We didn’t pick up any snow as an Arctic cold front sliced through the area on Saturday, but it sure made it’s presence felt in other ways.  Wind gusts around the area topped 50mph in a lot  of spots.   Here’s a look at a select few from Saturday afternoon/evening.

Behind a cold front temperatures drop, but with this Arctic cold front Saturday afternoon, temperatures fell off a cliff.  The highs made their way into the 40s early, and by the evening, the wind chills were in the teens below zero.  Here is a timeline as the temps dropped Saturday.

Arctic air will continue to pour into the area over the next several days.  The Upper Air Pattern shows the warmer air in the west indicated by the orange and yellows and the bitter cold coming out of Canada by the darker purples.  The “Polar Vortex” is in play this time around.  You can clearly see the closed doughnut hole in southern Canada which represents the center of it.  It usually hangs out in northern Canada, but has drifted south supplying the eastern two thirds of the country with Arctic air.  The coldest air in this part of the world is found under that Polar Vortex.

In my opinion this Arctic outbreak is extremely impressive.  We will likely see afternoon highs the coldest we have seen in over four years and we are doing it without snow on the ground.  Snow acts as a refrigerator and helps the atmosphere cool much faster when we have a good base on the ground.  We could be flirting with records if we had some snow.  While it is going to be extremely cold over the next week and especially over the next couple of days, it could be MUCH colder if we had some snow on the ground.

Here is just a list of where this cold stands in perspective with the record for the day and the record all time.  It was pretty chilly back in the 1800s!  While we won’t be as cold as the temperatures with the actual air temperature, wind chills Monday and Tuesday morning could be in that ball park!  Stay warm.  It only takes 30 min or so to get frostbite with exposed skin with these dangerous wind chills!

Posted under just cool, weather, wind, wind chill, winter

Enjoy the bright, quiet sunshine today because wet, unsettled weather is going to be the forecast for much of the next week or so, starting tomorrow.  We’ll have some showers and thunderstorms tomorrow, but right now severe weather isn’t a concern.  That will change, however, on Saturday as a storm system and its warm front will move into the Upper Mississippi Valley, possibly igniting some strong thunderstorms in the region.  The best chance for activity locally will be mid to late afternoon Saturday and the area most likely to see severe weather will be along and south of Interstate 90 and in northeast Iowa and far southwestern Wisconsin.  Large hail, damaging winds, and possibly a few tornadoes will be possible, so we’ll have to keep a close on on that thunderstorm potential over the next couple of days and then watch the radar over the weekend.  In the meantime, rainfall this weekend and next week may seem like a nuisance to some people, but we really could use the moisture as our current deficit for the year is more than an inch and we’d really like to reduce the wildfire threat.   The severe weather threat will then shift away from our local area for Sunday and for next week.  There’s a chance that more than an inch or two may fall in the next seven days as a few storm systems will be tracking through the region, so things will be rather unsettled for a while.

Severe Weather Risk for Saturday. The best chances in the country will be to our south, but parts of our area may see some stronger activity later in the day.

Posted under severe weather

The more April-like weather of the past week has reminded us of what things should feel like in our area during a more typical year.  Normally, we’d have 40s and 50s for highs with occasional 60s and plenty of wind.  Yes, April is the windiest month on average in our area and today’s conditions are a perfect example of that early spring turbulence with gusts reaching 35 to 40 miles per hour at times.  Beyond the wind, however, the biggest story of the past week or two has been the threat for frost and freezing temperatures at night and the impact that would have on prematurely blossoming fruit trees and flowers and that is really going to be making headlines in the next couple of nights.  Today’s winds are drawing in some dry, cool air from Canada in the wake of a cold front that swept through the area over the weekend.  As surface high pressure gets a little closer and we lose that daytime heating tonight, those winds will drop off dramatically setting the stage for a clear and cold night with the potential for the coldest temperature readings of the early spring season so far.  The National Weather Service has already issued a Freeze Warning for tonight for the entire region, including all of our viewing area as lows are expected to be in the mid and upper 20s tomorrow morning.  The same situation will be possible Tuesday night as well, before warmer air begins to trickle back into the Upper Mississippi Valley for the middle and latter parts of the week.

Another night, another Freeze Warning for our area. Tonight's temperatures are expected to be the coldest of the season and the lowest readings in more than a month with mid and upper 20s likely by morning across the area.

