Cold high pressure has settled in from the north, keeping skies generally clear during our Christmas Eve last night and still bright and sunny for today as well.  The sunshine won’t help much with our temperatures, however, as high temperatures will be the coldest of the season so far.  Most locations will top out around 10° which is about 15° colder than normal for this time of the year.  It’s also going to be officially the coldest Christmas Day since 2000 when Rochester set records for the coldest low with a reading of -25° that morning.  By the way, speaking of cold statistics, our stretch of days with non subzero temperatures continues thanks to a couple of thin clouds last night and perhaps just a little too much wind as Rochester’s official airport temperature was stuck at 2° for about four hours and then ended up bottoming out at 1° just before sunrise.  We’re up to 339 days now without dropping below zero, a record length of time for the city.  We’ll be close again tonight, so we’ll have to closely watch the thermometer again.  Otherwise it may be early next week before the next opportunity for subzero temperatures comes around.  Below is a look at some of the local and regional overnight lows from Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve proved to be one of the coldest nights of the season so far locally.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
805 AM CST TUE DEC 25 2012

…MINIMUM TEMPERATURES AROUND THE AREA THIS MORNING…

…LOCATION…                             …TIME…      …MIN…
BLACK RIVER FALLS AREA AIRPORT             715 AM DEC 25        -9 F
SPARTA/FORT MC COY AIRPORT (MONROE WI)     735 AM DEC 25        -9 F
STOCKTON (WINONA MN) (APRSWXNET)           713 AM DEC 25        -6 F
3 NW BUFFALO (WABASHA MN) (676 FT)(AWS)    739 AM DEC 25        -4 F
SAINT CHARLES (WINONA MN) (AWS)            745 AM DEC 25        -3 F
4 SSE MOUND PRAIRIE (HOUSTON MN)           746 AM DEC 25        -3 F
ZUMBRO FALLS (WABASHA MN) (APRSWXNET)      734 AM DEC 25        -3 F
3 NE LUBLIN (TAYLOR WI) (1316 FT)(RAWS)    714 AM DEC 25        -3 F
SAINT ANSGAR (MITCHELL IA) (APRSWXNET)     752 AM DEC 25        -3 F
1 ENE CRESCO (HOWARD IA) (1279 FT)(IEM)    638 AM DEC 25        -2 F
4 E GRAND MEADOW (MOWER MN) (IEM)          659 AM DEC 25        -2 F
1 E ROCKFORD (FLOYD IA) (1036 FT)(IEM)     654 AM DEC 25        -2 F
1 ENE DEXTER (MOWER MN) (MNDOT)            716 AM DEC 25        -2 F
2 E KASSON (DODGE MN) (1283 FT)(MNDOT)     649 AM DEC 25        -2 F
3 SE ROCHESTER (OLMSTED MN) (IEM)          745 AM DEC 25        -2 F
4 SSW LANESBORO (FILLMORE MN) (IEM)        744 AM DEC 25        -2 F
SAINT ANSGAR (MITCHELL IA) (IEM)           640 AM DEC 25        -2 F
COCHRANE (BUFFALO WI) (1083 FT)(AWS)       635 AM DEC 25        -1 F
2 SE EYOTA (OLMSTED MN) (MNDOT)            701 AM DEC 25        -1 F
1 WSW ROCHESTER (OLMSTED MN)               733 AM DEC 25        -1 F
BOSCOBEL AIRPORT (GRANT WI) (ASOS)         753 AM DEC 25        -1 F
PRESTON FILLMORE COUNTY AIRPORT            710 AM DEC 25         0 F
1 ESE ROCHESTER (OLMSTED MN) (IEM)         640 AM DEC 25         0 F
NECEDAH 1W (JUNEAU WI) (920 FT)(GOES)      748 AM DEC 25         0 F
AUSTIN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (MOWER MN)        735 AM DEC 25         0 F
3 NW DELLWOOD (JUNEAU WI) (APRSWXNET)      730 AM DEC 25         0 F
3 S ROCHESTER (OLMSTED MN) (APRSWXNET)     612 AM DEC 25         0 F
1 WNW SIDNEY (CLARK WI) (APRSWXNET)        541 AM DEC 25         0 F
2 E PERKINSTOWN (TAYLOR WI) (AIRNOW)       600 AM DEC 25         0 F
4 NW ROCHESTER (OLMSTED MN) (APRSWXNET)    720 AM DEC 25         0 F
MAZEPPA (WABASHA MN) (APRSWXNET)           531 AM DEC 25         0 F
2 ESE CANTON (FILLMORE MN) (MNDOT)         609 AM DEC 25         0 F
