A massive “dip,” or trough as we refer to it, in the jet stream is going to keep things cool and fall-like for the weekend, but this pattern is by no means permanent.  Basically, it’s going to be a cool, turbulent, and occasionally unsettled few days for us with subnormal temperatures through Sunday.  At the surface, we’ll first experience a little rain later tonight as a weak disturbance pushes through the Upper Mississippi Valley and then a cold front tomorrow night will bring a few more light showers starting in the evening and lingering behind the front through midday Saturday.  The front will unleash the coolest air of the season for us Saturday as highs in the mid 50s will be expected locally and strong northwest winds that will occasionally reach 40 miles per hour will make it feel cooler than that all day.  It’ll be a raw first day of fall to be sure.  Incidentally, the autumnal equinox takes place at 9:49 AM Saturday.  High pressure will settle in for Saturday night, calming the winds and clearing the skies, setting the stage for the coldest night of the season to date and a potential widespread frost/freeze event.  Temperatures by Sunday morning may dip into the low 30s in the majority of the area with some pockets of upper 20s possible.

The jet stream aloft is buckling southward in the Great Lakes region this weekend, making for a cooler than normal stretch of day for us.

The jet stream next week looks to flatten out a bit, allowing temperatures to warm up slightly in the longer term.

Posted under weather

The past two weeks have certainly been memorable for us as our weather has been nothing short of comfortable and refreshing.  This spell of cooler, drier, and at times, fall-like weather has been quite a departure from the previous seven weeks or so that featured scorching heat and intense bouts of heavy humidity that forced many of us to run the air conditioning nonstop.  Our weather remains quiet and comfortable today, but there are signs that changes are ahead in the not too distant future as more typical August-like days lie before us on the late August calendar.  High pressure is beginning to glide away to the east today, allowing a slight southerly breeze to work with our wall-to-wall sunshine to warm us quickly to more seasonably warm temperatures locally as highs will be near 80° this afternoon.  That warming trend will continue tomorrow as the jet stream flattens out and shifts a bit northward and warmer, slightly more humid works its way back into the weather picture.  A storm system to the west will trigger some rain and thunderstorms chances later tomorrow through much of Thursday while temperatures will be in the low to mid 80s and our air will feel more noticeably humid.  This more summer-like weather looks to be sticking around through the weekend and for most of next week, almost as if Mother Nature is trying to balance things out, making up for the September-like weather of the past two weeks.

The jet stream has been bucking southward recently, allowing cooler, more Canadian style air into the region.

The jet stream pattern over the next week or so leading up to the last portion of August is going to be a little flatter, more northward oriented, allowing warmer, more humid weather into the region.

Posted under weather

The potent cold front that pushed through the region Thursday night, brought some showers and thunderstorms to the area and is ushering in some much cooler, more fall-like weather for the end of our work week.  After a breezy, warm, and slightly humid Wednesday, we’re feeling like late September today behind that front with a lot of low, jagged strato-cumulus clouds, gusty northwest winds, and temperatures that are struggling to climb to within ten degrees of what we consider to be “normal” for this time of the year.

While rainfall amounts varied a great deal with half an inch in many locations in the northern part of our local viewing area and just a trace to a tenth of an inch from Rochester to the south, there were a handful of reports of severe weather damage.  Most of the reports were along and just east of the Mississippi River around midnight, especially near La Crosse.

Severe Weather Reports from Overnight – August 16th

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT…SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
712 AM CDT THU AUG 16 2012

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

1209 AM     TSTM WND DMG     5 N WINONA              44.12N 91.66W
08/16/2012                   BUFFALO            WI   911 CALL CENTER

LARGE TREE DOWN ON COUNTY ROAD M NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF
COUNTY ROAD YY.

1220 AM     HAIL             1 NW TREMPEALEAU        44.02N 91.45W
08/16/2012  M1.00 INCH       TREMPEALEAU        WI   PARK/FOREST SRVC

QUARTER SIZED HAIL FOR 15 MINUTES AT PERROT STATE PARK

1242 AM     TSTM WND DMG     HOLMEN                  43.96N 91.26W
08/16/2012                   LA CROSSE          WI   911 CALL CENTER

POWER LINE KNOCKED DOWN FROM TREE BRANCHES BY HOLMEN
POLICE DEPARTMENT. TIME ESTIMATED ON RADAR.

1244 AM     TSTM WND GST     2 S HOLMEN              43.93N 91.26W
08/16/2012  E60.00 MPH       LA CROSSE          WI   NWS EMPLOYEE

REPORTED BY NWS EMPLOYEE

1244 AM     HAIL             4 N HOLMEN              44.01N 91.26W
08/16/2012  M1.00 INCH       LA CROSSE          WI   NWS EMPLOYEE

REPORTED BY NWS EMPLOYEE

1257 AM     TSTM WND DMG     2 NNW BANGOR            43.92N 91.00W
08/16/2012                   LA CROSSE          WI   911 CALL CENTER

TREE KNOCKED DOWN ON POWER LINES NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF
HWY 162 AND 16 NORTH OF BANGOR. TIME ESTIMATED ON RADAR.

0113 AM     HAIL             LEON                    43.88N 90.83W
08/16/2012  M1.00 INCH       MONROE             WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0113 AM     HAIL             2 SSW SPARTA            43.92N 90.82W
08/16/2012  M1.00 INCH       MONROE             WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

3 MINUTES OF DIME TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL WITH WINDS AT 45
TO 50 MPH AT THE INTERSECTION OF INTERSTATE 90 EXIT 25
AND HWY 27.

0113 AM     TSTM WND GST     LEON                    43.88N 90.83W
08/16/2012  M60.00 MPH       MONROE             WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0240 AM     TSTM WND DMG     1 E NEW LISBON          43.88N 90.14W
08/16/2012                   JUNEAU             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

TREE DOWN ON COUNTY ROAD A BETWEEN NEW LISBON AND HUSTLER

0304 AM     TSTM WND DMG     2 NW MAUSTON            43.82N 90.11W
08/16/2012                   JUNEAU             WI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

TREE DOWN OVER HIGHWAY 12/16 BETWEEN MAUSTON AND NEW
LISBON

 

A large blocking high to our northeast is forcing the jet stream in the Upper Midwest southward, making for a cooler stretch of days for us.

We're going to have high temperatures today and tomorrow that will be more reminiscent of late September than mid August.

If you’re looking for more seasonable weather, fear not.  We’re expecting a steady warm up through next week with highs in the 80s possible by mid week.

Posted under weather

Things are feeling hot and steamy as we kick off the last full week in the month of July today, but the good news is we have a few chances for much needed rain and some cooler weather in the forecast.  Right now, a disturbance is producing some scattered showers and may produce some thunderstorms today and tonight along a stalled front that is draped across our area.  There may be a few heavier downpours tonight in some of the stronger storms.  There will be hit and miss stuff through tomorrow as well, but I think the better looking scenario is ahead on Wednesday as a potent cold front approaches from the west.  That may end up being the wettest, stormiest day of the week with a chance for strong thunderstorms as well as some soaking rainfall.  Behind that front, we’ll go from having highs in the mid and upper 80s tomorrow and Tuesday to the low 80s with lower humidity in the air for the tail end of the week and for Saturday.  It looks like that cool down will last for two or three days with a little more heat and humidity possibly returning Sunday and for the first part of next week.

Hot, steamy, unsettled weather is the rule to start the week and things will remain warmer than normal through the middle of the week as the jet stream stays north of us.

The jet stream is expected to buckle southward while a surface cold front pushes through the area later in the week, allowing for a brief cool down for Friday and Saturday as highs will be near 80.

Posted under heat