Saturday, April 30, 2011

Looking back at April.

Time to look back at April...


April was a wild mouth to say the least…. We had some warm spells, had lots of cold snaps…. Overall temps averaged out colder than normal once again..We did have 5 days with > than ½ “ snowfall….We had 1 severe thunderstorm day, 3 non severe thunderstorm days… Let’s go ahead and break this down even more….First off we will start with the snow days….

April 1st we had ½” of snow on the ground.

April 16th we woke up to 3.00” of snow on the ground.

April 20th we saw 2.50” of snow on the ground.

April 27th we picked up another 1” of snow.

April 28th we picked up ½” of snow….

This brings the April snowfall to 7.50” which is way above our normal snowfall for April… This number will stand, if we don’t get any snow before midnight tonight…. The snow days doesn’t count the days were there was light snow/flurries…Just anything >than ½” of snow that accumulated.

Days that had thunderstorms….

April 3rd

April 9th

April 10th

April 30th

Total thunderstorm days stands at 4….

We had 1 Severe thunderstorm day that happened on April 10th Had a PDS tornado watch issued from 3:24 PM to 11:00 PM.

Barron County had 2 severe thunderstorm warnings issued on the 10th.
First one was from 3:37 PM to 4:15 PM.
The second one was from 4:34 PM to 5:15 PM…

Barron County had 1 tornado warning issued on the 10th.

The tornado warning was from 4:40 PM to 5:30 PM…..

This number of severe thunderstorm days look to be safe…Highly unlikely we will get any severe thunderstorms before midnight tonight.

To refresh everyone’s mind…. Thunderstorm days are when you can hear thunder……

Disclaimer all the above info comes from The Weather Center and is only valid for Barron County, WI.

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Forecast for Western/Northwestern WI.

Will change some things….Overall will be cooling temps on a few days in the short and middle term… We did warmup afew days but overall trended temps down a degree or two….


***CURRENT CONDITIONS***

At 1:00 PM we find all stations reporting Sunny to Mostly sunny skies…Temps range from the upper 50s to lower 60s….Winds are for the most part out of the South/Southeast from 5 to 13 MPH with some gusts up to 20 to 22 MPH...…

Satellite imagery show a few clouds trying to work into the area, overall most areas are sunny…More clouds building over Southwestern MN and over parts of ND/SD ….Also noted a few clouds in the sky here at the office.

***FAST FORECAST DISCUSSION***

Forecast problems…There are some that we will try to work out…For the most part ongoing forecast is in good shape… Have decided to warm temps a degree or two for today, and to slow showers and thunderstorms down by an hour or two.. Models have trended slower… We have bought into the slower solution….This will also allow for temps to be a degree or two warmer today as more sunshine is in the picture…This will also slow down the cold front passage for tomorrow… So will hold onto thunderstorm chances a little longer than previous thought… Have thought about pulling thunderstorm chances from Tuesday night also…However will let them ride for now..Will trim temps down for Sunday night /Monday along with Tuesday night lows will hack down a few degrees also… Long term models this late morning and early afternoon are so so in agreement.. With that said confidence levels are a little lower now…. Did warm a few days up, but also cooled a few days down….

May 6th temps 45 to 50 lows 35 to 40….May 7th 40 to 45 lows 30 to 35….May 8th 45 to 50 lows 30 to 35…. May 9th… 50 to 60 lows 40 to 45….May 10th 50 to 55 lows 40 to 45….May 11th 60 to 65 some models showing around 70 so decided to blend for the highs…Lows 35 to 40…May 12th 50 to 55 lows 30 to 35…. May 13th through May 16th 50 to 55 with lows 35 to 40….Will keep the precip the same… See forecast below…..

***YOUR FORECAST***

REST OF TODAY… Partly cloudy highs 60 to 65 winds South/Southeast 10 to 15 MPH gusts up to 20 to 25 MPH..

TONIGHT…. Cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 AM lows 45 to 50…Winds South/Southeast 15 to 20 MPH with gust up to 30 MPH.

