What a difference a day makes!  After nearly reaching a record high on Thanksgiving we’ve seen some big changes in our weather in the past 24 hours thanks to the passage of a cold front through our area.  Ahead of that front, we had mid 60s in many locations, including Rochester where we recorded 64°, the warmest temperature on any Thanksgiving since 1913 and one degree shy of a record high for the actual calendar date.  Temperatures fell all afternoon and through last night, essentially leveling off for Black Friday with readings that would be more typical of December than late November.  The most brutal part of the temperature change has been our ridiculously strong, nasty northwest winds that are dropping our wind chill indices to the single digits ad teens.  Here’s a look at some specific wind chills locally over the coldest part of our Friday:

Brrrr For Black Friday: Latest Wind Chills And Peak Gusts

Its a cold day for Black Friday shoppers as temperatures will struggle to hold in the low to mid 20s – about 40 degrees colder compared to Thanksgiving. Adding considerable bite to the air will be wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph. Wind chills will hover from 5 to 15 through the day. Stay warm through the hustle and bustle of this very busy shopping day.

Current temperatures, winds and wind chills here.

Below are some peak wind gusts and lowest wind chill readings from across the local area:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
949 AM CST FRI NOV 23 2012

...HIGHEST WINDS IN THE PAST 6 HOURS...

...LOCATION...                             ...TIME...     ...WIND...

...IOWA...

...CHICKASAW COUNTY...
2 N IONIA (1072 FT)(IADOT)                 355 AM NOV 23      42 MPH

...CLAYTON COUNTY...
MONONA (1182 FT)(AWS)                      450 AM NOV 23      30 MPH

...FAYETTE COUNTY...
OELWEIN (AWOS)                             555 AM NOV 23      45 MPH

...MITCHELL COUNTY...
SAINT ANSGAR (1174 FT)(APRSWXNET)          600 AM NOV 23      31 MPH

...WINNESHIEK COUNTY...
4 E NORDNESS (1017 FT)(IADOT)              423 AM NOV 23      43 MPH
DECORAH (AWOS)                             415 AM NOV 23      38 MPH

...MINNESOTA...

...DODGE COUNTY...
2 E KASSON (1283 FT)(MNDOT)                629 AM NOV 23      41 MPH
DODGE CENTER (AWOS)                        554 AM NOV 23      38 MPH

...FILLMORE COUNTY...
PRESTON (930 FT)(AWOS)                     410 AM NOV 23      41 MPH
2 ESE CANTON (1348 FT)(MNDOT)              734 AM NOV 23      39 MPH

...MOWER COUNTY...
1 ENE DEXTER (1410 FT)(MNDOT)              351 AM NOV 23      45 MPH
4 E GRAND MEADOW (1322 FT)(IEM)            749 AM NOV 23      45 MPH
AUSTIN (AWOS)                              415 AM NOV 23      41 MPH

...OLMSTED COUNTY...
MAYO HELIPAD (1164 FT)(AWOS)               514 AM NOV 23      47 MPH
ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL ARPT (ASOS)        354 AM NOV 23      37 MPH
2 SE EYOTA (1309 FT)(MNDOT)                426 AM NOV 23      37 MPH
4 NW ROCHESTER (1273 FT)(APRSWXNET)        351 AM NOV 23      32 MPH

...WABASHA COUNTY...
2 SSE KELLOGG (741 FT)(MNDOT)              509 AM NOV 23      38 MPH
1 NE BEAR VALLEY (1000 FT)(APRSWXNET)      840 AM NOV 23      31 MPH

...WINONA COUNTY...
1 E RIDGEWAY (1318 FT)(MNDOT)              402 AM NOV 23      39 MPH
MAX CONRAD FIELD (AWOS)                    712 AM NOV 23      35 MPH

...WISCONSIN...

