May 5, 2014

Temperature is currently 51 F with a dew point of 36 F. Winds are out of the east at 8 mph and barometric pressure is declining from yesterday to 1015 mb. It looks like a storm system is coming in which could make some thunderstorms tomorrow night. A large stationary front is stretching all the way from Montana to the east coast. The areas close to the Rockies are building up water vapor in the atmosphere because winds are pressing inward from the west coast. The polar jet stream is helping too by slowing down with a trough at Oregon and curving back up over the Northern United States. It's making a highway of wind that's driving right through Wisconsin. This could have something to do with the forecasted storms tomorrow.

May 4, 2014

Today pressure has risen almost 6 mb to 1016 mb. The center of this high is over Superior and appears to be moving southeast. Water vapor is very present over Wisconsin and Minnesota, and Northern Minnesota is currently seeing some scattered showers and even some snow. Winds are out of the southeast at 7 mph currently. Temperature is 53 F and dew point is 24 F. This difference between temperature and dew point is a lot larger than this past week. The sounding diagram shows very stable conditions with an LI of 16, a KI of 6, and a condensation level at 721 m in the atmosphere. As the heat from the southern plains continues pressing north the jet stream will also be pushing north. Here's a diagram of the early week pattern this week.

May 3, 2014

Today the skies finally cleared up a bit and scattered cumulus clouds have moved in. Winds are northwest at 10 mph coming all the way from northern Canada's low pressure system in Hudson Bay. The polar jet has become very erradict, but it's still merging with the subtropic jet on the east coast still creating a lot of water vapor off the coast. Weather has been relatively nice because of this shift in the jet pattern. A long stationary front now sits west of us as you can see from the current surface map.The low that sat on top of us for almost a week has moved east bringing precipitation to the northeast coast. Barometric pressure has risen to 1010 mb because of the cold front that pushed through Wisconsin yesterday bringing high pressure. Temperature is currently 55 F while dew point is sitting at 29 F. This makes air stable with an LI of 10 and KI of 16 which means we won't be seeing any rain for a little while. That's all for now!

May 2, 2014

This weekend Texas and Oklahoma are expected to see some record highs as the jet stream shifts north. This will translate to warmer weather for the east and midwest by next week. The polar jet will hopefully straighten out by later this week, but currently it is forming a trough over the mid eastern United States as seen from this photo below.  This is still causing massive amounts of water vapor off the east coast as you can see by this water vapor map.

Meanwhile in the midwest we still have an overcast sky, and a chance for showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. This is from the approaching low pressure system that was situated North in Canada a these past couple days. The cold front is now pushing down where the trough in the jet stream is seen on the map. This is typical for this inverted omega blocking pattern and high pressure has formed on the outer edges of the polar jet stream as well with centers in New Orleans, Northern California, and New Mexico.

Current temperature is 48 F with dew point at 40 F. Winds are finally out of the west at 9 mph and barometric pressure is 1006 mb 3 less than yesterday. This is a sign of that low pressure moving in from the northwest. This low is also causing the wind to be from the west as it circulates clockwise.

May 1, 2014

Today winds are out of the northwest at 3 mph. High pressure systems are forming all around the omega blocking pattern from the Rockies down to Texas, and over to New Orleans. The low that was centered over us yesterday has moved to the tip of Michigan. Showers are still likely tomorrow as the low pressure system has left a dry line behind it. Temperature and dew point are still meeting each other 1000 meters in the air. Dew point has risen to 1009 mb, temperature is 45 F and dew point is 38 F. It's going to remain mostly cloudy tomorrow with isolated showers, and winds shifting from the west. It should start clearing up by Sunday with high pressure on the horizon. The jet stream is still merging with the subtropical jet stream, but its path has moved east of us which means less water vapor.

April 30, 2014

Today it looks like the low pressure center has become centered over Wisconsin. I was wrong forecasting it would move east because it actually moved north right into us. Winds however have shifted to a west north west source which is a sign of better weather on the horizon. Dew point is still matched with temperature until about 1600 meters into the atmosphere, but it lags behind the rest of the way to the tropopause. Water vapor is forming a wide coma shaped pattern around the great lakes which is probably where the rain is going to come from tomorrow and Friday. Below I have a picture describing this pattern. Barometric pressure is 1006 mb, but I still expect this to rise later this week. Besides weather in the Midwest we have a low pressure system making its way across the western United States. It seems very widespread because contour lines are very thick. I would expect this to move in once we get rid of this low pressure system.

April 29, 2014

Dew point and temperature are still very close, and winds are blowing from the east which means rain is going to continue for awhile longer. The low pressure system is now south of us, and winds are moving north. This means we're going to start to see a cease of rain by Thursday once winds start blowing from the west. Winds have already decreased to 7 mph which is another good sign of less rain.

Current temperature is 38 F due to cold air coming in from the north. Barometric pressure is 1005 mb, and should continue to rise as this low pressure system moves further away. Finally dew point is 36 F making it very easy for water vapor to condensate which is why we've seen rain all day, and probably throughout tomorrow as well. It should start to warm up by Thursday as wind direction changes, and the warm front moving through Michigan curves towards us. Here's a surface map of the ideas I've talked about.

April 28, 2014

Today temperature is 45 F with a dew point of 36 F. Winds are out of the east at 20 mph and barometric pressure is 1006 mb. Temperature and dew point remain almost neck and neck throughout most of the atmosphere up to about 1000 m. This is allowing water vapor to condensate very easily. The jet stream has curved immensely, and partly the reason for all these storms associated with low pressure this week.

On the outskirts of the jet pattern people are experiencing unseasonably warm weather for this time of year. They're also getting very dry air on the west coast partly because of this jet stream pattern pushing water vapor north.