SATURDAY… Mostly Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms in the morning than showers and a possible thunderstorm in the early afternoon highs 50 to 55.Winds South/Southeast 15 to 20 MPH with gusts up to 30 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT… Slight chance of showers mixed with snow…Lows 27 to 30

SUNDAY…. Mostly cloudy,slight chance of showers possibly mix with snow in the early morning hrs…Becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon..Highs 40 to 45…

SUNDAY NIGHT… Partly cloudy lows 25 to 30

MONDAY/MONDAY NIGHT…. Partly cloudy…Highs 48 to 53…Lows 28 to 32…

TUESDAY… Warm and dry…Highs 55 to 60…

TUESDAY NIGHT… Showers and thunderstorms lows 40 to 45…

WEDNESDAY…. Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms…Highs 58 to 63… Lows 38 to 42

THURSDAY….. Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain highs 55 to 60 lows 35 to 40…

2.5 Earthquake in MN...

For those who don't think Earthquakes can't happen up here in the Northern Plains/Western Great Lakes area read this link....
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/us2011kha1.php
Magnitude 2.5 - MINNESOTA


2011 April 29 07:20:13 UTC

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude 2.5

Date-Time Friday, April 29, 2011 at 07:20:13 UTC

Friday, April 29, 2011 at 02:20:13 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 45.884°N, 95.465°W

Depth 5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program

Region MINNESOTA

Distances 64 km (39 miles) SE of Fergus Falls, Minnesota

90 km (55 miles) NNW of Willmar, Minnesota

97 km (60 miles) ESE of Wahpeton, North Dakota

205 km (127 miles) WNW of ST. PAUL, Minnesota

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 15 km (9.3 miles); depth fixed by location program

Parameters NST= 6, Nph= 6, Dmin=220.7 km, Rmss=1.17 sec, Gp=151°,

M-type="Nuttli" surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=1

Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID us2011kha1

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Forecast stands

The ongoing forecast in short and long term will stand...Models in good agreement on everything ATTM.. Temps in the near term and long term all look to be in check,along with the percip chances....
Don't believe what you hear on the news or read...There is no big warmups on the way.. See forecast below.... Temps will cool back off to below norms starting Saturday...Only to warn to near normal throughout the rest of the forecast cycle..Even the CPC is still saying in the 6 to 10 outlook...Temps will be below normal.. Precip forecasted to be slightly above normal.... Even there 8 to 14 day outlook is calling for below normal temps....Precip slightly above normal....If anything I may have to lower temps a few degrees for next week and the longer term....Computer model runs have only had this near normal to slighty above norm temp on two runs!!....So thinking is we might have jumped the gun on it....Will keep an eye on it, just don't be shocked if we drop our temps for next week and the week after....So be shocked when the news forecasters and other forecasters follow our lead!.....
The map below is from the CPC...Just as we been forecasting..... Show below temps from May through July...

The forecast for Western/Northwestern WI and today's thunderstorm outlook.

Rain and snow, when will it end many people are wondering….Also many are calling this a year without spring….Yes you are right that it has been….Many are asking if this cold air will last throughout the summer….There is a good chance of that happen….Don’t worry we will see out hot spells, however overall temps are forecasted to be below normal this summer….This was discussed in another post below…..


Ok so now onto to the forecast problems…There are a few things that are in need of hashing out…..Could be a weather pattern change coming in the long term…Looks like it, however it is way too early to tell for sure.

***CURRENT CONIDITIONS ***

At 1:00 PM... All stations are reporting cloudy skies...With some areas of light rain/drizzle around...Temps in the upper 30s to middle 40s....