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...
1 SW MOUNT STERLING (1195 FT)(WIDOT)       632 AM NOV 23      37 MPH
1 WNW PRAIRIE DU CHIEN (615 FT)(WIDOT)     431 AM NOV 23      32 MPH

...GRANT COUNTY...
2 NE EAST DUBUQUE (800 FT)(WIDOT)          506 AM NOV 23      39 MPH
4 SE PLATTEVILLE (1023 FT)(AWOS)           435 AM NOV 23      38 MPH
BOSCOBEL AIRPORT (ASOS)                    327 AM NOV 23      38 MPH
1 ENE BOSCOBEL (672 FT)(RAWS)              403 AM NOV 23      37 MPH

...JACKSON COUNTY...
BLACK RIVER FALLS AWOS (831 FT)(AWOS)      655 AM NOV 23      33 MPH

...JUNEAU COUNTY...
VOLK FIELD AP (906 FT)(ASOS)               738 AM NOV 23      39 MPH
NECEDAH 1W (920 FT)(GOES)                  548 AM NOV 23      36 MPH
MAUSTON (872 FT)(APRSWXNET)                702 AM NOV 23      31 MPH

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...
LA CROSSE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (ASOS)         922 AM NOV 23      40 MPH
1 SW LA CROSSE (639 FT)(APRSWXNET)         526 AM NOV 23      31 MPH

...MONROE COUNTY...
2 N TOMAH (990 FT)(WIDOT)                  631 AM NOV 23      32 MPH
SPARTA (AWOS)                              455 AM NOV 23      31 MPH

...TAYLOR COUNTY...
MEDFORD (AWOS)                             735 AM NOV 23      31 MPH
3 NE LUBLIN (1316 FT)(RAWS)                914 AM NOV 23      30 MPH

...TREMPEALEAU COUNTY...
2 WSW GALESVILLE (769 FT)(APRSWXNET)       528 AM NOV 23      32 MPH

...VERNON COUNTY...
VIROQUA AWOS (1292 FT)(AWOS)               535 AM NOV 23      32 MPH

OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURES. NOT ALL DATA LISTED IS CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THANKS ITS PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERS
FOR PROVIDING US WITH THIS DATA.

$$

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
949 AM CST FRI NOV 23 2012

...LOWEST WIND CHILL READINGS IN THE PAST 6 HOURS...

...LOCATION...                             ...TIME...       ...WC...

...IOWA...

...CLAYTON COUNTY...
MONONA (1182 FT)(AWS)                      450 AM NOV 23         3 F

...FAYETTE COUNTY...
4 SSE ARLINGTON (1164 FT)(AWS)             900 AM NOV 23         1 F
WEST UNION (1178 FT)(AWS)                  845 AM NOV 23         2 F
OELWEIN (AWOS)                             855 AM NOV 23         4 F

...FLOYD COUNTY...
NORA SPRINGS (1089 FT)(IEM)                859 AM NOV 23         1 F
1 E ROCKFORD (1036 FT)(IEM)                859 AM NOV 23         1 F

...HOWARD COUNTY...
1 ENE CRESCO (1279 FT)(IEM)                820 AM NOV 23        -1 F

...MITCHELL COUNTY...
SAINT ANSGAR (1174 FT)(IEM)                820 AM NOV 23        -2 F
SAINT ANSGAR (1174 FT)(APRSWXNET)          710 AM NOV 23        -1 F

...WINNESHIEK COUNTY...
DECORAH (AWOS)                             855 AM NOV 23         1 F
4 E NORDNESS (1017 FT)(IADOT)              403 AM NOV 23         7 F

...MINNESOTA...

...DODGE COUNTY...
2 E KASSON (1283 FT)(MNDOT)                614 AM NOV 23        -2 F

...FILLMORE COUNTY...
2 ESE CANTON (1348 FT)(MNDOT)              739 AM NOV 23        -1 F
4 SSW LANESBORO (1044 FT)(IEM)             659 AM NOV 23         1 F
PRESTON (930 FT)(AWOS)                     710 AM NOV 23         2 F

...MOWER COUNTY...
4 E GRAND MEADOW (1322 FT)(IEM)            749 AM NOV 23        -8 F
1 ENE DEXTER (1410 FT)(MNDOT)              716 AM NOV 23        -5 F
AUSTIN (AWOS)                              715 AM NOV 23        -1 F
LE ROY (1290 FT)(IEM)                      809 AM NOV 23         1 F