The easterly win d pattern were seeing is because of the big low pressure system near Nebraska that is spinning surface wind patterns counter-clockwise towards us. Because of the two fronts being so close to each other were seeing some very strong storms that are going to last most of the week because of the jet stream pattern. Here's a look at the surface weather.

April 24, 2014

Today it rained most of the day, overnight we still have chance for more rain, and then fog in the morning. Since yesterday Pressure centers have appeared all over the Rockies and Dakotas. The closest pressure center to us is just south of us in Illinois. To the right of this center a warm front is pushing its way upward followed by another warm front. The air mass behind the first front is leaving a trail of storms that is fueling more storms to the second front.

Current temperature is 43 F with a dew point of 42 F. Barometric pressure has dropped because of the approaching low pressure and is now at 1006 mb. Wind speed is 7 mph out of the west which hopefully should stop precipitation for a little while. Water vapor is still very present in much of the Midwest and it looks like were going to be seeing more rain this weekend.

April 23, 2014

Today weather has started making a turn for the worse. This is all because of the omega block jet stream pattern I talked about yesterday. We got some rain in the afternoon that is persisting through the night and into tomorrow. Huge hot spots of water vapor are trailing from Texas to Nebraska and some may likely head our way.

A warm front is pushing its way through the great plains, but the interesting weather data I'm seeing is a strong pressure change from Wisconsin to the Dakotas. This is causing fast winds and unstable air. Winds are converging at the fronts and likely causing the rising air and water vapor to condensate and create storms.

Current temperature is 42 F and dew point is 39 F. This is allowing air to reach its LCL easily and condensate creating the rain we've been seeing tonight. Winds are out of the east at 7mph and finally barometric pressure is high at 1016 mb.

April 22, 2014

Next week it looks like we'll move into an omega block jet stream pattern. As we talked about in class the atmospheric jam brings prolonged cloudy, cool ,wet weather to areas beneath the storm part of the pattern and days of sunshine surrounding the storm. This pattern is common in April and May as the polar jet breaks off from the maritime jet.

Since the sun's radiant energy is fairly strong, the lower atmosphere can be warmed enough to produce gusty thunderstorms with hail. In areas from the Midwest to the South to along the Atlantic Seaboard, where the sun is out for a time on any day next week there will be a risk.

Current temperature is 55 F with dew point of 21 F. Winds are out of the northwest with gusts upto 23 mph. Barometric pressure is also high at 1018.3 mb. 

April 21, 2014

Today temperature was still warm, we had winds out of the northwest at 9 mph. Currently temperature is at 55 F with a dew point of 30 F. Barometric pressure is 1013 mb, which is still relatively high, but lower than yesterday. This is because of another high pressure center pushing south from Canada.

The jet stream is relatively strait, but a slight dip is appearing at the tip of lake Michigan. This is where the two low pressure focal points are currently located which makes sense they're on the leeward side of the dip. It looks like they will bring showers to much of the east coast by tomorrow. on the left side of the dip is the high pressure system that's pushing south. Here's a picture of the current surface map. If you look at the cold front dipping down the Midwest you'll see the relative path of the jet stream.

April 20, 2014

Today we saw a drastic warm up from previous temperatures this week. This was due to a lot of factors at play in the weather. For one we had high pressure with winds coming from the south. Temperatures exceeded Saturday's highs throughout most of the Midwest and Northeast. This was largely due to the warm front and warm air traveling upward form the gulf. Tomorrow is looking like a chance of showers as the storm system that was over the plains travels north. Warm air should stick around for awhile, but showers are likely even later this week as many potential storms are developing on the surface.

April 17, 2014

Tonight there's a low pressure system centered on the north part of Lake Michigan. Winds are out of the north because of this system at 5 mph. Current temperature is 37 F while dew point is at 26 F. Despite the placement of this low pressure barometric pressure is at 1026 mb. This is because of the high pressure that has pushed across the central United States that brought all that cold air earlier this week. There isn't much water vapor in the atmosphere, but by saturday we could see some precipitation as another low pressure system pushes across the upper midwest. This system is pressing forward on a warm front which will most likely cause some mixing air and convection that will lift water vapor to its condensation level. Here's a look at the current surface map.

April 16, 2014

Tonight there's a warm front pushing north through Wisconsin. The front is associated with a low pressure system that will make its way to Eau-Claire overnight. The system is going to bring some rain and possibly snow. Wind is blowing from the southeast and is going to shift west by tomorrow. Once again snow will focus in on the Duluth Superior range.

Current temperature is 40 F and dew point is 34 F. Barometric pressure is 1015 mb and is going to rise overnight and fall into thursday. Finally the jet stream has started straitening out which will help weather gradually warm up into the weekend.

April 14, 2014

Last night we got some snow, and today I've noticed a sharp temperature change from last week. Current temperature is 34 F while dewpoint is 9 F. Winds are out of the north at 15 mph which makes temperature feel like 24 F. Barometric pressure has continued to rise and it's now at 1016 mb. The polar jet has troughed down over the central United States making cold air easy to travel down. Skies are overcast which could help trap in some heat, but not much. Air has also become much drier compared to yesterday. Tomorrow we should see skies clear up which will allow for colder temperatures. The east coast is due for much colder temperatures after their weekend warmup as a cold front pushes eastward. Some parts are even going to see some snow. Here's a surface map of this pattern.

April 13, 2014

Today we've had overcast skies, and no precipitation as of yet. There is a 40% of rain for later this afternoon, but it's hard to say what this occluded front of low pressure will do. As far as I can tell this storm still has a lot of fuel, and it's comma shaped like a mid latitude cyclone. Fuel for the storm is being drawn up from the Gulf along with warm air.