Posted under Lows

While our skies today have been bright and blue and as clear as anything we’ve seen so far this fall, a potent storm system centered in Tennessee is producing some wet snow, soaking rains, and strong, gusty winds across much of the eastern half of the country.  This is the storm system we were watching a week ago as possibly bringing us snow before it became clear that it would stay to our east instead.  Speaking of snow, there is some of that falling from this storm system, but it’s way to our south and affecting some locations that don’t normally see November snow like Memphis, Tennessee and Paducah, Kentucky where several inches have been measured today.  Earlier this morning Paducah experienced thundersnow and in a quick burst of heavy snow, 8 inches fell at the National Weather Service office.  It’s strange to think that even the mid South has now registered more snowfall than Rochester or most of our viewing area this season!  Strong winds and some soaking rain showers are going on on the northern side of the storm system and Chicago has actually measured winds greater than 60mph off of Lake Michigan today, creating waves of 19 feet at times and quite an impressive storm surge.  Here’s a video of that storm surge in Chicago from this morning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36xKqdKssw0

An impressive storm sytem way to our southeast is producing some nasty weather for a large part of the country while we enjoy some bright sunshine.

Winter Weather Advisories have been posted for parts of Indiana and southern Michigan for tonight as three or four inches of snow is expected there by tomorrow morning.  That storm system is expected to then move northeastward into eastern Canada tomorrow afternoon.

Posted under winter weather

As in so many other instances throughout the year in our local weather, severe weather and June seem to go hand-in-hand.  This portion of the year, centered on mid June, is the peak of our severe weather season.  Tradition severe weather season in our area typically runs from May through August, but tornadoes most frequently occur in June in southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and southwestern Wisconsin.  While we’ve had a couple of rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms this month, we have yet to see anything as volatile as last year’s massive thunderstorm outbreak that brought tornadoes to the Albert Lea area and Rochester or the Austin tornado event of 2009, so it almost feels like we’re due for at least the threat of that kind of weather.  Hopefully it doesn’t pan out for us in this case, but there is a chance for some tornadoes this afternoon and evening along with the potential for some strong winds and large hail.  In fact, it appears that this will be the best chance for this type of weather in several weeks.  The same storm system that produced a line of strong thunderstorms Monday night is expected to again bring some potent weather to our area by the mid and late afternoon hours today.  The Storm Prediction Center has placed us in the Slight Risk for severe weather today, meaning we’ll all have to keep an eye to the sky and monitor the weather conditions closely on kttc.com and on KTTC TV.

Our entire viewing area has been outlined in the slight risk category for severe weather today and this evening by the Storm Prediction Center.

Posted under severe weather

Finally the chilly month of April has come to an end, but may didn’t start off any better.  As Randy Brock has pointed out, 2 days has been the longest consecutive day streak we have seen rain free for quite sometime.  All that rain has added up to total the 16th wettest April on record.  Records date back all the way to 1886, so this is a pretty incredible feat!!  We ended the month with 4.03 inches of precip, about an inch over the monthly average.  Our friends at the NWS in La Crosse have compiled a list of the top 20 wettest April’s on record.

         PRECIPITATION
  RANK        TOTAL           YEAR
  ----     -------------      ----
    1       7.30 INCHES       2001
    2       6.47 INCHES       1999
            6.47 INCHES       1990
    4       5.51 INCHES       2006
    5       5.25 INCHES       1991
    6       5.22 INCHES       1929
    7       4.95 INCHES       1994
    8       4.68 INCHES       1954
    9       4.56 INCHES       1993
   10       4.54 INCHES       1945
   11       4.44 INCHES       1919
   12       4.26 INCHES       1973
   13       4.17 INCHES       2008
            4.17 INCHES       1930
   15       4.16 INCHES       1968
   16       4.03 INCHES       2011
   17       3.98 INCHES       1951
   18       3.94 INCHES       1916
   19       3.92 INCHES       1965
   20       3.91 INCHES       1984

It was also quite windy Saturday night and into Sunday (4/30--5/1).  Here are some of the wind reports

from the last 24 hours as of 3PM on Sunday May 1st!  Check this out!

..HIGHEST WINDS OBSERVED IN THE PAST 24 HOURS...

...IOWA...

...ALLAMAKEE COUNTY...

3 SE WATERVILLE (651 FT)(RAWS)                   107 PM MAY 1     20 MPH

...CHICKASAW COUNTY...