...OLMSTED COUNTY...
2 SE EYOTA (1309 FT)(MNDOT)                811 AM NOV 23        -2 F
MAYO HELIPAD (1164 FT)(AWOS)               814 AM NOV 23        -1 F
1 ESE ROCHESTER (997 FT)(IEM)              804 AM NOV 23         1 F
2 NE ROCHESTER (1046 FT)(IEM)              744 AM NOV 23         1 F

...WABASHA COUNTY...
1 NE BEAR VALLEY (1000 FT)(APRSWXNET)      740 AM NOV 23        -1 F
MAZEPPA (941 FT)(APRSWXNET)                706 AM NOV 23         2 F
2 SSE KELLOGG (741 FT)(MNDOT)              609 AM NOV 23         5 F

...WINONA COUNTY...
SAINT CHARLES (1125 FT)(AWS)               800 AM NOV 23         1 F
MAX CONRAD FIELD (AWOS)                    632 AM NOV 23         6 F
STOCKTON (757 FT)(APRSWXNET)               850 AM NOV 23         9 F

...WISCONSIN...

...ADAMS COUNTY...
FRIENDSHIP (960 FT)(AWS)                   834 AM NOV 23         8 F

...BUFFALO COUNTY...
COCHRANE (1083 FT)(AWS)                    715 AM NOV 23         8 F

...CLARK COUNTY...
1 WNW SIDNEY (3379 FT)(APRSWXNET)          402 AM NOV 23         8 F

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...
1 SW MOUNT STERLING (1195 FT)(WIDOT)       833 AM NOV 23         8 F

...GRANT COUNTY...
FENNIMORE (1175 FT)(AWS)                   825 AM NOV 23         6 F

...JACKSON COUNTY...
BLACK RIVER FALLS AWOS (831 FT)(AWOS)      735 AM NOV 23        11 F
1 E BLACK RIVER FALLS (837 FT)(RAWS)       815 AM NOV 23        12 F

...JUNEAU COUNTY...
VOLK FIELD AP (906 FT)(ASOS)               547 AM NOV 23         9 F
NECEDAH 1W (920 FT)(GOES)                  548 AM NOV 23        11 F

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...
LA CROSSE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (ASOS)         853 AM NOV 23         8 F
1 SW LA CROSSE (639 FT)(APRSWXNET)         407 AM NOV 23        11 F

...MONROE COUNTY...
2 N TOMAH (990 FT)(WIDOT)                  832 AM NOV 23        11 F
SPARTA (AWOS)                              815 AM NOV 23        12 F

...RICHLAND COUNTY...
1 SSE RICHLAND CENTER (752 FT)(AWS)        929 AM NOV 23        10 F
RICHLAND CENTER (730 FT)(AWS)              744 AM NOV 23        11 F

...TAYLOR COUNTY...
MEDFORD (AWOS)                             415 AM NOV 23         6 F
3 NE LUBLIN (1316 FT)(RAWS)                814 AM NOV 23         7 F

...TREMPEALEAU COUNTY...
2 WSW GALESVILLE (769 FT)(APRSWXNET)       619 AM NOV 23        10 F

...VERNON COUNTY...
VIROQUA AWOS (1292 FT)(AWOS)               815 AM NOV 23         7 F

Temperatures have taken a nose dive since midday Thursday. Perhaps the biggest 24 hour temperature change of the year so far.

Posted under Cold

Even though it may not feel like it, we are in fact now in the middle of November, a part of the year more associated with clouds and high temperatures in the 40s than the clear skies and 50s we’re expecting for most of the next week, a continuation of our current warm spell.  Another item that we expect every November is the annual Leonid meteor shower that typically takes place around the 17th of the month (which is also my birthday, incidentally) and is one of the most anticipated astronomical events of the year. 

Local information for viewing the meteor shower.

The forecast for early Saturday morning calls for clear skies with temps around 30 degrees and south winds from 5 to 15mph.  

Here’s some more background information on the Leonid meteor shower along with some viewing tips from Space.com.

French skywatcher Jeremie Vaubaillon captured this image during the 2001 Leonid meteor shower from South Korea. CREDIT: Jeremie Vaubaillon View full size image

The annual Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak this week and may get a boost from a moonless weekend sky.