***FORECAST DISCUSSION ***

This late morning very early afternoon we find a deep 989 MB low pressure just Northwest of NY state, a trailing cold front extends from said low through PA,NC, and Central GA..Meanwhile we are dealing with trofs swinging through the area from the low pressure to our East/Northeast….So we keep rain going for the most part through the afternoon…Still may see some light snow mixed in from time to time, though the profiles are showing the mid levels warming some…. As the system slowly moves away its influence on us will lessen…Weak area of high pressure is forecasted to build into the area, this should allow for skies to become partly cloudy tonight….Friday should see mostly sunny skies as the weak area of high pressure gives us a break in the rain/snow….Temps Friday shall be warmer than what we have seen since last weekend…..This break will be short lived..997 MB low pressure is forecasted to move along the US/Canada border dragging yet another cold front towards the area…Showers and thunderstorms will become likely as we head through Friday night into Saturday morning… LAPSE RATES increase to around 6 C/KM during the overnight hrs… LIFTED INDEX hangs around 0 c so see no reason why thunderstorms won’t happen, however none of these thunderstorms look to be strong or severe….Saturday thunderstorms will die off and leave the FA with just rain showers…As thunderstorm thresholds drop…..Cold front is forecasted to push through the area on Saturday….Will keep a chance of showers in the forecast for early Saturday night don’t be shocked to see some snow mixing with the rain Saturday night….Wind will also be on the increase once again starting Friday night and last through much of the day on Saturday… We could see gusts up to 30 MPH… High pressure builds into the FA for Sunday..This will give us a few days of drier and warmer conditions…Nest system already making it’s reservations for Late Tuesday night through Wednesday…Showers and thunderstorms will be possible as a 1006 MB low pressure rides along the US/Canada border…The low is forecasted by GFS to slide into Southeastern MN/Southwestern WI Wednesday night, then push into Western MI during Thursday morning…So will keep rain going through those days…Once again we could see rain mixing with snow as the 540 line drops well South of the FA Thursday night into the early morning hrs of Friday… Friday we still could see some light rain/snow from time to time as trofs spin around the departing area of low pressure…..
Temps still way below average for this time of year….

***LONG TERM DISCUSSION (SATURDAY MAY 7TH THROUGH SATURDAY MAY 14TH)***

Weak area of high pressure build into the area on the 7th skies should be partly cloudy, this will be short lived as model show an area of low pressure up in Canada Pushing toward the Southeast, however it will remain towards our North/East…Still this will drag a cold front into the area by early Sunday morning….Showers and thunderstorms will be possible late Saturday night (the 7th) into Sunday morning (the 8th)…will keep showers going through the 8th then clear skies Sunday night….. Monday the 9th looks to be dry….. Tuesday the 10th some models showing a chance of rain, however not buying into that just yet.. Wednesday the 11 another storm system is forecasted to move South of the area…Will run with some light rain showers for that day do to the close proximity of the system….The 12th through the 14th stars a high pressure system for the FA..However on the 14th there may be a few showers trying to work Southwards into parts of the FA….Temps will start off well below normal….However we do warm close to or even slightly above normal as we head through the long term….The 7th through the 9th highs in the range of 40 to 45…Lows in the 30 to 35 range….the 10th through the 12 temps range from 50 to 55 with lows in the middle 30s…. The 13th and 14th we see temps from 60 to 65 with lows in the 40s… This may be the start of the weather pattern change?...To early to tell but does look better!!.

***NOW YOUR FORECAST***

REST OF TODAY… Cloudy with off and on rain showers, still may see some snowflakes from time to time… Highs 40 to 45..Winds Northwest 10 to 15 MPH with higher gust.

TONIGHT…. Becoming partly cloudy lows 28 to 33. Winds Northwest around 5 to 10 MPH.

FRIDAY… Mostly sunny highs from 58 63…Winds Southwest 5 to 10 MPH becoming Southeast….

FRIDAY NIGHT… Showers and thunderstorms likely after mid night….Lows 45 to 50 winds South/Southeast 15 to 20 MPH with gusts up to 30 MPH becoming Southwest.

SATURDAY…. Showers likely with a few thunderstorms in the morning…. Highs 50 to 55 falling….Winds Southwest becoming West 10 to 20 MPH with gusts up to 30 MPH….

SATURDAY NIGHT… Slight chance of showers…Rain may mix with some snow…Lows 28 to 32….

SUNDAY/ SUNDAY NIGHT…. Partly cloudy highs 45 to 50…Lows 28 to 32.

MONDAY/MONDAY NIGHT…. Partly cloudy…Highs 48 to 53…Lows 28 to 32…

TUEDAY… Warm and dry…Highs 55 to 60…

TUESDAY NIGHT… Showers and thunderstorms lows 40 to 45…

WEDNESDAY…. Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms…Highs 58 to 63…

*** TODAY'S THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK MAP***

Snow and more snow

Many of us in Western/Northwestern WI woke up to a white ground once again today....Yesterday morning we woke up to an inch of snow....This morning there was an 1/2 inch of snow...More snow is in the forecast today....Then another shot of snow for Saturday night....Next week we get a break in the snow and cold temps..Yes I said a break before it comes back into the forecast once again.....Will have a detailed forecast out sometime today.....

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Snow video

Snow video taken at Lake Superior...Yeah I was playing in the snow today along with the big waves I will post pictures and other vids later today..I have so much to look at still!