NEW HAMPTON (1166 FT)(AWS)                       944 AM MAY 1     17 MPH
3 SW RICHFIELD (1145 FT)(APRSWXNET)              800 AM MAY 1     20 MPH
1 S NASHUA (977 FT)(AWS)                        1119 AM MAY 1     25 MPH
2 N IONIA (1072 FT)(IADOT)                       555 AM MAY 1     42 MPH

...CLAYTON COUNTY...

MCGREGOR (605 FT)(AWS)                           234 PM MAY 1     13 MPH
MONONA (1213 FT)(AWS)                           1209 PM MAY 1     18 MPH

...FAYETTE COUNTY...

OELWEIN AWOS (1076 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                815 AM MAY 1     38 MPH

...FLOYD COUNTY...

NORA SPRINGS (1089 FT)(IEM)                      549 AM MAY 1     20 MPH
CHARLES CITY AWOS (1125 FT)(OTHER-MTR)           935 AM MAY 1     39 MPH

...HOWARD COUNTY...

1 E CRESCO (1272 FT)(AWS)                        229 PM MAY 1     12 MPH
1 ENE CRESCO (1279 FT)(IEM)                      654 AM MAY 1     21 MPH
3 ESE RICEVILLE (1253 FT)(IEM)                   954 AM MAY 1     24 MPH
1 WSW MAPLE LEAF (1290 FT)(APRSWXNET)           1056 AM MAY 1     28 MPH

...MITCHELL COUNTY...

OSAGE (1170 FT)(IEM)                             924 AM MAY 1     25 MPH
SAINT ANSGAR (1145 FT)(IEM)                      913 AM MAY 1     26 MPH
SAINT ANSGAR (1145 FT)(APRSWXNET)                911 AM MAY 1     36 MPH

...WINNESHIEK COUNTY...

1 ENE JACKSON JUNCTION (1180 FT)(AWS)            959 AM MAY 1     20 MPH
DECORAH (AWS)                                   1104 AM MAY 1     21 MPH
DECORAH AWOS (1158 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                815 AM MAY 1     32 MPH
4 E NORDNESS (1017 FT)(IADOT)                    956 AM MAY 1     40 MPH

...MINNESOTA...

...DODGE COUNTY...

1 W DODGE CENTER (1273 FT)(IEM)                1129 PM APR 30     24 MPH
DODGE CENTER AWOS (1305 FT)(OTHER-MTR)         1034 PM APR 30     38 MPH

...FILLMORE COUNTY...

2 ESE CANTON (1348 FT)(MNDOT)                    819 AM MAY 1     37 MPH
PRESTON AWOS (1276 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               1156 AM MAY 1     38 MPH

...MOWER COUNTY...

LANSING (AWS)                                   1204 PM MAY 1     20 MPH
LE ROY (1290 FT)(IEM)                           1038 AM MAY 1     21 MPH
4 E GRAND MEADOW (1322 FT)(IEM)                  410 AM MAY 1     30 MPH
AUSTIN AWOS (1230 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                 955 AM MAY 1     36 MPH
1 ENE DEXTER (1410 FT)(MNDOT)                   1021 AM MAY 1     44 MPH

...OLMSTED COUNTY...

1 WSW STEWARTVILLE (1230 FT)(AWS)               1129 AM MAY 1     18 MPH
2 NE ROCHESTER (1046 FT)(IEM)                    214 PM MAY 1     20 MPH
3 NNW ROCHESTER (1040 FT)(IEM)                  1225 PM MAY 1     21 MPH
4 NW ROCHESTER (1273 FT)(APRSWXNET)             1201 PM MAY 1     22 MPH
1 ESE ROCHESTER (997 FT)(IEM)                  1059 PM APR 30     22 MPH
1 SSE STEWARTVILLE (1253 FT)(APRSWXNET)          258 PM MAY 1     27 MPH
4 WSW RINGE (1140 FT)(APRSWXNET)                 913 AM MAY 1     31 MPH
1 WSW ROCHESTER (1205 FT)(APRSWXNET)             818 AM MAY 1     32 MPH
ROCHESTER ASOS (1318 FT)(ASOS)                   254 AM MAY 1     38 MPH
2 SE EYOTA (1309 FT)(MNDOT)                      916 AM MAY 1     42 MPH

...WABASHA COUNTY...