The actual peak of the 2012 Leonid meteor shower is on Saturday (Nov. 17) at 3 a.m. EST, but, like all meteor showers, the celestial fireworks display will be visible for a few nights before and after that peak time, weather permitting. Because the moon will have set by that time, its bright glow won’t wash out any Leonids you may see.

The Leonids are associated with the periodic comet Tempel-Tuttle, first discovered in 1865. This comet has a period of 33.2 years. It was last close to the sun in 1998 and will return in 2031. After Tempel-Tuttle’s discovery, it was traced back to a comet observed in 1366. 

Astronomers also realized that Tempel-Tuttle’s last close approach to the sun was in 1833, which coincided with one of the greatest meteor storms in history. This was when they put two and two together, and realized that meteors had their origins in comets. [Amazing Leonid Meteor Shower Photos]

Meteor showers explained

But what exactly is a meteor shower? Meteors are brief flashes of light in the Earth’s upper atmosphere which occur when small pieces of interstellar material, called meteoroids, enter the atmosphere and heat it to incandescence. We don’t actually see the meteoroids themselves, but rather the air heated by the friction of their passage.

As the Earth travels around the sun, it is constantly encountering meteoroids, so that on any night in the year, if you observe a dark sky after midnight, you will probably see a few meteors every hour. These are known as “sporadic meteors.” [Leonid Meteor Lights Up Night Sky (Video)]

Meteoroids are not uniformly distributed in space. They seem to be most commonly produced when comets venture close to the sun, melting the ice from tiny comet fragments, leaving behind small meteoroids. Under the gravitational influence of the planets, these fragments gradually spread out along the comet’s orbit, forming a belt of meteoroids in space. When the Earth passes through such a belt, we see more meteors than average, and this is known as a “meteor shower.”

There is a common misconception that a meteor shower is like a rain shower, with large numbers of meteors being visible. Most meteor showers only involve a few more meteors per hour than you might see any night.

 

Look inside the sickle of Leo for the point in the sky from which the Leonid meteors appear to radiate.
CREDIT: Starry Night Software

View full size image

Leonid meteor storms

On rare occasions, perhaps once a decade, observers see what are called meteor storms, when dozens of meteors can be seen every hour. The Leonid meteor shower is famous because it has caused a large number of meteor storms over the centuries.

Because the distribution of meteoroids along its parent comet Tempel-Tuttle’s orbit is not uniform, it tends to produce meteor storms every 33 years, the same period as the comet. Careful observations have enabled mapping of clumps of meteoroids within the stream, leading to increasingly accurate predictions. There were spectacular Leonid storms in 1999, 2001, and 2002.

No meteor storm is predicted for 2012, but the Leonids can always be counted on to provide a good show, especially since there will be no moon to interfere with them this year.

How to see the Leonids

The best time to observe meteors is always after midnight, when the Earth is heading directly into the meteor stream.

This shower is named the Leonids because they appear to radiate from a point just inside the Sickle of the constellation Leo. It’s not important to know exactly where the radiant is because the longest and brightest meteors are usually about 90 degrees away from the radiant. The radiant will be roughly half way up the eastern sky for most northern observers, so the best directions to look are south, north, and directly overhead.

Although the peak is predicted for 3 a.m. EST Saturday morning, Leonids may be seen at any time in the night, and for a day or two before and after Saturday morning.

It’s important to dress warmly and make yourself comfortable in a reclining garden or deck chair. You will see more meteors if you keep your head still and allow at least 20 minutes for your eyes to become adapted to the dark. Be patient and spend a least an hour watching, as meteors often come in batches with long dry spells in between.

Try catching photographs of Leonids by setting your camera up on a tripod and making time exposures of at least 15 seconds, and send them along to us to share.

Clear skies and good luck!

Editor’s note: If you and snap an amazing photo of the Leonid meteor shower and would like to share it with SPACE.com for a possible story or image gallery, send images, comments and location information to managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

This article was provided to SPACE.com by Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu.

