Early Autumn?

Many people around the area have noticed signs of the seasonal change already.  Some have seen geese heading south... others have noticed the trees loosing their leaves or beginning to change color.  I too have noticed hickory nuts have started to fall and barn swallows are mostly gone.  Is this a sign of autumn's early arrival?

Technically autumn arrives on September 22nd (the autumnal equinox) this year as the sun's direct rays on earth crosses the equator back to the southern hemisphere.  Traditionally you typically notice the seasonal changes more often in early to mid September, but with a La Nina currently in play in the eastern Pacific, seasonal changes could occur sooner.  Does this mean we'll have an early frost?  It is entirely possible.  We will have to wait and see.  If you want to follow how the autumn tree color change is coming across Wisconsin, please check out this website: http://www.travelwisconsin.com/fallcolor_report.aspx.

Cold, Snowy Winter Ahead?

That's right.  With all this heat and humidity lately, I thought it would be a good time to give your brain a mental cool down with some chilly thoughts about this upcoming winter.  Anyone who has been watching weather-related news the past few months may have heard of our recent transition from an El Nino to a La Nina in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.  During a La Nina event, the surface waters of the equatorial Pacific are 0.5 degrees Celsius or greater below normal.  Both El Nino and La Nina effect global weather patterns, and La Nina tends to impact our weather the most during the winter months when the jet stream is the strongest over the United States.  Typically, La Nina winters in Wisconsin (especially during moderate to strong La Nina events) tend to be colder than normal and wetter/snowier than normal.  The current La Nina is forecasted to become moderate to strong over the next several months.

The National Weather Service in Milwaukee, WI has recently done a study comparing La Nina event years to the normal climatic observations for both Madison and Milwaukee in southern Wisconsin.  The study concluded that both cities say below normal temperatures between January and March AND more snowy/wetter conditions during the same time frame.  This finding is very similar for the rest of Wisconsin as well.  Thus, for this winter, you could expect more snow to fall across Wisconsin with slightly cooler conditions, especially from January to March when La Nina events tend to impact the Midwest the most.

Wet & Wild Summer

The talk around town has definitely been all the rain we've been getting this summer!  The wet conditions have prevented farmers from being in the fields,  caused area creeks and rivers to run high or out of their banks, and have led to optimum breeding conditions for mosquitoes.  This may have you wondering, how exactly does this summer compare to normal as far as precipitation?  Well, below is listed some Wisconsin cities and the precipitation they've seen so far this year, along with the normal climatological values for precipitation in the same time frame.
          City                            2010            Normal        Departure

1. La Crosse                17.20"            9.37"           7.83"
2. Milwaukee               18.16"            8.18"           9.98"
3. Madison                  17.38"            9.10"            8.28"
4. Green Bay               17.11"            7.83"            9.28"
5. Wausau                   16.66"            9.42"            7.24"

As you can see, most of these areas have seen almost twice the normal amount of rainfall so far this summer!  In fact, La Crosse is currently having it's 2nd wettest summer through 7 A.M., August 8th and it's 12th wettest summer on record. If La Crosse receives another 3.12" of rain by the end of August (0.11" of rain already fell this morning after the climatological data came out, so its is now down to 3.01"), 2010 will go down as the wettest summer ever in the city!

So now with saturated soils all across the state, any rain that does fall over the area will quickly run off.  This is likely to cause some flooding issues along creeks and river beds.  It could also trigger some mudslides, especially across the hills and bluffs of Western Wisconsin.  That means that during this time of very wet weather, keep an eye on your surroundings, especially if you live near a body of water or along a hill side.  Take precautions now to prepare for such events!

Aurora Borealis - The Northern Lights

Unfortunately the northern lights were a no show last night.  There just was not enough energy to produce them this far south in the states (at least southwestern Wisconsin that is).  However, like I promised, I will explain what causes these atmospheric light shows!

It all starts 93 millions of miles away on that glowing fireball we call the sun!  Our sun is constantly emitting charged particles, byproducts of its thermonuclear reactions.  Together, these particles form what is known as a solar wind which travels away from the sun at speeds up to a million miles per hour!  At its top-end speed, a solar wind could reach Earth in as little as two or three days!  Normally, the Earth's magnetosphere (or it's magnetic field) deflects the normal solar wind that comes our way every day.  However, when there is a solar flare or a coronal mass ejection from the sun, much similar to Sunday's event, the solar wind is much, much greater!  This increase in energy disturbs the normal balance between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere.  As a result, electrons and protons within Earth's magnetic field are accelerated and travel down magnetic field lines to Earth's poles.  Here, these charged particles collide with atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere (typically O, N, and N2) and actually pass their charge onto the atoms and molecules, forming excited states of these gases.  As these gases release the energy and return to their normal state, they give up the energy in the form of light - producing the aurora!

You may have noticed that auroras have various colors as well.  The specific colors we see in an aurora all depend on which atmospheric gas is stuck by the energetic particles.  Oxygen is primarily responsible for two different colors, a green-yellow light and also a more rare deep red light.  Nitrogen, on the other hand, can produce either a blue light or a purple-reddish light, typically seen at the border or edges of an aurora.

I hope this answers some questions... and it may have you coming up with more!  Just ask, and I will try to answer any questions about auroras that you field my way!

Welcome!

Hello Everyone!  After some pondering, I thought making a blog would be a great way to inform you about the workings of the atmosphere and weather - since I get so many questions about it anyways.  I will try to keep this as interesting as possible and answer any questions that may be posted or asked in person!  In addition to answering your questions, I will also share some weather news that I find interesting and worth sharing with you all!  So I hope I can enlighten you all about the weather or anything else that goes on up above our heads...

Speaking about above our heads!  Has anyone seen the northern lights that are suppose to be going on this week?  Last Sunday, the sun started to wake up from its unusually long "slumber" and shot off a solar flare in Earth's direction.  This has sent two coronal mass ejections (CME ) towards us.  The first of these hit the Earth's magnetic field on Tuesday, Aug. 3rd and produced auroras as far south as Wisconsin and Iowa... unfortunately at that time we were under cloud cover.  However, the second CME is to hit us tonight, and with mostly clear to clear skies, hopefully we will get a nice light show tonight!

The picture below was taken over Quebec on August 3rd (courtesy of http://www.spaceweather.com).  The auroras there lit up the entire sky.  In Norway, it's been said that the auroras were so bright that they could be seen through the clouds!

Well... I hope you get a chance to get out and see the aurora(s) tonight IF they happen.  I sure hope so!  I haven't seen one since the Spring of 2004!  I'll discuss how auroras actually "form" tomorrow.  Have a nice night and happy aurora hunting!