3 NW BUFFALO (676 FT)(AWS)                       209 AM MAY 1     11 MPH
PLAINVIEW (1138 FT)(AWS)                         414 AM MAY 1     17 MPH
1 NE BEAR VALLEY (1000 FT)(APRSWXNET)            600 AM MAY 1     28 MPH
2 SSE KELLOGG (741 FT)(MNDOT)                    114 PM MAY 1     34 MPH

...WINONA COUNTY...

1 NE GOODVIEW (656 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               1034 AM MAY 1     33 MPH

...WISCONSIN...

...ADAMS COUNTY...

FRIENDSHIP (958 FT)(AWS)                        319 PM APR 30     18 MPH

...BUFFALO COUNTY...

COCHRANE (1083 FT)(AWS)                         1144 AM MAY 1     14 MPH

...CLARK COUNTY...

LOYAL (1237 FT)(AWS)                             209 PM MAY 1     15 MPH
1 WNW SIDNEY (1174 FT)(APRSWXNET)                215 PM MAY 1     17 MPH

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN (658 FT)(AWS)                   239 PM MAY 1     14 MPH
DE SOTO (720 FT)(APRSWXNET)                      941 AM MAY 1     28 MPH
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AWOS (662 FT)(OTHER-MTR)        135 PM MAY 1     31 MPH

...GRANT COUNTY...

FENNIMORE (1175 FT)(AWS)                         240 PM MAY 1     16 MPH
MUSCODA (710 FT)(AWS)                            238 PM MAY 1     17 MPH
1 ENE BOSCOBEL (672 FT)(RAWS)                    203 PM MAY 1     31 MPH
BOSCOBEL ASOS (672 FT)(ASOS)                    1253 PM MAY 1     31 MPH
1 W PLATTEVILLE (997 FT)(APRSWXNET)              100 PM MAY 1     32 MPH
PLATTEVILLE AWOS (1023 FT)(OTHER-MTR)           1117 AM MAY 1     38 MPH

...JACKSON COUNTY...

1 E BLACK RIVER FALLS (837 FT)(RAWS)             615 AM MAY 1     28 MPH

...JUNEAU COUNTY...

3 SE LYNDON STATION (925 FT)(APRSWXNET)         1257 PM MAY 1     15 MPH
MAUSTON (872 FT)(APRSWXNET)                     1202 PM MAY 1     32 MPH
VOLK FIELD (908 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                   155 PM MAY 1     37 MPH
1 WNW NECEDAH (950 FT)(RAWS)                     248 PM MAY 1     45 MPH

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...

1 W LA CROSSE (960 FT)(APRSWXNET)               1045 AM MAY 1     25 MPH
1 WSW ONALASKA (682 FT)(APRSWXNET)               517 AM MAY 1     27 MPH
LA CROSSE ASOS (652 FT)(ASOS)                    953 AM MAY 1     31 MPH

...MONROE COUNTY...

KENDALL (1059 FT)(APRSWXNET)                    1130 AM MAY 1     28 MPH
SPARTA AWOS (836 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                 1135 AM MAY 1     33 MPH

...RICHLAND COUNTY...

RICHLAND CENTER (730 FT)(AWS)                   1258 PM MAY 1     14 MPH
3 WNW ITHACA (943 FT)(APRSWXNET)                 941 AM MAY 1     17 MPH
1 SSE RICHLAND CENTER (752 FT)(AWS)             1258 PM MAY 1     18 MPH

...TAYLOR COUNTY...

3 NE LUBLIN (1316 FT)(RAWS)                     1214 PM MAY 1     32 MPH
MEDFORD AWOS (1469 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               1255 PM MAY 1     43 MPH

...VERNON COUNTY...

3 N VIROQUA (1318 FT)(APRSWXNET)                 932 AM MAY 1     32 MPH
VIROQUA AWOS (1292 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                935 AM MAY 1     41 MPH
 



				

					Posted under climate, rainfall, rainfall amounts, Uncategorized, wind				
				

				

						
This post was written by jkegges on May 1, 2011
						

						Tags: 2011, april, climate, May, rain, rainfall, Randy Brock, record, wind
						

						
						

				

			

Well it has been pretty windy for the last 36 hours.  Things tomorrow (Sunday) look to calm down a little bit as we get into the afternoon and evening.  Check out some of these wind gusts observed yesterday.

