or season ago.  The month of April, according to the latest forecast from the Climate Prediction Center, is expected to feature cooler than normal temperatures across our area and for the northwestern quarter of the contiguous United States while higher than normal amounts of rainfall will be likely for our area as well.  It even appears that this cool pattern will hold out beyond the upcoming month and through May and June before modifying a bit and becoming more “normal” for the latter portion of summer, so we’re really going to have to be patient if we’re waiting for good local beach weather!  This long term delay in spring and summertime warmth is attributable to a global La Nina pattern in the central Pacific Ocean, the same pattern or “phase” that produced our colder than normal winter, leading to the eighth snowiest season in Rochester’s climate history.  We’ve measured 66.3 inches so far since last fall and 52 inches would be considered average, or typical.

Posted under climate

Some rainfall amounts from April 23rd through 7 AM April 25th, courtesy of the National Weather Service, La Crosse.

Posted under rainfall, rainfall amounts, spring

Since we’re talking 60s and 70s for next week, I thought I’d include Rochester’s record highs for the next week…just incase you’re wondering.

March 29th: 79° (1986)
March 30th: 77° (1910)
March 31st: 78° (1986)
April 1st: 71° (2003)
April 2nd: 75° (1981)
April 3rd: 74° (1893)

I think the day that’s most in jeopardy of having its record broken (or at least tied) is April 1st. The rest of the records are fairly warm…we’ll have to wait and see!!

With the warm-up will come fairly windy weather, too, starting especially Tuesday. Also, more unsettled weather – at least as we head into the first part of next weekend. Right now, it looks like rain chances, but nothing major. Long-range models are messy and hint at an active weather pattern continuing into the first full week of April.

Rain showers will end overnight; look for a brighter Sunday, with highs near 50° and a cool north breeze.

Posted under climate, KTTC