Temperature is 46 F, dew point is 38 F, and humidity 73%. Winds have changed from east to northeast as expected and temperatures aren't nearly as high as last weeks highs. Barometric pressure is going up now and is 1010 mb. All this points to cooler temperatures on the horizon, but I don't mind because I don't have A/C! Here's a picture of the storm I'm talking about.

April 12, 2014

Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 40 F. Barometric pressure has fallen to 1007.5 mb since a low pressure system has emerged to our west. Severe weather is occuring in Michigan on side the warm front is pushing towards. Large ammounts of water vapor in the atmosphere are being recorded over lake Michigan, northern Michigan, and southern Wisconsin. We could start seeing some of the tomorrow if the warm front veers left.

After this relatively warm stretch of weather we've had were finally going to start seeing a cooldown by Monday. Temperatures will probably drop to the mid 40s for daytime highs. This is because of the cold front moving in and another deeper trough in the jet stream. Winds are out of the east at 12 mph, but should start shifting to the north by tomorrow. This is another factor playing into the colder temperatures we will see next week.

April 11, 2014

Right now the polar jet stream is slightly troughed over the great lakes. This is partly the reason the east coast is going to see an explosion of warm weather this weekend because it's on the upward side of the trough. Although were on the downward side of the trough and may see colder more unstable weather, we still have good weather conditions. Like I said the trough is only just forming.

Currently were in a high pressure system with a barometric pressure of 1014.7 mb. Winds are out of the west at 5 mph. Temperature is currently 60 F and dew point is 36 F. Clouds are forming at 3,500 m above the surface where temperature and dew point briefly meet. This is the only area where clouds are possible which is why the sky is almost entirely clear. Currently we have a cold front pushing down and a warm front pushing up which is going to make for some nasty weather. I'll post tomorrow on these weather patterns.

April 9, 2014

Today we have highs spread throughout the great plains generating southerly winds for us here in Wisconsin. Current temperature is 46 F and climbing with fairly calm winds at most going 5mph. We have some rain/ice/snow starting to form over the northern tip of Wisconsin. This is because a warm front just pushed by and now cold air is pushing in to take its place. Barometric pressure is 1013 mb, dewpoint is 27 F. We are forecasted for a high of 70 in Eau-Claire because of the combinations of high pressure, southerly winds from the Gulf, and a jet stream forming a trough from lake Ontario down to Florida. I will continue monitoring weather, but these next couple days are going to look ugly. Water vapor is rising as you can see from this image and it's coming towards us.

April 7, 2014

Today started out with overcast skies and rain, but it turned into a pretty nice day once the low pressure system moved by. Winds are now out of the northwest at 9mph, temperature is 50 F, and dewpoint is 36 F. Were going to start seeing a warming trend throughout the week as high pressure crosses the US. The surge of warmer air may cause overwhelming of streams and rivers. The risk increases where ground is saturated or rivers are already running high from recent rain.

April 2, 2014

Tonight the temperature is 39 F with a dewpoint of 21 F. Winds are out of the Northeast at 5 mph because of the high pressure system situated over the north tip of Michigan. We have some storm clouds in the middle of Minnesota right now that are producing snow, and were getting rain in southern and northern Wisconsin. The GOES satellite supports this with water vapor being mostly present in the middle of Minnesota and northern Minnesota. There is more water vapor in North Dakota that could lead to the forecast of snow on Friday. Weather forecasters are predicting a 100% chance of snow/sleet on Friday, but I can't pinpoint where it is coming from. Since the air is currently very stable with an LI of 18 and a KI of -2 it's not likely we will get any precipitation tonight or tomorrow morning. There are very long occluded fronts through the southeast that are going to make severe thunderstorms and a high risk for tornadoes, the first of the season. I will continue to watch this tomorrow and get a more accurate prediction of weather around the United States.

April 6, 2014

Today has been relatively nice. Current temperature is 60 F with winds out of the southwest at 9 mph. Barometric pressure is 1010 which I'd say is relatively high. The jet stream is making a steep trough through the middle of the US which is swooping back up and transporting this warm air as well. Air is still stable as it is most of the time around this area.

April 3, 2014

This morning we've had some sleet/rain mix falling and cloudy skies. Highs today are going to be near 37 F with an east wind at 10 - 15 mph. Accumulation will be less than a half inch today, but tomorrow we could see as much as 2 - 4 inches. What struck me the most when I first looked at the GOES satellite was the huge ammount of water vapor in the area of Illinois and states below the great lakes. Air has remained relatively stable since yesterday's reading. Much of the precipitation we'll see tomorrow will come from this vapor as winds continue shifting.

April 1, 2014

This morning we had mist that froze once it hit the ground which formed some slippery ice I noticed on the way down the hill. A low pressure system is centered just about us and now we're in the cold air mass. The polar jet stream has formed into another trough allowing for this cold air mass to form. The coldest regions ( in the middle of the cold air mass) are just to the north of North Dakota. Temperatures in North Dakota are very chilly today around 6 degrees while here in Wisconsin (on the edge of the cold air mass and high pressure) we're at 25 F.

The GOES satellite imagery is showing a comma shaped water vapor pattern that is curving up the east coast around the Great Lakes to Minnesota. Northeastern Minnesota is receiving a good amount of snow and is in a winter storm advisory because of this. Currently winds are 23 mph with gusts upto 32 mph out of the west. As this low continues to shift I would expect the wind direction to become more north or northwest. With the steep pressure gradient created by this low and the high pressure moving in winds have picked up from yesterday. Barometric pressure is slightly higher than yesterday at 1005 mb and I would expect it to continue rising. Below I have a picture of later week forecasts showing the this cold air mass pushing through while warm humid maritime gulf air pushes up creating snow and rain.