Posted under Astronomy

We woke up to the coldest morning of the season today as strong high pressure set the stage for a clear, frosty, winter-like morning across the area.  Under the cloud-free skies and with nearly calm winds, our temperatures took a nose dive overnight into our Tuesday morning as the vast majority of the local area found itself in the teens for the first time since the first week of March.  While it certainly was a little cooler than normal for today’s date, Rochester’s morning low of 17° certainly wasn’t anywhere near the record of -4° set in 1986, but it definitely was a reminder of what late fall can bring in this climate.  If you’re not quite ready for this type of temperatures scheme, there is good news for you, however.  Slightly milder, more seasonal weather is expected for the remainder of the week and likely next week as well, so 20s and 30s will be more common than teens. 

The coldest low temps of the season so far for just about everybody today.

Some more local morning temperatures.

Posted under Lows

We turned the page on the calendar overnight and just like that, we went from November into December and from fall weather into winter as a cold front and its associated storm system brought brought us a dusting of snow to start the new month.  Of course, this is meteorological winter and we should expect this, but it’s just amazing how Old Man Winter can be so prompt sometimes.  Before today, most of us had only seen a minuscule amount of snow during our rather dry and mild November, a month that featured officially only 0.2 inches of snowfall in Rochester.   The average amount of November snow would be closer to 6 inches, but these things can be quite variable early in the season.  Some Novembers are much drier than others and this year’s version was especially so.  Here’s a look at the climate numbers from our dry and mild November:

It was the 8th warmest November in Rochester history and the driest in several years.

From the looks of things in our current forecast, we’ll be making up lost time in the way of snowfall as another storm system will move into the region this weekend, possibly bringing us more accumulating snow.  While it doesn’t look like a huge snow event, it may drop a little more snow than the past couple of storms in our area.

Posted under climate

The past couple of days have been just ideal for the holiday weekend in terms of travel conditions and warmth as skies have been fairly bright and dry and our temperatures have been unusually warm for late November.  We’re going to enjoy one more day of incredible warmth before typical November returns for the foreseeable future.  A storm system to our west is approaching the area today, producing some thicker clouds and gusty south winds for us.  Even with a little less sunshine than the past couple of days, our afternoon highs are expected to reach well into the 50s thanks to that nice shot of warm air.   Here’s a look at some of the local high temperatures from Thanksgiving, a day that featured some record warmth and our first 60 degree highs in two weeks.

Rochester set a record high on Thursday with 60° reported at the airport. It surpassed the former record of 56° set in 1990.

The warm spell will end tonight as that storm system drags a cold front through the Upper Mississippi Valley, allowing much colder air in from Canada.  We’ll have overnight lows in the lower 40s and then we’ll start the day Saturday with rain and temperatures in the lower 40s with steadily falling temperatures through the day, eventually reaching the mid 30s by day’s end.  Strong, gusty west winds will occasionally reach 35 miles per hour tomorrow, making it feel even colder.  As we move into the mid and late afternoonh tomorrow, snow will develop with some grassy accumulations possible by tomorrow night before ending early Sunday.  Totals will be rather light, however with generally less than an inch expected across the viewing area.  Colder, more seasonable weather is expected through the next week with another chance for light snow showers or flurries late Wednesday and blustery, cold winds just about each day.

Snowfall totals Saturday evening and night will be on the light side, but there will definitely be enough to remind us that we're getting close to December.

Posted under weather

We knew the balmy 50s and 60s wouldn’t last forever, and today a strong cold front is sliding through the region allowing some more typical November-like weather into the area.  In the short term today, we’ll deal with some gusty winds and a slight drop in temperatures, but nothing too devastating.  The really cold stuff will arrive later tonight when overnight temperatures will take a nosedive and fall into the lower 20s.  Besides the arctic-like chill tonight, we’ll have to deal with some pretty brisk, uncomfortable winds that will occasionally reach above 20 miles per hour, keeping wind chills in the upper single digits and teens.  It won’t be quite as windy tomorrow, but we’ll still be able to describe the day as blustery and raw as west winds will gust to 25 miles per hour while highs will only climb into the upper 30s.  The cold spell will linger through Thursday before milder air tries to work its way in for Friday with highs in the 40s again showing up in the forecast to round out the work week.  In the meantime, the jet stream will buckle southward, allowing this cold air to infiltrate the Upper Midwest behind today’s cold front. 