3 SE GRAND MARSH (ADAMS WI) (MESOWEST)     620 AM DEC 25         0 F
MAYO HELIPAD (OLMSTED MN) (AWOS)           753 AM DEC 25         0 F
1 SSE STEWARTVILLE (OLMSTED MN)            653 AM DEC 25         0 F
3 NE ROCHESTER (OLMSTED MN) (APRSWXNET)    714 AM DEC 25         0 F
DODGE CENTER AIRPORT (DODGE MN) (AWOS)     714 AM DEC 25         0 F
1 E RIDGEWAY (WINONA MN) (MNDOT)           732 AM DEC 25         1 F
ROCHESTER -37TH STREET (OLMSTED MN)        600 AM DEC 25         1 F
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN  AIRPORT (CRAWFORD WI)    755 AM DEC 25         1 F
2 SSW COUNCIL BAY (LA CROSSE WI)           734 AM DEC 25         1 F
1 E CRESCO (HOWARD IA) (1272 FT)(AWS)      637 AM DEC 25         1 F
FRIENDSHIP (ADAMS WI) (958 FT)(AWS)        654 AM DEC 25         1 F
CHARLES CITY (FLOYD IA) (993 FT)(AWOS)     715 AM DEC 25         1 F
RICHLAND CENTER (RICHLAND WI) (AWS)        709 AM DEC 25         1 F
PLAINVIEW (WABASHA MN) (1150 FT)(AWS)      524 AM DEC 25         1 F
4 SSE ARLINGTON (FAYETTE IA) (AWS)         749 AM DEC 25         1 F
1 ENE WABASHA (WABASHA MN) (APRSWXNET)     734 AM DEC 25         1 F
2 SSE KELLOGG (WABASHA MN) (MNDOT)         604 AM DEC 25         1 F
4 WNW BLACK RIVER FALLS (JACKSON WI)       636 AM DEC 25         1 F
WINONA MUNICPAL AIRPORT (WINONA MN)        713 AM DEC 25         1 F
MEDFORD TAYLOR COUNTY AIRPORT              715 AM DEC 25         1 F
ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT            454 AM DEC 25         1 F
DECORAH (WINNESHIEK IA) (982 FT)(AWS)      739 AM DEC 25         2 F
FENNIMORE (GRANT WI) (1175 FT)(AWS)        735 AM DEC 25         2 F
WEST UNION (FAYETTE IA) (1178 FT)(AWS)     654 AM DEC 25         2 F
MUSCODA (GRANT WI) (665 FT)(AWS)           734 AM DEC 25         2 F
MONONA (CLAYTON IA) (1182 FT)(AWS)         745 AM DEC 25         2 F
4 NNW RIDGEVILLE (MONROE WI) (WIDOT)       635 AM DEC 25         2 F
1 E LAKE CITY (WABASHA MN) (APRSWXNET)     753 AM DEC 25         2 F
4 E NORDNESS (WINNESHIEK IA) (IADOT)       653 AM DEC 25         2 F
2 N IONIA (CHICKASAW IA) (IADOT)           255 AM DEC 25         2 F
1 ENE BOSCOBEL (GRANT WI) (RAWS)           703 AM DEC 25         2 F
DE SOTO (CRAWFORD WI) (APRSWXNET)          631 AM DEC 25         2 F
2 WSW GALESVILLE (TREMPEALEAU WI)          742 AM DEC 25         2 F
2 NW HUMBIRD (JACKSON WI) (MESOWEST)       725 AM DEC 25         2 F
DECORAH MUNICIPAL AIPRORT                  735 AM DEC 25         3 F
3 SW RICHFIELD (CHICKASAW IA)              705 AM DEC 25         3 F
3 SW BARRE MILLS (LA CROSSE WI)            459 AM DEC 25         3 F
1 SW MOUNT STERLING (CRAWFORD WI)          634 AM DEC 25         3 F
1 E BLACK RIVER FALLS (JACKSON WI)         715 AM DEC 25         3 F
OELWEIN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (FAYETTE IA)     755 AM DEC 25         3 F
VIROQUA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (VERNON WI)      715 AM DEC 25         3 F
LA CROSSE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT                653 AM DEC 25         3 F
MCGREGOR (CLAYTON IA) (992 FT)(AWS)        744 AM DEC 25         4 F
1 SSE RICHLAND CENTER (RICHLAND WI)        739 AM DEC 25         4 F
MAUSTON (JUNEAU WI) (872 FT)(APRSWXNET)    714 AM DEC 25         4 F
2 N TOMAH (MONROE WI) (990 FT)(WIDOT)      431 AM DEC 25         5 F
1 SW LA CROSSE (LA CROSSE WI)              736 AM DEC 25         5 F
MONONA (CLAYTON IA) (APRSWXNET)            648 AM DEC 25         5 F
3 SE LYNDON STATION (JUNEAU WI)            502 AM DEC 25         5 F
3 NW VALLEY JUNCTION (MONROE WI)           650 AM DEC 25         5 F
1 W FRENCH ISLAND (LA CROSSE WI)           630 AM DEC 25         6 F
3 S LA CROSSE (LA CROSSE WI) (AIRNOW)      600 AM DEC 25         6 F
1 WNW TENNYSON (GRANT WI) (AIRNOW)         600 AM DEC 25         8 F