March 31, 2014

Tonight were almost directly in the center of a low pressure system with 996 mb pressure. Winds have picked up and are 13 mph out of the SE. Winds are still drawing air up from the gulf which has led to some warm temperature. Currently it's 53 F and mostly cloudy. This leads to more of the warm air being trapped on the surface because of the clouds. We also received some rain around 8 pm because dewpoint is 41 F. Further up the atmosphere were getting 2 layers of clouds as the dewpoint crosses with temperature. Air is becoming unstable with an LI of .6 and KI of 34. Most of the water vapor I talked about yesterday has shifted above the great lakes and has already passed by but were still going to have a chance of precipitation tomorrow as the low pressure churns it back down. Here's a look at current surface conditions that show some of these patterns I'm explaining.

March 30, 2014

Today has been partly cloudy with some cirrus, cumulocirrus, and stratus clouds in the sky. Temperature has been relatively warmer and right now it's 37 F. If you look at the winds you'll see were getting winds from the south with a source from the gulf. Were also getting a push of warm air from the low pressure systems warm front. As this low passes through tomorrow I would expect to see temperatures cool off as winds shift direction out of the east and another front moves in. Currently pressure is at 1012 mb, dew point is 38 F and winds are relatively calm.

March 27, 2014

Currently we have a low pressure system making its way by us. Warm air is coming up from the gulf and cold air is being brought down from the south. Winds are out of the North east at 6 mph and should start shifting to the west. This low has brought a lot of water vapor to the atmosphere as well. Dew point has reached temperature at about 700 ft according to the sound diagram so we have clouds forming at that level and they're precipitating. Temperature is 34 F and dewpoint is 32 F. Barometric pressure is 999 mb so we are still very much in this low, but as it passes by another system is moving in that's going to bring warm air this weekend.

March 26, 2014

It looks like well be experiencing snow around the Great Lakes region into the weekend as cold air continues to push southward from Canada. There won't be much accumulation because of the wet snow or rain/snow mix. However, enough may fall on the cold ground to create slippery roads which may be dangerous. Air is pushing up from the south and mixing with this cold air making for some of these snowy conditions. The speed of these winds are 13 mph and out of the SE with gusts upto 22 mph.

Barometric pressure is 1008 mb and with current surface conditions and contour lines pressure has a very high range around the midwest. A warm front is pushing up through Minnesota right now and it's currently snowing just above the state. The low that is apart of this warm front has a lot of water vapor in it based on the GOES satellite. Water vapor in the atmosphere is also very high over Minnesota and west of the state.

March 25, 2014

Yesterday we experienced an alberta clipper. Due to the sub polar jet we are going to have colder temperatures over the next few days. Snow storms are expected to hit the northeast as water vapor off the coast of South Carolina contribute to the low inland from it and head up the northern latitudes. Here in the midwest were also getting winds from the northwest around 10 mph that contribute to the cold weather. We might see a system currently over Oregon and Washington give us some precipitation later this week as the high pressure moves past us.

March 24, 2014

Today I could tell precipitation was on the way when I left for class at 12 because we had overcast darker skies. The high for today was at 31 F and winds are out of the west at 10 mph. I would expect winds to start shifting to a more northwestern wind as the pressure system shifts. Currently were in a high pressure trend at 1020 mb. I would expect this trend to stick around for a couple days since the next low pressure system moving in is stationary over the rockies right now. Other than that not much is going on in the U.S. besides a decent sized trough in the jet stream over the west coast that could make for some interesting storm development and wind patterns over there.

March 21, 2014

As I expected the jet stream has curved through the midwest allowing cold air to make its way down along with snow. Below I have a nice accuweather photo detailing the path of the jet stream and its relation to colder air. Despite having this cold front working its way down we are still getting a southerly wind at 9 mph which should start shifting later this weekend to a more north west wind. I say this because of the direction the cold front is pushing towards as you can see from the current surface map.

You can also see from this map that were still in a low pressure system which is partly why were getting 1-3 inches of snow here in Hayward right now. Temperature is 34 F and dew point is at 28 F. The Unisys sound diagram is reporting LI at 10 and KI at 2 which means air is still relatively stable. My forecast for the next few days would be to see colder temperatures and no precipitation because of the high pressure.

March 20, 2014

Right now in Hayward it's 15 F with scattered clouds. Winds are calm out of the west and barometric pressure is 1016 mb. Most weather forecasters are talking about the return of the cold air this weekend. We have a system building up in the north and that's going to make its way down by the end of the weekend. I would expect to see another trough in the jet stream that will make this weather possible.

March 18, 2014

Today in Hayward, Wisconsin we started getting snow around 3 am this morning. We have a span of storm clouds that is coming across the upper portions of Wisconsin and lower parts of Minnesota. Wind direction has shifted to a more calm easterly wind. Pressure is currently 1010.2 mb which is leaning towards the low side. This could be why we are getting atmospheric lifting and precipitating clouds. What amazes me is how localized the storm is. If you would drive 2 hours down to Eau-Claire you would see the sun and much nicer weather. Here is a picture of the current surface map that will show you this thin stretch of clouds.

March 17, 2014

Today we have an overcast sky, and snow falling throughout most of the day. Right now it's 24 F and dewpoint is 17 F. We have an occluded front just west of us in Minnesota that's part of the reason were getting this snow. Warm and cold air is mixing and winds are out of the southeast at 14 mph. Humidity is also very high at 75% while barometric pressure is 1006.3 mb. This kind of pressure is relatively between a usual high and low so were in a transitioning period. Another big low pressure system is following behind the current one in Minnesota and it appears to be much larger. This is why I would expect pressure to continue falling because the low west of us will press east. The system is also dealing with a lot of water vapor so I would expect precipitation the next couple of days.