The current jet stream is beginning to draw some slightly cooler air in from the northwest of the continent. Today's cold front is being pushed through the Upper Midwest on those upper level winds signifying the beginnign of a pattern change.

The jet stream for tomorrow through Thursday will be forced way to the south, allowing some of the coldest air of the season into the Upper Midwest. This will only be a temporary pattern shift as there will be a slight warm up over the early part of the weekend.

Posted under Cold

The storm system that brought some light snow to parts of the area earlier today is pulling away to the east now, leaving behind a white and wintry landscape for many of us.  While totals in the southeastern part of the viewing area weren’t exactly staggering, they were significant for the first snow event of the year with one to three inch totals common across northeast Iowa, far southeastern Minnesota, and southwestern Wisconsin and some even higher amounts in central and southern Wisconsin just to the east of our area.  Here’s a look at some of the totals through the midday hours from the National Weather Service in La Crosse:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1105 AM CST WED NOV 09 2011

…RECENT REPORTED SNOWFALL TOTALS…

LOCATION                               SNOWFALL                 TIME                   LAT/LON

IOWA

…ALLAMAKEE COUNTY…
WAUKON 8NW                           1.5                           1042 AM              43.34N 91.6W
WATERVILLE 8S                      1.0                           1046 AM              43.11N 91.29W
LANSING 4SE                            0.4                           1047 AM              43.32N 91.16W

…CLAYTON COUNTY…
ELKADER 1SE                                T                             1040 AM             42.83N 91.38W

…FAYETTE COUNTY…
OELWEIN 1E                                0.5                          1058 AM              42.67N 91.92W

…WINNESHIEK COUNTY…
OSSIAN                                          2.0                         1053 AM              43.15N 91.77W
DECORAH                                     1.0                          1057 AM             43.31N 91.79W

MINNESOTA

…FILLMORE COUNTY…
HIGHLAND                                 1.5                          1105 AM             43.69N 91.89W
PRESTON                                    0.2                          1100 AM             43.67N 92.08W
PETERSON 1S                               T                           1103 AM             43.78N 91.82W

…HOUSTON COUNTY…
CALEDONIA 6S                        3.0                         1051 AM              43.54N 91.5W
CALEDONIA                              2.0                         1055 AM              43.63N 91.5W
LA CRESCENT 1N                    0.5                          1059 AM              43.83N 91.31W

WISCONSIN

…ADAMS COUNTY…
FRIENDSHIP 10NE               3.0                           0942 AM               44.04N 89.63W
LAKE CAMELOT                     1.0                           0941 AM               44.21N 89.77W
ARKDALE                                 0.8                           0945 AM               44.03N 89.88W

…CLARK COUNTY…
LONGWOOD                             1.0                            1100 AM               44.89N 90.6W

…CRAWFORD COUNTY…
MOUNT ZION 2NW               2.0                            0954 AM              43.29N 90.87W
STEUBEN 2SW                         1.0                            0956 AM              43.15N 90.89W
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN               T                              0950 AM               43.04N 91.15W

…GRANT COUNTY…
LANCASTER                            4.5                            1004 AM              42.85N 90.71W
PATCH GROVE                       3.5                            1009 AM               42.94N 90.97W
MUSCODA 6S                          3.5                            1003 AM                43.10N 90.44W
CASSVILLE 8NE                    2.0                            0959 AM               42.80N 90.89W
WYALUSING                          1.0                             1001 AM               42.96N 91.12W
SINSINAWA                              T                              0958 AM               42.52N 90.54W
CUBA CITY 6N                         T                              1009 AM                42.71N 90.43W

…JACKSON COUNTY…
MILLSTON                                 3.0                          1010 AM                 44.20N 90.65W
BLACK RIVER FALLS              T                            1011 AM                 44.30N 90.85W

…JUNEAU COUNTY…
NEW LISBON 2N                    3.0                           1020 AM                43.90N 90.17W
MAUSTON WRJC RADIO      2.0                          1020 AM                43.82N 90.07W
NECEDAH 3SE                          1.0                           1029 AM                43.98N 90.04W
 