...HIGHEST WINDS OBSERVED FROM AROUND THE AREA...

...NORTHEAST IOWA...

...ALLAMAKEE COUNTY...

LANSING (760 FT)(AWS)                          1124 AM APR 15     24 MPH
3 SE WATERVILLE (651 FT)(RAWS)                  707 PM APR 15     33 MPH

...CHICKASAW COUNTY...

1 S NASHUA (977 FT)(AWS)                        329 PM APR 15     20 MPH
NEW HAMPTON (1166 FT)(AWS)                      104 PM APR 15     23 MPH
3 SW RICHFIELD (1145 FT)(APRSWXNET)             130 PM APR 15     36 MPH
2 N IONIA (1072 FT)(IADOT)                     1155 AM APR 15     47 MPH

...CLAYTON COUNTY...

MCGREGOR (605 FT)(AWS)                          117 PM APR 15     14 MPH
MONONA (1213 FT)(APRSWXNET)                     418 PM APR 15     19 MPH
MONONA (1213 FT)(AWS)                           109 PM APR 15     21 MPH
VOLGA (867 FT)(APRSWXNET)                      1218 PM APR 15     25 MPH

...FAYETTE COUNTY...

OELWEIN AWOS (1076 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               615 PM APR 15     48 MPH

...FLOYD COUNTY...

NORA SPRINGS (1089 FT)(IEM)                     205 PM APR 15     21 MPH
CHARLES CITY AWOS (1125 FT)(OTHER-MTR)          515 PM APR 15     46 MPH

...HOWARD COUNTY...

1 E CRESCO (1272 FT)(AWS)                       458 PM APR 15     14 MPH
1 ENE CRESCO (1279 FT)(IEM)                     315 PM APR 15     22 MPH
3 ESE RICEVILLE (1253 FT)(IEM)                  134 PM APR 15     30 MPH
1 WSW MAPLE LEAF (1290 FT)(APRSWXNET)           455 PM APR 15     31 MPH

...MITCHELL COUNTY...

SAINT ANSGAR (1145 FT)(IEM)                    1240 PM APR 15     31 MPH
SAINT ANSGAR (1145 FT)(APRSWXNET)              1210 PM APR 15     34 MPH
OSAGE (1160 FT)(IEM)                           1255 PM APR 15     35 MPH

...WINNESHIEK COUNTY...

1 ENE JACKSON JUNCTION (1180 FT)(AWS)           529 PM APR 15     24 MPH
DECORAH (957 FT)(AWS)                           113 PM APR 15     29 MPH
DECORAH AWOS (1158 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               335 PM APR 15     41 MPH
4 E NORDNESS (1017 FT)(IADOT)                   138 PM APR 15     45 MPH

...SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...

...DODGE COUNTY...

DODGE CENTER AWOS (1305 FT)(OTHER-MTR)          434 PM APR 15     45 MPH

...FILLMORE COUNTY...

2 ESE CANTON (1348 FT)(MNDOT)                   234 PM APR 15     39 MPH
PRESTON AWOS (1276 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               155 PM APR 15     43 MPH

...MOWER COUNTY...

LE ROY (1290 FT)(IEM)                           120 PM APR 15     35 MPH
4 E GRAND MEADOW (1322 FT)(IEM)                 221 PM APR 15     38 MPH
AUSTIN AWOS (1230 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               1255 PM APR 15     46 MPH
1 ENE DEXTER (1410 FT)(MNDOT)                   351 PM APR 15     51 MPH

...OLMSTED COUNTY...

2 NE ROCHESTER (1046 FT)(IEM)                   245 PM APR 15     22 MPH
1 WSW STEWARTVILLE (1230 FT)(AWS)               318 PM APR 15     23 MPH
1 ESE ROCHESTER (997 FT)(IEM)                   305 PM APR 15     24 MPH
4 NW ROCHESTER (1273 FT)(APRSWXNET)             214 PM APR 15     31 MPH
1 SSE STEWARTVILLE (1253 FT)(APRSWXNET)         156 PM APR 15     32 MPH
1 WSW ROCHESTER (1205 FT)(APRSWXNET)            248 PM APR 15     33 MPH
4 WSW RINGE (1140 FT)(APRSWXNET)                533 PM APR 15     35 MPH
3 S ROCHESTER (1240 FT)(APRSWXNET)              619 PM APR 15     37 MPH
ROCHESTER ASOS (1318 FT)(ASOS)                  354 PM APR 15     45 MPH
2 SE EYOTA (1309 FT)(MNDOT)                     216 PM APR 15     48 MPH

...WABASHA COUNTY...