Posted under Cold, Holidays, Lows

This is a reminder that it is December, but other than the calendar and the Christmas music, there is very little to remind us of that.  December 3rd featured the 4th record high temperature that has fallen in the last three weeks or so.  What make this record more impressive in my opinion is the fact that we got into the upper 50s and low 60s without the help of sunshine.  Just think if we had a little bit of that to go around Monday afternoon where we would have ended up.  Here is an area wide look at the unseasonably warm temperatures we felt on Monday.

High temperatures Monday afternoon

While it was unseasonably warm, records weren’t broken everywhere.  Here’s a list of some who did.

List of a few area records broken Monday

There was initially an error with the temperature report in Rochester.  The official temperature made it 62, which still beats the record.

Posted under history, Records, Rochester

We certainly have the look and feel of typical, authentic November weather today, don’t we? Clouds have moved in and temperatures look to remain on the cool side with 40 something degree highs expected just about everywhere for our Friday. The storm system that is responsible for bringing these clouds to our area may also bring a few drops of cool November rain and maybe a wet snowflake or two later tonight and early tomorrow morning with more of the same possible early Sunday. This will keep that November feeling going for a few more days, but aside from that, the early outlook for the month from the Climate Prediction Center appears to favor an average to maybe slightly warmer than average forecast for temperatures this month, so for us that means 40s overall for highs with some 50s early and maybe a few 30 degree highs later in the month.

Parts of our area may experience a warmer than normal month, but fo the most part it appear to be a typical November for most of us. Precipitation looks to be normal as well.

A look at what the month of November typically has in store for us. By the end of the month, temperatures and extremely early sunset times will make for a much more winter-like feel to our climatology.

Posted under climate

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

It was a warm and very dry September for us in ou area as high temperatures were just a little warmer than normal while rainfall was way below normal.  Stagnant high pressure was dominant in the regionfor te last half of the month, bringing incredibly beautiful weather, but suppressing any rainfall potential.  The atmosphere itself was very dry under that high pressure, allowing for wild daily fluctuations of temperatures with 30s and 40s typical in the mornings across the local area and afternoon highs commonly in the 70s more often than not.  Our current rainfall deficit for 2012 in Rochester now stands at 6.94 inches!  Looking ahead at the forecast, we’re expcting just a little rain on Thursday and then perhaps some more down the road in the second half of next week, but otherwise the dry weather trend appears to continue in the meantime.

We enjoyed a lot of picture perfect "postcard" weather in September, but the lack of rainfall remains a big concern for the entire area.

 Weather Summary from the NWS in La Crosse, WI:

 Rochester Minnesota

...SEPTEMBER IN ROCHESTER WAS MARKED BY SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND WELL BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 61.8 DEGREES. THIS WAS
0.9 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE AVERAGE HIGH WAS 75.6 DEGREES...WHILE
THE AVERAGE LOW WAS 48.0 DEGREES. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE
MONTH WAS 93 DEGREES...WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 4TH. WHILE THE LOWEST
TEMPERATURE IN SEPTEMBER WAS 32 DEGREES WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 23RD.

