Friday, January 31, 2014

Sunny with a chance of cold

Current Conditions 5:10 PM
Temperature - 5.2°F
Feels Like - 5°F
Dew point - -5°F
Relative humidity - 61%
Wind direction - SW
Wind speed - 0 mph
Barometric pressure - 1020.7 hPa and Falling Slowly
Cloud cover - Sunny

Current conditions curtesy of Weatherunderground

Today is definietly colder than yesterday but I was correst in my prediction for today and I'm going to stick with it being cold like this for the rest of the weekend but with slightly increasing winds each day. This high pressure system looks like it'll be sticking around for a few days but then I'm anticipating it warming up. Below is the stock map I've been presenting to you each day. Notice the fairly stable temperatures in the region with ever so slightly higher temps in Minnesota.

Weatherunderground
Not only are temps low across the area but winds are also under 10mph at every station reporting on the map. I'm including two wind maps below of the U. S. the first one showing surface wind direction and the second showing where the jet-stream lies in the atmosphere and how it's pushing the high pressure front from West to East.
Both images from http://earth.nullschool.net/
 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Snow more cold

Current Conditions 1:00 PM
Temperature - 24.7°F
Feels Like - 25°F
Dew point - 22°F
Relative humidity - 89%
Wind direction - NEN
Wind speed - 2 mph
Barometric pressure - 999.3 hPa and Steady
Cloud cover - Mostly sunny with a few clouds

Current conditions curtesy of Weatherunderground

It has definitely warmed up outside enough to the point where nature decides it's time to snow again but not enough to melt the previous layers of snow. Snow began to fall last night and will most likely continue for most of today already culminating in a few inches. This is due to the low pressure system which has moved in pushing away the cold air but don't fret if you miss the cold already, it'll be back within a few days but not nearly as bad as it was. Another factor affecting the snow is the relatively high dew point. Since the dew point is close to the actual temperature it is easier for precipitation to form.
Wunderground
It's easy to see in the map above that there appears to be no more snow falling in our area but that of course is incorrect. If I were to step outside I would quickly be covered in a fresh layer of snow. The most useful part of this map is the wind direction and temperature readings. As this low pressure system moves across Minnesota and Wisconsin colder temperatures will be moving in as yet another high pressure system moves in but this time the temps shouldn't be as bad as a few days ago.

The following images show the Chippewa Valley region of Wisconsin which is where UWEC is located. The first image is "natural look" view from the LANDSAT 8 satellite. This image shows approximately what you would see if you were flying over the land. The next image may be a little odd for most of you but don't worry the ground isn't on fire. This kind of image shows the infrared energy being absorbed by features on the ground. Healthy green vegetation appears as red in this image and snow and ice is white. It's interesting to see in this image how there's still a lot of green vegetation in the valley primarily around the Eau Claire River as it flows into Lake Altoona. These images were taken at the exact same time on the 15th of January and even though they are 15 days old they are still an accurate indicator of what is really going on around us.




This is beginning to become a long post so I'll try to wrap it up. For the rest of the week I predict low winds and colder temperatures but still above 0 with snow lingering into tonight but stopping before tomorrow.

I am apparently not the only person named Drew who reports on the weather in Eau Claire, WI, there is a weather man who reports for WEAU 13 named Drew who you can follow @WeathermanDrew. Be sure you tell him Drew sent you.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

It's a scorcher out there!

Current Conditions
Temperature - 21.6°F
Feels Like - 22°F
Dew point - 9°F
Relative humidity - 58%
Wind direction - SE
Wind speed - 2 mph
Barometric pressure - 1006.9 hPa and Falling Rapidly
Cloud cover - Mostly sunny with a few clouds

Today was definitely much nicer than the last two days but that isn't hard to say considering almost anything is nicer than that stretch of cold we had here. Looking outside you would have to really look for clouds but as the day went on more clouds started to roll in beginning to trap the infrared radiation. The wind was a little bit higher today making it feel like it was colder than it was but all in all it was a fairly average January day which is a nice change from abnormal weather.

Below is a map depicting wind direction and speed with temperatures for the stations. This is the same map as yesterday just with values for today.
Weather Underground
 Wind for the most part is coming out of the South which typically means warmer weather and is certainly true in today's case.

With the barometric pressure continuing to fall I suspect it is only a matter of time before snow starts falling especially since more clouds have moved into the area. For tomorrow I predict low winds from the South and temps in the teens to low twenties.

Unfortunately for everyone no one bothered to say that my prediction for today was incorrect so I'll make the same bet. If by the time I make a post tomorrow the temperature is not within 5 degrees on 20 I will do something "special". See you next time and maybe someone will decide to call me out on this.



Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Yep, still cold

Current ConditionsTemperature - -3.8°F
Feels Like - -13°F
Dew point - -13°F
Relative humidity - 63%
Wind direction - W
Wind speed - 4 mph
Barometric pressure - 1026.5 hPa and Falling Rapidly
Cloud cover - Mostly sunny with a few clouds

Current conditions curtesy of Weatherunderground

My forecast today being as general as it was turned out to be correct in that it is slightly warmer with clear skies sans a few clouds.The wind is still coming from the West which is easily explained by the polar vortex which is still hitting us hard here in Eau Claire, WI. Many students are upset that the university did not cancel classes due to the weather but if they look at the weather conditions I posted above they would see that it's actually a fair amount warmer given the circumstances.

The map below shows present wind data and also the temperature of the wind at 250hPa
Curtesy of Earth.Nullschool.net
It's a little hard to see the land boundaries but I added some place names to help show where the wind is. Another map provided below shows wind direction as well as degrees Fahrenheit for those stations.
Weatherunderground

Temperatures across the state have risen considerably from yesterday but still many locations are not above 0°F. With the wind coming from the West I am predicting that the temps across the state will rise above 0°F and no students will complain about it being too cold! With the dropping barometric we can also expect some snow or other form of season appropriate inclement weather. I'm going to guess that the temperature for Eau Claire at one of the stations will be 10°F and if I'm wrong and called out on it I will do something special. Come back tomorrow to see if I'm right!

Monday, January 27, 2014

1/27

Current ConditionsTemperature - -11.6°F
Feels Like - -32.8°F
Dew point - -26.1°F
Relative humidity - 47%
Wind direction - W
Wind speed - 12 mph
Barometric pressure - 30.4 in Hg and Rising Slowly
Cloud cover - clear

Welcome to Wisconsin where the cheese flows like water and where going outside requires two jackets. My name is Drew and I will be reporting the weather (hopefully) on a daily basis to keep you uptodate with what's going on in the world outside of your home.

Today is going to be another bone freezing day just like many before it. If you are planning on doing anything outside expet to get frost bite on any uncovered body parts in a matter of minutes. Looking at the map below you can see that the polar vortex over Canada is just hitting Wisconsin and surrounding states which is the cause for the extreme cold we've been experiencing.
 
A polar vortex can be defined as  a persistent, large-scale cyclone located near either of the planet's geographical poles. Typically these vortexes stay around the poles but when this one has weakened and moved south to cover much of Canada and the United States. NPR had a great story on this and why it's affecting us. I'm not sure when this thing will move on and give us back our positive degree days but for all of our sake I hope it's soon. Tomorrow I'm expecting more of the same with some slightly warmer temps.