3 NW BUFFALO (676 FT)(AWS)                      343 PM APR 15     11 MPH
PLAINVIEW (1138 FT)(AWS)                        339 PM APR 15     16 MPH
1 NE BEAR VALLEY (1000 FT)(APRSWXNET)           130 PM APR 15     27 MPH
2 SSE KELLOGG (741 FT)(MNDOT)                   439 PM APR 15     33 MPH

...WINONA COUNTY...

1 NE GOODVIEW (656 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               454 PM APR 15     36 MPH

...SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

...ADAMS COUNTY...

FRIENDSHIP (958 FT)(AWS)                        259 PM APR 15     24 MPH

...BUFFALO COUNTY...

COCHRANE (1083 FT)(AWS)                         219 PM APR 15     16 MPH

...CLARK COUNTY...

LOYAL (1237 FT)(AWS)                            818 PM APR 15     18 MPH
1 WNW SIDNEY (1174 FT)(APRSWXNET)               329 PM APR 15     22 MPH

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN (630 FT)(AWS)                  234 PM APR 15     17 MPH
DE SOTO (720 FT)(APRSWXNET)                     211 PM APR 15     23 MPH
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AWOS (662 FT)(OTHER-MTR)       115 PM APR 15     37 MPH

...GRANT COUNTY...

MUSCODA (665 FT)(AWS)                          1043 AM APR 15     19 MPH
FENNIMORE (1175 FT)(AWS)                        430 PM APR 15     22 MPH
1 ENE BOSCOBEL (672 FT)(RAWS)                   303 PM APR 15     38 MPH
BOSCOBEL ASOS (672 FT)(ASOS)                    153 PM APR 15     43 MPH
1 W PLATTEVILLE (997 FT)(APRSWXNET)             500 PM APR 15     47 MPH
PLATTEVILLE AWOS (1023 FT)(OTHER-MTR)           354 PM APR 15     51 MPH

...JACKSON COUNTY...

1 E BLACK RIVER FALLS (837 FT)(RAWS)           1115 AM APR 15     30 MPH

...JUNEAU COUNTY...

3 SE LYNDON STATION (925 FT)(APRSWXNET)         214 PM APR 15     23 MPH
MAUSTON (872 FT)(APRSWXNET)                     232 PM APR 15     29 MPH
1 WNW NECEDAH (950 FT)(RAWS)                   1248 PM APR 15     36 MPH
VOLK FIELD (908 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                  439 PM APR 15     44 MPH

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...

1 WSW ONALASKA (682 FT)(APRSWXNET)              847 AM APR 15     22 MPH
1 W LA CROSSE (960 FT)(APRSWXNET)               225 PM APR 15     37 MPH
LA CROSSE ASOS (652 FT)(ASOS)                  1253 PM APR 15     40 MPH
3 SW BARRE MILLS (820 FT)(APRSWXNET)            841 AM APR 15     44 MPH

...MONROE COUNTY...

KENDALL (1059 FT)(APRSWXNET)                    140 PM APR 15     30 MPH
SPARTA AWOS (836 FT)(OTHER-MTR)                 235 PM APR 15     43 MPH

...RICHLAND COUNTY...

3 WNW ITHACA (943 FT)(APRSWXNET)               1219 PM APR 15     14 MPH
1 SSE RICHLAND CENTER (752 FT)(AWS)            1043 AM APR 15     18 MPH
RICHLAND CENTER (713 FT)(AWS)                   228 PM APR 15     21 MPH

...TAYLOR COUNTY...

3 NE LUBLIN (1316 FT)(RAWS)                     414 PM APR 15     35 MPH
MEDFORD AWOS (1469 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               835 PM APR 15     40 MPH

...VERNON COUNTY...