ROCHESTER RECEIVED 1.29 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION DURING THE MONTH
WHICH WAS 2.16 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. ONLY 0.02 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
OCCURRED DURING THE LAST 13 DAYS OF SEPTEMBER. THE GREATEST 24-HOUR
AMOUNT WAS 0.69 INCHES THAT OCCURRED ON THE 4TH AND 5TH.

...RECORDS...

THERE WERE NO RECORDS ESTABLISHED DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.

...DISCUSSION...

THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER STARTED OFF VERY WARM WITH TWO DAYS OF 90
DEGREES OR HIGHER THROUGH THE FIRST 11 DAYS. COOLER TEMPERATURES DID
INVADED THE REGION AS A COUPLE OF COLD FRONT PASSAGES MADE THEIR WAY
ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST DURING THE MIDDLE PART OF THE MONTH. THERE
WERE 6 DAYS WHERE THE HIGH TEMPERATURES ONLY MANAGED TO MAKE IT INTO
THE UPPER 50S AND 60S OVER THE LAST HALF OF SEPTEMBER.

PRECIPITATION IN ROCHESTER WAS WELL BELOW NORMAL DURING THE MONTH AS
WEATHER SYSTEMS WERE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN ACROSS THE REGION. THERE
WERE ONLY 7 DAYS OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION DURING SEPTEMBER. ONLY
1 OF THOSE DAYS HAD OVER A HALF INCH OF PRECIPITATION IN ROCHESTER. A
SEVERE DROUGHT CONTINUED DURING SEPTEMBER ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA.

...LOOKING AHEAD TO OCTOBER...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH IS 48.4 DEGREES. THE AVERAGE
HIGH DROPS FROM 65 DEGREES ON THE 1ST...TO 51 DEGREES ON THE 31TH.
THE AVERAGE LOW DROPS FROM 44 DEGREES ON THE 1ST...TO 34 DEGREES ON
THE 31ST. THE WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD WAS IN 1963 WITH AN AVERAGE
OF 58.1 DEGREES...AND THE COLDEST OCTOBER WAS 37.9 DEGREES IN 1917.

THE AVERAGE OCTOBER PRECIPITATION IS 2.24 INCHES. THE WETTEST OCTOBER
OCCURRED IN 1911...WHEN 9.11 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL. THE DRIEST
OCTOBER WAS 1893...WHEN THERE WAS NO PRECIPITATION REPORTED FOR THE
MONTH. THE AVERAGE SNOWFALL IS EIGHT TENTHS OF AN INCH. THE RECORD
SNOWFALL TOTAL FOR THE MONTH IS 7.9 INCHES...WHICH OCCURRED IN 2009.

Posted under fall

In typical August fashion we’re experiencing a little more variety in our weather these days including more 70s than the past couple of months and even cooler morning temperatures.  This morning we experienced the coolest morning in several weeks for most of us including the coolest official morning low temperature in Rochester with 52°.  The last time we were this cool was June 13, when we reached 50°.  Listed below are some local morning low temperatures from the La Crosse NWS office’s forecast area.  The cool high pressure that brought us blue skies, low humidity, and highs in the 70s Sunday will return later this week with more 70s possible from Thursday through the early part of next week.  Refreshing indeed!

We awoke to some of the coolest temps of the season this morning with a lot of 50s and even a few 40s on the map.

MAX/MIN TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TABLE FOR THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 724 AM CDT MON AUG 6 2012 