…LA CROSSE COUNTY…
MINDORO                                     T                            1035 AM                44.02N 91.1W

…MONROE COUNTY…
WILTON                                       5.5                          1049 AM               43.82N 90.53W
SPARTA                                       1.0                           1044 AM             43.95N 90.81W
WARRENS                                      T                           1037 AM              44.13N 90.5W

…RICHLAND COUNTY…
RICHLAND CENTER 4W          3.5                       1046 AM               43.33N 90.46W
ITHACA 2S                                   2.0                        1014 AM               41.32N 90.29W

…TAYLOR COUNTY…
PERKINSTOWN 5E                     0.4                       1050 AM             45.20N 90.51W

…TREMPEALEAU COUNTY…
OSSEO                                             0.5                        1100 AM             44.58N 91.21W

…VERNON COUNTY…
VIROQUA                                     3.0                        1055 AM             43.55N 90.89W
CHASEBURG 2S                         0.8                         1053 AM             43.61N 90.95W

OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURE.  NOT ALL DATA LISTED IS CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.
$$

Posted under snowfall amounts

We’re enjoying some pretty mild weather today to start the week, but from the looks of things this may be the last gasp of this type of “warmth” for a while.  Gusty southeast winds have been pushing in some pretty warm air for the past day or so, and today we’re again looking at some lower 40s in the area which is about 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of the year.  Those winds along with some cloud cover are products of a storm system that is approaching from the west, one that’ll be responsible for bringing us rain and eventually a little snow.  Look for light rain today, especially this afternoon and evening, followed by a chageover to snow late tonight as temperatures begin their descent behind the storm system as it glides to our northeast.  During the overnight period, some of us may pick up as much as an inch of snow with another inch or so possible tomorrow as light snow will affect us off and on through the day.  The highest amounts will be north and west of Rochester where a Winter Weather Advisory has been posted and will be in effect through noon tomorrow.  It’s going to be a raw and blustery day Tuesday as temperatures will start out around 28° and then drop to the lower 20s by the afternoon hours with gusty west winds making it feel like the teens.  Definitely a preview of typical December for our last day of November!

Some spots locally will pick up an inch or two of snow from this storm system while the really heavy stuff will be well to our north once again.

Even if we’re able to tally a couple of inches of snowfall from this storm system, we’ll still likely fall a bit short of our snowfall average for the month of November which is about 7 inches.  So far this month, Rochester has officially measured 1.1″ of snow.  Right now, as we look ahead at the first several days of December, there are appear to be few chances for precipitation as cool and dry weather will prevail for the most part.  The one chance we have will be on Friday nigth and Saturday when we may see some very light snow showers or flurries, but at this time, a minor event is expected.

Posted under winter weather

Even though a cold front has passed through the region today, we’re still feeling fairly mild today with high temperatures on their way to the middle and possibly upper 50s in some cases.  However, behind that front winds are beginning to get a little gusty this afternoon as stronger winds aloft are allowed to mix down to the surface thanks to our sunny conditions.  Gusts will mainly reach the 30 to 35 mile per hour range, but locations to the west in our local area will have the potential for stronger gusts to 40 or even 45 miles per hour through early evening.  Those gusts will subside quite a bit with the loss of daytime heating, but will remain fairly breezy through the overnight period tonight.  The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for areas along and west of Interstate 35 for both the Iowa and Minnesota portions of our area until 7:00 PM.

Strong northwest winds will occasionally gust to 40 or even 45 miles per hour through this afternoon in the advisory area.

Posted under wind

Not much new to report from my post on Saturday. It’s still looking more and more likely that a cold snap will arrive by midweek. When you look at the highs and lows getting into Wednesday through the upcoming weekend, keep in mind that that’s near normal (OK, maybe a bit little below). What’ll make it feel colder will be a biting northwest wind, especially Wednesday into Thursday and possibly later next weekend.

Otherwise, the last day of November just wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t end it on a mild note. What a crazy, warm month. I was trying to think of something clever, ala “In like a lamb, out like a lion”, but the best I can come up with is “out with the shorts and in with the parkas”.

What? I’m not a poet.

Posted under KTTC