March 14, 2014

Hello again blogger! I've been really busy with tests the past two days. Since I last posted the air has gotten increasingly less stable. It is now down to an LI of 8.1 which is still stable but quite a difference from 20. Today was mostly cloudy with a low around 17 F. Winds are out of the northwest at 10 - 15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph. Despite almost overcast skies water vapor is actually pretty dry according to the GOES satellite.

Were in a low pressure system that is centered just northwest of the great lakes which is why winds are circulating counterclockwise down towards us. The low is pushing colder air down through the midwest while warm air is being pushed up on the other side of the low. The center is making some precipitating clouds, but it doesn't look like they'l be reaching us based on the wind. We also have a warm front pushing towards us and just east of the rockies.

March 11, 2014

Tonight we have a big cold front moving in that's going to bring some colder air and higher pressure. The low pressure system I was following yesterday veered south because of this high pressure wind from the north.  Skies are now clear and we don't have that blanket of clouds trapping in heat. Surprisingly it's still 39 F, but dew point has dropped to 22 F and humidity is 49%. Air is still becoming increasingly unstable, but now I would expect this trend to shift with the high pressure system moving in. Just south of us in Illinois they are getting some rain and snow as the low pressure passes through. I would say we still have a chance for precipitation tomorrow because the low pressure system is churning counter-clockwise and pushing warm air up. With this cold air colliding with the warm air pushing up there is a good chance we could see some precipitation. Here is a picture of what I'm talking about.

March 10, 2014

The Minneapolis, MN sound diagram shows the LI continuing to drop into less stable air. It is currently at 15 and the trend seems to be downward. Right now it's 41 F with winds out of the west but very calm. Winds will start shifting to be from the north as another low pressure system approaches from the west. The GOES satellite is showing a lot of cloud coverage over most of the midwest as well as water vapor especially in the Dakotas. Below is an infrared image of this coverage I'm talking about, and why it will be mostly cloudy into tomorrow with a west northwest wind direction. There is a good chance we will see some precipitation tomorrow with the low pressure and increasingly unstable air. Dew point is at 33 F and with a high of 36 F tomorrow we could see lifting air condense and precipitate depending on how dense it gets.

March 9, 2014

Tonight's low will be around 30 F which is amazing! We're starting to get a lot more water vapor in the atmosphere especially in South Dakota. Wind is blowing out of the west so we have a good chance for rain/snow as the wind blows this vapor in. Air pressure has gone down quite a bit as well as the LI. Dew point has risen to 32 F and temperature is currently 39 F. All of these patterns are telling me we're going to have a good chance of precipitation by tomorrow. Here is a picture of the water vapor map I was talking about.

March 8, 2014

Today was a very nice warmer day in Eau-Claire. Were in a nice high pressure system that's keeping most of the wind localized. Colder air isn't being blown down and now they're just coming from the west at 5 miles per hour with gusts at 9.8 miles per hour. By tonight I would suspect them to become more southerly because the high pressure should move south as the low pressure system below it pushes on towards the southern United States. Because of the high pressure we have very little clouds, I would say one tenth of the sky is covered so we have scattered clouds.

There isn't much water vapor in the atmosphere according to the GOES satellite. This is probably due to how stable the air is with an LI of 24.5. Temperature is also way above dew point at 32 F and 16 F respectively.

March 6, 2014

Knowing what we know about clouds after today's lecture I would like to describe the cloud types I saw in the sky walking to class just now. We only had about 1/10 of the sky covered with clouds so coverage is considered scattered. The clouds that were in the sky were wispy and cirrus-like, but they also had some lumpiness to them. Because of this I would consider them cirrocumulus. We also had some cirrostratus in other parts of the sky. Because of this most of the clouds must have consisted of ice crystals or cooled water vapor.

Besides clouds we have wind blowing right now out of the south at 5 miles per hour with gusts up to 10 miles per hour. Pressure is still fairly high, but we have a steep pressure gradient from here to just west of the Dakotas as a low pressure system makes it's way in. The bottom end of this low pressure is a warm front that will be swirling counter clockwise up towards us which is where the forecast for a warm up probably came from. Here is a picture of what I'm talking about.



The jet stream is making a steep trough south of the great lakes all the way to the gulf which is keeping most of the colder air north of us from making its way down. The low pressure system working its way in is bringing a lot of water vapor according to the GOES satellite imagery and caused some scary avalanche warnings over the Sierra and Cascade mountains because of heavy snow building over the less dense snow they've been receiving. Here's a good picture from accuweather.com describing the mountain avalanche factors that are going on right now.

March 5, 2014

We have a high pressure system above the great lakes that's making wind blow out of the south east at 3 mph. We are mostly in this high pressure system as well because the isobars are very widespread for the first two and they start getting very thin as we move towards the western United States as you can see from this surface map. Wind is still very stable with an LI of 22 and KI of 3. It's definitely looking like we won't see precipitation for a few more days with an air parcel like this. Temperature is 10 F and dew point is 0 F which adds to there being no precipitation.

March 4, 2014

Tonight we have winds coming from the north, but they are very calm. We have a large high pressure system above us that's pushing down this air. Temperature is 14.2 F while dew point is at 6 F. We have quite a bit of water vapor above Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the lower portions of these states are getting some snow. The center of the low pressure system I've been tracking is in northern Kansas on some occluded fronts that are making for some interesting weather in the Rockies. The Minneapolis sound diagram is showing an LI of 26 and a KI of 1 which is very stable which is why we won't be receiving much if any precipitation. Here is the sound diagram for this Tuesday.