HIGHS YESTERDAY...LOWS OVER THE LAST 12 HOURS... AND PRECIPITATION OVER THE LAST 24 HOURS

 HIGH LOW PCPN 

DODGE CENTER AWOS MN 73 / 54 / 0.00 

AUSTIN AWOS MN 75 / 48 / 0.00 

ROCHESTER ASOS MN 74 / 52 / 0.00 

PRESTON AWOS MN 73 / 52 / 0.00 

WINONA AWOS MN 77 / 54 / 0.00 

CHARLES CITY AWOS IA 75 / 52 / 0.00 

DECORAH AWOS IA 73 / 50 / 0.00 

OELWEIN AWOS IA 75 / 48 / 0.00 

MEDFORD AWOS WI 73 / 52 / 0.00 

BLACK RIVER FALLS 75 / 43 / 0.00 

LA CROSSE ASOS WI 76 / 56 / 0.00 

SPARTA-FT MCCOY AWOS WI 75 / 43 / 0.00 

VOLK FIELD ASOS WI 75 / 39 / 0.00 

VIROQUA AWOS WI 70 / 52 / 0.00 

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AWOS WI 77 / 52 / 0.00 

BOSCOBEL ASOS WI 80 / 50 / 0.00 

PLATTEVILLE AWOS WI 79 / 50 / 0.00 

OFFICIAL NWS COOPERATIVE OBSERVATIONS... 

VALUES REPRESENT 24 HOUR TOTALS AS OF THIS MORNING 

SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA... 

GRAND MEADOW MN 76 / 47 / 0.00 

NEW HAMPTON IA 76 / 49 / 0.00 

ST ANSGAR IA / / 0.00 

WAUKON IA 74 / 54 / 0.00 

Posted under Lows

We’re just hours away from wrapping up one of the warmest months of July in several decades in our area as only a handful of the days were even close to the type of weather we typically see in this climate.  In other words, with just a few exceptions we’ve been much warmer than average or what we consider “normal”.  In Rochester, we’ve been averaging 87.6° for high temperatures this month while 81° would have been normal according to the averages of the past 30 years while the average low has been a warm 66.8°.  Strangely enough, only one record has been broken this month and that was on Independence Day when our morning low was 75°, the warmest low ever for that date.  Incidentally, the high that day was 93° and was the fifth in a series of seven consecutive days with official highs in the 90s.

By the way, we’re expecting warmer than normal conditions again today to round out the month with highs in the mid 80s, so the July average likely won’t drop much, if at all.

Warmest Mean July Temperatures in Rochester History:

The third warmest July in Rochester history with only three days at or below normal for high temperatures (all in the last week.)

Posted under climate

Even though the last couple of days in the month of May we quite a bit cooler than normal and even a little unsettled, the overall picture for May 2012 was a rather warm one for us.  As we’ve seen every month so far this year, our average high temperature for the month was warmer than normal as was the low while rainfall was more than an inch greater than the 30 year average, so aside from the lack of extensive humidity, we’ve already had quite a taste of summer weather this season.  In fact, today (June 1st) marks the beginning of what we call “meteorological summer” where the three warmest, wettest month of the calendar year are bunched together for climate record keeping purposes, so at least we’re primed for the new season and ready to go.  As it appears right now, we’ll have a couple of comfortable spring-like days ahead today and tomorrow, before the near 80° warmth builds in for the end of the weekend and then lingers for the first full week of the young month of June next week.

It was warmer and wetter than normal in May 2012. We reached highs of 80° or more 9 times.

Posted under climate

The Northwoods League officially begins play for the 2012 season tonight and the Rochester Honkers will be kicking off their season on the road in Waterloo.  The two teams will meet up again tomorrow night, but in Rochester as the Honkers will play their first home game of the season with a taste of fall in the air.  A storm system from the west will bring rain showers to the region later this evening, but likely won’t reach Waterloo until after tonight’s game.  That same storm system will keep some showers around through tonight and tomorrow morning with just a few isolated showers or scattered sprinkles possible by afternoon and evening tomorrow locally, meaning the game in Rochester likely won’t have to worry too much about inclement conditions.  However, it won’t be a very summer-like evening for the game as temperatures will be mainly in the 50s with light northeast winds.  Here’s the KTTC Honkercast:

Just a slight chance for a stray sprinkle or two in the area at first pitch Thursday night. Otherwise, it'll be sweater or windbreaker weather for the baseball game.

Posted under weather

In contrast to the record setting month of March that felt more like May most of the time, our month of April was quite seasonable with a decent amount of rainfall in the area.  In Rochester, we were only couple of degrees above normal for the average high and low temperatures and we finished a little more than half an inch of rainfall below what we consider average.  As for snowfall, we had a trace a couple of times in the month, but nothing measurable.

The month of April this year was very typical in that the averages were close to the climate "norm" in most categories.

Posted under climate