3 N VIROQUA (1318 FT)(APRSWXNET)                310 PM APR 15     35 MPH
VIROQUA AWOS (1292 FT)(OTHER-MTR)               535 PM APR 15     49 MPH

Posted under weather, wind

After a fairly long stretch of spring-like days, we’ve fallen back to more winter-like weather for our Friday with typical February temperatures and wind chills in our area.  The cold front that swept through the region yesterday afternoon scoured out our clouds and fog, but in its wake we have some raw and gusty west winds pulling in this more seasonable air mass today.  With bright blue skies overhead, we’ll likely manage to climb back into the 30s for highs today, but that’s a far cry from the 40s and 50s we enjoyed on Thursday, especially when you factor in those wind chills.  Because of those brisk winds, it’ll feel like the teens and 20s and sometimes even worse when those 30 or 40 mile per hour gusts kick in.  Look for those winds to remain rather blustery through late afternoon when the cold front moves farther away to the east and we lose some of our daytime heating. 

Local high temperatures Thursday afternoon were around 20 to 30 degrees warmer than normal for this time of the year. Areas to the south and west enjoyed the most sun and had the least snow cover, allowing them to see the warmest readings.

Temperatures have fallen off quite a bit today from even the morning readings Thursday that were running mainly in the 40 to 45 degree range. Most spots are 15 to 20 degrees colder this morning than Thursday morning.

We’ll stick with the cooler, more seasonable temperatures for the weekend with dry weather Friday and Saturday before a potent storm system from the west spreads a wintry mixture across the area late Saturday evening, possibly beginning a stretch of 36 hours or so of messy weather in our region.  There will be a chance for freezing rain, sleet, and snow Saturday night with snow and a little freezing rain possible Sunday.  At this time, we’re still trying to determine how warm temperatures will be aloft so we know what type of precipitation types will be occurring and also monitoring the track of the storm, so it’s a little early to say how much snow and ice we’ll be getting from this upcoming storm.  Stay tuned!

Posted under winter weather

Winds will taper off today, and it certainly was windy yesterday and overnight. Here are some reported wind gusts to the National Weather Service. Cooler temps today, but still above normal – and they will stay above normal for the next several days!

Posted under wind, winter, winter weather

 10:00pm update: Latest reported winds/wind gusts

5:00pm update: New record is now for Bigfork, MN: 28.20 inHg or 955.3 mb! 

2:30pm update: New record for Minnesota AND the interior US – KORB (Orr, Minnesota) has reached 28.25 inHg, or 956.5 mb. Pressure still falling…. 

NOON UPDATE: The current air pressure reading in Hibbing, Minnesota is 28.36″, so yet another state record has been established! 

11:00 AM Blog: The mammoth storm system that is whipping up our winds today continues to intensify as it works its way to the north.  Just before 11:00 this morning, the central pressure in that low pressure system dropped to a Minnesota state record 962.07 millibars, or 28.41 inches of mercury as it passed over the Aitkin Municipal Airport.  This breaks the old state record of 28.43 inches in Austin and Albert Lea on November 10, 1998.  The latest forecast data suggests that this current storm system has the potential to reach 28.35 inches of mercury before it leaves the state this evening, heading northward into northwest Ontario.  The main reason we watch the pressure so closely in a storm system like this is because there is an inverse relationship between air pressure and wind speeds in a storm system like this one.  When the pressure readings drop to such incredibly low figures, there is a lot of wind that is pulled into the core of the storm system and in this case, gusts are reaching 50 miles per hour and may reach 60 miles per hour at times this afternoon and then again tomorrow.  The High Wind Warning that is in effect for the entire area today will remain in effect until 7:00 tomorrow night. 

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1120 AM CDT TUE OCT 26 2010 

1055 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 S PRAIRIE DU CHIEN    43.01N 91.14W
10/26/2010  M46 MPH CRAWFORD           WI   AWOS 

0929 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SW BARRE MILLS        43.80N 91.16W
10/26/2010  E46 MPH LA CROSSE          WI   PUBLIC 

1049 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 SE EYOTA              43.97N 92.20W
10/26/2010  M46 MPH OLMSTED            MN   MESONET 

1035 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SE PLATTEVILLE        42.70N 90.44W
10/26/2010  M49 MPH GRANT              WI   AWOS 

1028 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 SW ROCHESTER          43.99N 92.50W
10/26/2010  M46 MPH OLMSTED            MN   ASOS 

1044 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 ESE CANTON            43.52N 91.89W
10/26/2010  M46 MPH FILLMORE           MN   MESONET 

Upper Midwest surface map showing wind barbs that indicate the various wind directions and speeds around the storm system that is now centered in northern Minnesota. The winds are flowing counterclockwise into the storm system's center.

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