March 3, 2014

This afternoon we had some snow showers that lasted for a few hours. We didn't get much out of it, but I would contribute it to the irregular wind direction and air temperatures. Right now we have a high pressure system just below Michigan that is churning air up towards us from the south east. This is going to cause above normal temperatures for the next week. Dew point is also very close to air temperature which are 2 F and 9 F respectively. This helped increase the condensation level and the formation of clouds in our atmosphere this afternoon which lead to some snowfall.

March 2, 2014

Today's Sunday weather isn't very exciting. The cold front is pushing its way south, and areas around Tennessee are getting everything from snow to heavy rain. This is because of the mixing of different air parcels in the atmosphere. Here in Eau-Claire it's -8 F with winds out of the west  at 3 miles per hour. Were in a high pressure system and have had clear skies for most of the day. We have some low pressure systems caught in the Rocky Mountains right now that are pushing their way towards us on an occluded front. We should see the effects of this later this week with precipitation and cloud cover as it warms up.

March 1, 2014

Today marks the first day of the meteorlogical spring, but it sure doesn't feel like it as much of northern Wisconsin is under wind chill advisories. This is because winds are coming out of the north bringing colder air. Temperature is 14 F and dew point is 7 F. Skies are overcast and humidity is 70%. This was interesting because we have a stream of water vapor stretching from Texas to the great lakes. This was really interesting because it looks like it's being carried north from the equator which makes sense because more evaporation is occuring. Here is the geostationary satellite showing the effect i'm talking about.

February 28, 2014

It appears the high pressure system left a lot sooner then I thought it would. We now have an occluded front just west of us coming through Minnesota. This weak clipper system is drawing warm air from the south which is making for above zero temperatures. We're going to be getting about 1 to 3 inches. Winds are out of the southwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour. Right now temperature is 9 F, and dew point is 2 F. I would expect in these next couple days that it's going to get colder and drier as atmospheric pressure and wind direction shifts.

February 27, 2014

Pressure has continued to climb since yesterday and now Wisconsin is in the center of a big low pressure system. We won't be seeing any storms because of the high LI. We also will have little to no cloud cover for tomorrow i'm guessing. Right now it's -15.2 F, and I would expect it to get even colder tomorrow. I'm basing this on the fact that we have no warm air coming from the south and most of the wind is moving outward from Wisconsin. This will make for dry conditions as well as much of the moisture drifts away from our surrounding atmosphere. The GOES water vapor map agrees with this hypothesis. Finally we have little to no wind as I said earlier because the high pressure is so widespread.

February 26, 2014

Today I walked outside to an overcast sky and very high winds. I almost lost my pizza from Davies to Phillips because of the wind. Wunderground is recording a steady 6 mph from the southwest, and gusts are reaching 17.4 mph. This makes sense because the surface map has short isobars over Wisconsin. We have a low pressure system churning in Canada just above lake superior. Part of it is pushing a cold front down on us. Temperature is 15 F and dewpoint is 4 F.

February 25, 2014

In Eau-Claire it's -2 degrees F with windchill it feels like - 11 F. We have a polar vortex that's bringing down cold air and a high pressure system over Montana. The stationary front over the Rockies is acting as a dam for the cold air as you can see from the front following the mountains perfectly. The jet stream is forming a sort of trough, but it's not very deep. Deeper troughs create steeper pressure gradients which means higher winds. The sub tropic jet is bringing warm, moist air to southern California which is in desperate need. Air isn't very saturated in the Midwest because of the difference in temperature and dew point. The KI index is -27 which means we won't be having any storms. The air is going to stay very stable and dry for now.

February 23, 2014

Today we have cold air blowing in from the west again. Were still caught in a high pressure system, and aren't really on any fronts at the moment. According to wunderground.com wind is 7.6 miles per hour out of the southwest. It's more southerly because the wind is curving as it goes south. The atmosphere is still pretty dry but we have some vapor building in Canada. It looks like we have a big storm building off the Gulf of Mexico close to Florida so I would expect they're seeing some rain now. Nothing really interesting is going on with our weather right now, but I will keep you posted as weather continues to change.

February 22, 2014

Today we have clear skies and winds out of the west at 2 mph. Were caught in a high pressure trend, and it doesn't look like it's leaving anytime soon. It's cool to look at this low pressure system by Hudson bay right now because it's such a pressure change from Eau-Claire. The isobar ranges are very small so there must be a lot of wind too. It feels pretty cold out right now because were getting that cold air from the north now. Temperature is 22 F and dew point is 11 F. I'm also surprised how dry it is in the atmosphere since that storm passed by.

February 20, 2014

Right now it's cloudy and snowing with a dew point of 32 F. Temperature is 33 F and humidity is at 97%. The wind pattern is very interesting, we have warm air from the golf circling up through the great lakes which is cooling it and bringing it back down into Wisconsin. We also have some colder air blowing from the north that's meeting this warm air. We are in the center of this storm system right now, and it looks like tomorrow we might get even more snow as the warm front continues to push up through the eastern states and the cold air continues pushing down from Canada. The mid-latitude cyclone doesn't look like it's going anywhere any time soon as you can see from this surface map.

February 19, 2014

Right now we have a warm front swooping through that's leaving a mix of snow and rain because of the warm air churning up from the high pressure system in West Virginia. There is also a lot of water vapor from these converging pressure systems surrounding us as you can see from this map.












The low pressure clipper coming in from the north should start hitting early Thursday morning with some light snow, but the biggest storm will hit Saturday as the pressure system north of Texas shifts Northeast and converges with the clipper.

Right now it's 36 F and partially cloudy. Dew point is 30 F, just below our temperature so we won't have much precipitation yet. Winds are also continuing to blow out of the South at around 2.2 mph.

