It's nicer here than it was in Louisville last week

Current Conditions 12:45PM
Temperature - 45°F   
Feels Like - 40°F   
Dew point - 35°F   
Relative humidity - 68%  
Wind direction - E
Wind speed - 9 mph 
Barometric pressure - 1005.2 mb
Sky conditions - Overcast
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

I apologize for the lapse in my postings but I wasn't able to keep up because I was presenting research at the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) annual conference last week in Louisville, KY. 

Today is one of the nicest days of the year and it is mostly due to the Earth's tilt allowing for the northern hemisphere to receive a lot more energy from the sun which has been melting the snow and unfreezing lakes and rivers. Today we have a Easternly wind which is actually part of a low pressure system. This center of this system is located in the central plains and is drawing up a lot of warm air and moisture from the Caribbean.  

The image above shows how much area this low pressure system covers. Expect for showers later today and into tomorrow. The temps should increase and the winds will also see an increase as this system moves east. Once this system moves on there should be a slight cool down but only for a day or two then temps should go back up. 

Ice cold, but not too bad

Current Conditions 9:25 PM
Temperature - 16°F   
Feels Like - 15°F   
Dew point - 4°F   
Relative humidity - 59%  
Wind direction - N
Wind speed - 0 mph
Barometric pressure - 1020.7mb
Sky conditions - Partly Cloudy
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

For as cold as it was today it sure felt warmer. With the high pressure dome now over the region there was little cloud cover. A few cirrus clouds were present early today but quickly burned off. Some students were still wearing just sweatshirts but I decided to put my jacket back on.

A stationary front will be pushing through tomorrow which will help drive up temps just slightly. Also expect the winds to increase. Throughout the day they were fairly calm not getting above 5 mph. Tomorrow expect winds around 10mph. The pressure should drop a little but not much. I would still suggest wearing a winter coat.

Can't wait for the snow to melt

Current Conditions 7:45 PM
Temperature - 39°F   
Feels Like - 35°F   
Dew point - 20°F   
Relative humidity - 46%  
Wind direction - NW
Wind speed - 6 mph   
Barometric pressure - 1011.8 mb rising slightly
Sky conditions - Partly Cloudy
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

Stratocumulous clouds dominated the sky today over Eau Claire. The presence of clouds is mostly result of the amount of snow that has melted from the quick warm up.  There should be a bit of a cool down tomorrow because of the NW winds but I'm sure most people around here will forget that and will still be out in spring wear. The campus here has been overrun by puddles and small streams that have developed from the large amounts of snow that has melted. The lower temps today are indicative of a warm pressure dome moving in. 

The NW winds are bringing down the cool Canadian air but with the pacific jet stream being in its current position we should only have cool air for a day or two before temps start to reach the levels they were today and yesterday. For tomorrow look for clear skies or if there are clouds they should be cirrus clouds. As the low pressure is moved out by the high pressure winds should increase into the teens for parts of the day. The temp may get below freezing but it won't be below 0 degrees. And I mean Fahrenheit not Celsius.

Sunny Skies and Warm Air

Current Conditions 6:45 PM
Temperature - 47°F   
Feels Like - 43°F   
Dew point - 32°F   
Relative humidity - 56%  
Wind direction - W
Wind speed - 8 mph   
Barometric pressure - 1003.4 mb
Sky conditions - Partly Cloudy
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

Lot of sunshine today and many people out in shorts enjoying the warm temps. We are currently experiencing a large amount of low pressure which is being accompanied with a very favorable jet stream for warm temps. The cirrus clouds in the sky tell me that the temps are going to stick around for more than just one day. Cloud cover stayed constant all day and winds were gentle but added a little chill to the day. 

For tomorrow expect the low pressure to stick around as the jet stream should continue to bring in warm Pacific air. Winds might be a little higher but nothing too intense. A hat might be required. 

I think Winter might be over...

Current Conditions 10:40 PM
Temperature - 30°F   
Feels Like - 21°F   
Dew point - 26°F   
Relative humidity - 85%  
Wind direction - N
Wind speed - 10 mph   
Barometric pressure - 1019.4 mb
Sky conditions - Overcast
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

If you go outside right now you will most likely feel a drop or two of precipitation. This is because of the high amount of moisture that evaporated and with the dew point being so close to the actual temp that moisture is very close to falling on us but I think it will hold off because of how high the temp is.

