How does this month’s cold and snow stack up?
Winter officially began at 11:11 a.m. on Saturday with the winter solstice, but everyone knows it has felt like winter for quite some time as we have endured a cold (and snowy) first two-thirds of...
View ArticleHow does freezing rain form?
Southern Wisconsin experienced freezing rain and freezing drizzle just before the start of the holidays. When particles falling from clouds reach the surface as precipitation, they do so primarily as...
View ArticleHow unusual is this kind of cold ?
We are at the beginning of the most intense cold air outbreak of the winter thus far with high temperatures today not likely to rise above zero. It may be similarly cold tomorrow. Having two...
View ArticleWhat is the wind chill temperature?
On the cold and windy days of last week, you probably tried to keep yourself warm by wearing appropriate clothing and seeking shelter from the wind. It feels colder in the wind because the wind sweeps...
View ArticleWhat was that column of light extending above the setting sun?
A vertical shaft of light extending above a setting or rising sun is called a sun pillar. You could have seen this optical phenomenon if you were looking at the sunset on Jan. 18. While sun pillars...
View ArticleHow are we doing with heating degree days this year?
How are we doing with heating degree days this year? A heating degree day is a weather index designed to make weather data easier to use in planning. The index estimates fuel consumption needs, and...
View ArticleWhere do weather forecasters get their data?
Meteorology, like every other science, relies on careful and precise measurement of its subject. Weather observations are critical to both weather forecasters and computer models that predict the...
View ArticleIs this an unusual winter?
There is no doubt that this winter’s prolonged and sometimes desperate cold has been unusual. Interestingly, for all the talk of the “polar vortex” and our unusually prolonged cold in central North...
View ArticleDoes the jet stream have something to do with our winter?
Our exceptionally cold winter has been the subject of this column a couple of times in the past few months. Some readers have asked how the jet stream might be related to cold air outbreaks. As we have...
View ArticleHow is the wind measured?
Wind has both speed and direction. Anemometers measure wind speed and wind vanes measure wind direction. A typical wind vane has a pointer in front and fins in back. When the wind is blowing, the wind...
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