February 18, 2014

Wisconsin is currently in the center of a large low pressure system that has made for some above normal temperature today. Winds are coming out of the south and should start shifting to an east/northeast wind by Thursday or Friday. We have another big low pressure system just south of the Hudson bay that's sucking up all this warm air blowing in from the warm Gulf of Mexico. This is going to make for another clash that will push up warm air and form percipitating clouds. Today we had some scattered clouds left over from the last snow storm that's still caught in the upper atmosphere. It currently feels like 35 F with a dew point of 24 F.

February 17, 2014

It looks like were going to be experiencing above average temperature area wide through the end of the week. A major storm is on its way to the Midwest that's going to bring everything from heavy snow up in Wisconsin to flooding rain in Illinois. As always, it's really going to depend on the specific track of the system to understand who gets what but here's a general outline.



It's going to be a clash of winter and spring as warm air pushes up and cold air pushes down. Today we had a low pressure system pass through bringing heavy snowfall at times throughout most of the day. It was also cloudy almost all day as snow fell. Right now it's 22 F, and tomorrow it's really going to warm up to almost 39 F. Winds are calm coming out of the South East at .7 mph. I think the main reason for this warm up is that wind direction and the fact that the two big high pressure systems have moved south and paved the way for the next few days for low pressure to settle in.

February 16, 2014

Right now we have sunny clear skies and temperature at 24 F. Wind is coming at 2.2 mph from ESE. We have a pretty big high pressure system over us and another big high pressure system center north of us. Currently the barometer reads 1021.66 mb. We have a low pressure system moving over the rockies that's going to bring in some warm air. The pressure difference between these two systems is making for some very strong winds in the Dakotas. As this system moves in from the west I'm sure we're going to see some snow, and in fact we have a 100% chance of precipitation on Monday. The stationary front is generating most of this precipitation.

February 15, 2014

Today were getting some light snow and a bit of fog. Were currently in a low pressure system that is pushing warm air up from the south and mixing with cold air from the north as it swirls around. Right now were at 17 F and it feels like 22 F. This is because of the warm air pushing in from the south. The next few days it's going to continue to warm up as another low pressure system pushes up. Thats all for tonight have a good weekend!

February 14, 2014

Currently we have a high pressure system centered in the lower minnesotas that is making for colder air and mostly clear skies. We also have some warm air pushing across the Dakotas right now that we'll feel by next week. Right now it's 11 F, but it feels like 1 F. By tomorrow, and into Sunday we're going to start feeling that warming trend with highs reaching the low 20s. Right now we have winds out of the North, but it's very calm since the high pressure is spread so widely.

February 13, 2014

Today has been mostly cloudy with on and off snowfall as this Alberta Clipper passes through. We can expect skies to clear up tomorrow as cold air pushes its way down from the south with another high pressure system. Right now it's 21 F, but like I said we have cold air moving in so I wouldn't expect to see any highs near 21. Winds are coming out of the southwest right now at 4.5 mph. I would expect the wind to shift to a more westerly/north westerly wind by tomorrow as the low pressure system moves out of Wisconsin. Currently it's hovering over northern Wisconsin and moving east. Here is a picture of weather predictions on the east coast for the weekend. In a previous post I mentioned this storm, and it doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon as the low pressure we experienced moves towards this.

February 12, 2014

So I know I said a low pressure system was moving its way in from the west. It still is, but we currently have a small high pressure system that should move its way out by tomorrow. The low pressure system is going to bring snow and warmer weather as we climb into 22 F for a high today. The jet stream is still bringing us air from the north, but it's bending along the cold front and making it come from the west at 4mph. Today it's going to be mostly cloudy, a sign that the low pressure is making its way here, and snow should be here by later today and tomorrow.

February 11, 2014

As barometric pressure continues to climb at our met station in Eau-Claire we can expect to see more dry cold air. Currently barometric pressure is still rising rapidly and was last recorded at 1019.75 mb. We still have that jet stream pushing cold air down to us from the north. This makes the wind westerly at about 4mph. I would expect wind to start picking up as this low pressure system in the west starts moving in. There is also a warm front in the Dakotas right now which is going to bring in some warmer air hopefully. Weather predictions on Thursday looks like were going to have highs in the 30s!

February 10, 2014

Today I did exercise 1 so I will have a bit more information. We didn't have much precipitation today and that's because of this large high pressure system that's now just below Wisconsin. We have a jet stream that is bringing in cold air from the north which is why it's currently -9 F.


Barometric pressure is continuing to rise so we will continue to not see any snow untill this system moves out. This also means that cold dry air might stick around a little bit longer.



Winds will also remain pretty calm since the barometric pressure is dispersed quite a bit as you can see by the range of the isobars in this surface map.

February 9, 2014

Tonight is going to be a little bit more chilly with lows at -17 degrees Farenheit. As you can see from this surface map we have a long stationary front and one of those rare occluded fronts on the east coast. It's looking like we're going to be stuck in this high pressure system for a little while. The low pressure above Illinois is going to keep moving east bringing snow to the east coast. Winds are coming out of the south west at 5.4 miles per hour.

February 8, 2014

Today we had that low pressure system that was out west move to a position below Wisconsin. This system brought some moisture to the area south of us, but we remained dry. We had mostly sunny skies today with highs in the two digits throughout most of the state. However locations nearby are getting some snow. Winds are out of the Southwest at 3mph making windchill 9 degrees Farenheit. Lows tonight are expected to reach -4 degrees Farenheit.

February 6, 2014

The high pressure system I talked about yesterday is still west south-west of us and working its way south-east. On the west coast we have a low pressure system working its way in that could be here by this weekend which would generate some snow. Right now it's -12 degrees Farenheit outside, but with windchill it feels like -17. Winds are still out of the west, but now are at 10-15 mph which is making the air feel even colder. Pressure is relatively the same at 30.36 in., but i'm guessing the pressure ranges are shrinking making for some of these stronger winds we're seeing. Here is a surface map of the high pressure system I was just stalking about. As you can see we also have very little going on as far as precipitation.