Some altostratus clouds stuck around all day today providing the same effect as yesterday. I assumed we would be receiving some colder temps because of how they split yesterday but the pressure didn't get high enough for that to happen. For tomorrow expect the clouds to move out allowing the sun to shine almost all day. Since the winds are from the north right now there should be a bit of a cool down.

Warm air rising

Current Conditions 12:30 PM
Temperature - 22°F   
Feels Like - 14°F   
Dew point - 14°F   
Relative humidity - 71%  
Wind direction - S
Wind speed - 6 mph   
Barometric pressure - 1014.0 mb and rising
Sky conditions - Partly Cloudy
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

The day started off with altostratus clouds providing a blanket of warmth which kept in most of the infrared radiation from the sun. As the day went on the clouds parted allowing cirrus fibratus clouds to dominate. These clouds indicate that there is a high amount of moisture in the upper atmosphere which makes sense considering the winds we experienced earlier in the day. Today we had southern winds that came from a high pressure system to the East. These winds are cold but on the surface we didn't feel it as much because of the cloud cover early in the day. 

Above is a surface map forecast for today from NOAA. Their prediction was off thinking that we would get rain in Midwest Wisconsin but it was very correct with the severe thunderstorms in Florida. For tomorrow I predict that the stationary front over the great plains moves west and brings more high winds but no moisture. Don't be worried if temps drop a little due to the winds, they should shoot back up by the beginning of next week.

The gloriously sunny 4th of March

Current Conditions 12:30 PM
Temperature - 19°F   
Feels Like - 6°F   
Dew point - 6°F   
Relative humidity - 57%  
Wind direction - NE 
Wind speed - 13 mph   
Barometric pressure - 1033.2 mb and rising
Sky conditions - Partly Cloudy
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

It may be warmer but the conditions don't represent it much. Everything I predicted for today was of besides the warmer temp. The wind is now coming from the NE which is causing it to feel 1 degree colder than yesterday even though the actual temp is higher. We have light cloud cover which allows for most of the suns energy to get through which is causing some snow to melt here on campus. Across the region temps are up compared to last weekend and they should only continue to go up.

For tomorrow expect still warmer temps with a reel feel around 10 degrees. Winds should be a little lower which will help increase the temp slightly.

Another light dusting of pow

Current Conditions 4:40 PM
Temperature - 17°F   
Feels Like - 7°F   
Dew point - 5°F   
Relative humidity - 59%  
Wind direction - E 
Wind speed - 8 mph   
Barometric pressure - 1023.8 mb and falling
Sky conditions - Overcast
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

Snow fell a little earlier than I had anticipated today but all we got was nothing more than a light dusting. Warmer temps keep rolling in and I expect this trend to continue. I doubt it will not be consistently in the 30s for a while but that time isn't too far into the future now. Looking at the surface map for today we can see that there is a low pressure system moving through which is causing the pressure to drop and the clouds to cover the sky.

There is a small cluster of clouds over southern Minnesota and into South Dakota which will be making its way into Wisconsin but it looks like it will be too far south to affect us because with these conditions it could easily cause more snow fall. 

If you bother to look at a driving conditions map you'll notice that in the south particularly Louisiana that there is a lot of ice on the roads. This is a result of the freezing rain they experienced earlier today. I'm sure there were a lot of cars in ditches down there just like up here last weekend. For tomorrow expect slightly warmer temps with similar winds and lower pressure. Cloud cover should still be pretty high for the next couple days as well.

Warm temps on the horizon

Current Conditions 1:00 PM
Temperature - 10.3°F   
Feels Like - 3°F   
Dew point - -10°F   
Relative humidity - 70%  
Wind direction - W
Wind speed - 4 mph   
Barometric pressure - 1033.9 mb and falling
Sky conditions - Overcast
Current conditions courtesy of NOAA

Welcome to the first week of March which I'm going to say will be the last week in which we have below zero temps for a long time. with surface winds coming from the west we are receiving a small amount of warm air that should only intensify as the week moves on. Even though there is a high pressure dome over us right now it doesn't appear to be very strong considering that the pressure is dropping. This might cause some precipitation (more snow) to fall tomorrow.

For tomorrow Expect some precipitation later in the afternoon with increasing temps and a high dew point. Low pressure should be moving in as well to help lower the pressure and bringing with it high winds as it pushes out the high pressure but settling down late.