February 5, 2014

Today we had a few clouds in the sky but not to many. These are because of the low pressure system below us. The high pressure system I talked about yesterday looks like it is moving from west of us to south of us. This is going to start making the wind come in from the west with that cold dry air. Right now the wind is very calm. Pressure hasn't really changed much and is currently at around 30 in. This means we've been stuck in an isobar range for a few days. Temperature is currently 2.7 degrees Farenheit, and will get down to -10 degrees. There is also a windchill advisory tonight from midnight to 11 am.

February 4, 2014

Today we had an overcast sky, but the sun did come out later in the afternoon. Temperature remained mostly in the single digits as more cold air comes blowing in from the north at 4 mph. There is a big snow storm to the south of us in parts of northern Wisconsin, but mostly in the central plains. There is also a high pressure system lingering to the west of us which should make the winds start blowing from the west in a few days.

February 2, 2014

Yesterday we had partly cloudy skies with wind coming WSW at 13 mph. Without much cloud cover, and the fact that the polar vortex is moving its way back south to us things are pretty chilly. The low last night was -12, but it looks like things are going to be warming up by the end of the week. It looks like the high pressure system is moving south, but were still caught in that cold air as the wind carries it up to us. It looks like were caught in between two systems so it's going to be interesting to see what happens.

February 1, 2014

Today, it has been mostly clear skies and temperature has hovered around 10 degrees Farenheit most of the day. Right now it's 8 degrees Farenheit which will drop down to -10 tonight. Pressure has remained about the same since yesterday and the wind is very calm since most of Wisconsin is in one isobar range.

January 31, 2014

Our weather for today is going to be a little more chilly then yesterday. The wind has shifted from a southerly to a more westerly wind with gusts up to 9 mph. This makes it feel even colder out with wind chills around -14 degrees Farenheit. Temperature in Eau-Claire is around 0 right now and is expected to climb to 7 by the afternoon and then drop back down tonight to a low around -6. Pressure has also risen since yesterday as the high pressure system moves through the Midwest which brought us snow yesterday. Now that were heading into February and temperatures tend to trend upward I think we're going to see less and less of these Alberta Clipper storms.

January 30, 2014

I walked outside this morning on my way to Geography and it was very dark and cloudy out. There wasn't any snow coming down yet, but it should be here soon if it hasn't already since I walked in Phillips. Pressure continues to drop, now down to 29.51 in. Right now were at a pleasant 26 degrees Farenheit with no wind chill. As you can imagine it felt surprisingly good after the weather we went through at the beginning of the week. Forecasts will remain above zero during the day for the rest of this week into Monday which is also a good thing to hear. Here's a look at what's happening in the midwest with winter storm maximus. The storm will bring much needed precipitation to many of the drought-suffering locations of the west.

January 29, 2014

Right now it's sunny and 12 degrees farenheit. Today it is expected to get up into the low/mid twenties for a high.With the low pressure system moving in we can expect to see some snow here by tonight or tomorrow. Wind is now out of the South South West at three miles per hour. Barometric pressure has already begun dropping from yesterday and is now at 29.98 in.

January 28, 2014

Today we had clear skies and very chilly air temperatures. However as the low pressure system moves past us we can expect much warmer weather for tomorrow. Pressure right now is at 30.12 in. which we can expect to decrease by tomorrow. Wind is currently coming from the west south west at 1.6 miles per hour. Tomorrow it's shifting to a more southerly wind so we can expect that will add to the warmer weather. Wind speed is also going to increase to around 20 miles per hour. All in all it's going to feel much better tomorrow!

January 27, 2014

As expected today is very cold at -13 degrees Farenheit this morning. To add to the cold we have clear skies and winds out of the North West at 12-16 mph. Weather advisories warn us to limit our outside exposure because of these dangerous windchills on top of the already low air temperature. Climatologically speaking this air couldn't have arrived at a worse time with January being one of the coldest months of the year now that we've passed the winter solstice. Here I have a picture of the windchill for Monday to go along with the air temperature lows I posted on Friday. As you can see it makes sense we have these winter adviseries, and a lot of schools near us are cancelled.

January 26, 2014

Today has been mostly sunny with some clouds sparsed through the sky. Wind appears to be coming out of the west/northwest as the arctic blast moves in. Outside now it is 15 degrees Farenheit, but it is going to be much colder tonight. There isn't any snow percipitation at the moment, but there may be a chance later tonight. I know a lot of places canceling school tomorrow, but luckily we'll still be able to make it to class here at Eau-Claire!

January 24, 2014

Today wasn't as cold as yesterday, however it did start snowing in the afternoon. When I got it in the car at 5 it was 23 degrees Farenheit. The forecast predicted the snow to stop around 6:30 pm. It deffinately seemed like it was dying out when I went outside. The good thing about tonight is it looks like it will stay above 0. As you can imagine the we had cloud cover for most of the day, the clouds really didn't take much shape, it just looked like a gray sheet in the sky. It looks like this rise in air temperature won't last for long as the arctic surge continues into next week as you can see by this image.

January 23, 2014

It's a good day to start out my first weather post. Last night the wind was howling and it was hard to sleep. When I woke up I checked the news and most of northern Wisconsin was below negative 20. When I stepped outside there was some cloud cover but the sun was breaking through. It's deffinately a hat and gloves day for Eau-Claire. As I continue posting I hope I can be more descriptive with the wind, I know there was some this morning and it made being outside that more more difficult because i believe it is coming from the North with the polar vortex.