Thursday, March 31st

My prediction for today was mostly accurate. We now have light winds coming from the SE direction. This changed happened late morning, around 11am. We started out the day with overcast skies, but now the clouds have broken up and we have about 50% cloud cover, with cumulus humilis and altocirrus clouds. Currently our temperature is 43 degrees F, which is a nice break from the really cold temps. Our barometric pressure reading is falling rapidly which indicates more clouds are moving in. Also, because the wind direction has switched from NE to S/SE, and the current cloud pattern, there is a good chance for precipitation in the next 15 or so hours. Because of this unsual jet stream pattern for this time of year, we will continue to see cooler than normal temperatures throughout the week and weekend. Hopefully April will start to feel more "Spring-like" soon!

Wednesday, March 30th

Today is appearing to turn out as predicted. The current temperature is 33 degrees F with no wind and brilliantly sunny skies. The surface map shows a stationary front to the west of us, along with a large U-shaped cold front in the south. This matches up with the snow/rain mix in the Dakotas and Nebraska, and the precipitation/inclimate weather the southeastern states are experiencing. Our barometric pressure reading is falling slowly, so as the high pressure system moves to our southeast we will see an increase in clouds, as well as a change in wind direction. Tomorrow we will have SE winds, mostly cloudy skies, and reach the upper 40s.

The big weather news right now is the possibility of a big snow storm out east on Thursday night and Friday. They are concerned because the cold front in the south (from the continental polar airmass) will mix with a warm front along the east coast (from the maritime tropical airmass) and a large low pressure system will form. Because of this, strong winds and wet heavy snow are very possible.

Tuesday, March 29th

Today was a little warmer than yesterday, as predicted. We reached 40 degrees F and had light north winds. There were a few small cumulus and stratus clouds, only about 30% cover. Right now it is 25 degrees F with light north winds. Tomorrow will continue on this same pattern, with highs in the low 40s and light north winds. The pressure reading is slowly rising, indicating we will have clear skies tomorrow.

Monday, March 28th

I was right in prediciting that today would be similar to yesterday. The current temperature is 32 degrees F. The high pressure system is right over Wisconsin, accounting for our clear skies. There are very light northeast winds so it feels like 32 degrees F. The barometric pressure reading is steady at 30.32" so the rest of today should remain clear and cold. Taking a look at the surface map, the high pressure system will shift further north tomorrow, so we will see a few more clouds, along with slightly warmer temperatures and east winds.

Sunday, March 27th

All I can say is, at least the sun is shinning. Yesterday I got back from Georgia, where I was for the past week, and was disappointed to see more snow. There is a big trough in the jet stream dipping down over the southeast part of the country. This is causing severe weather there and I am very glad I left before it all began. The current temperature here in Eau Claire is 30 degrees F with light northeast winds. There is about 10% cloud cover, mainly small cumulus humilis clouds in the northern part of the sky. Tomorrow will be very similiar to today, as the high pressure system stays right over Wisconsin and leaves us with mostly clear skies and temperatures in the low 30s.

Saturday, March 19th

Nice day to start off spring break! My predictions were right on. Currently it is 43 degrees F with warm 8 mph SE winds and clear skies. The sun is shinning and the temperature continues to rise every hour. Intellicast.com says we will reach 51 degrees F this this afternoon and I believe that will be accurate. Based on the water vapor map and the fact that the pressure reading is falling, clouds will start to move in later today and we will have warmer temperatures. Unfortunatley, late tonight there will be a change in this nice weather. There is a good chance for rain showers tonight. This will continue throughout most of tomorrow, because there will be a cold front colliding with a warm front right over Wisconsin. This will give us rain and maybe even a little thunder. Temperatures will be similar to today, but the winds will increase so it will not feel as pleasant.

Friday, March 18th

A cold front did move in as predicted, and left us with cooler temperatures. Right now it is 35 degrees F but feels like 28 degrees F. The barometric pressure reading is at 30.26" and slowly rising so the skies are clearing. Looking out the window at work, I see altocumulus clouds and would guess that the cloud cover is about 30%. There are light to moderate at times NW winds from the high pressure system over western Minnesota. The surface weather map shows another cold front coming in from our northest, so temperatures will drop tonight. Skies will continue to clear as a high pressure system forms right over Wisconsin. Tomorrow will be sunny and warmer with south winds.

Thursday, March 17th

My predictions were very accurate for today. There is a low pressure system to our north giving us moderate WNW winds. Temperatures today have been slightly warmer than yesterday with a current temperature of 51 degrees F (on campus). Earlier today there were overcast skies and at times it was misting a little. Now the clouds have started to break up and there is about 60% cloud cover - mainly stratus clouds. The air pressure is slowly rising, accounting for the clearing of the clouds. There is weather to our north because two fronts are colliding, therefore the two different airmasses are mixing and producing inclement weather. Tonight, temperatures will fall and the winds will start to come in more from the north. Tomorrow a cold front will move in so it will be cooler with a high around 40 degrees F and moderate N winds.

Frost on a shamrock!
Happy St. Patricks Day!

Wednesday, March 16th

About an hour after I blogged yesterday it started raining, so unfortunately I was wrong. However, my prediction for today was correct. The day started out with a dense fog advisory but I was not up early enough to see what kind it was. I would guess it was advection fog. The high today was 50 degrees F with partly cloudy skies. I went on a walk around 6pm and to the west was a mackeral sky with altocumulus clouds. To the east there were stratus clouds. A warm front did move in and we had light south winds. As a low pressure system forms to our north, we will have a change in wind direction from south to west/northwest. Also, the barometric pressure reading will continue to fall and tomorrow we will have much more cloud cover. Tomorrow should be as warm as today with a 30% chance for precipitation.

Tuesday, March 15th

Today was warmer and cloudier as predictied. The current temperature is 45 degrees F which is our high for the day. We have seen increasing clouds, first cirrostratus now a mix of cirrostratus and some small cumulus. I would say the current cloud cover is about 60%. There are slight to moderate at times WSW winds. The dew point is 26 degrees F and the barometric pressure is steady at about 30". Because of these two facts and how I don't really see any nimbus clouds, I do not think we will have any precipitation this evening, although sources indicate otherwise. Tomorrow should be slightly warmer due to a small warm front coming in from the south and south winds, with about the same amount of cloud cover.

Monday, March 14th

My prediction for today was correct. This morning started out chilly and brilliantly sunny, but it has definitely warmed up. The current temperature is 36 degrees F with light SSE winds and about 30% cloud cover, mainly stratus clouds. The SSE winds are from the high pressure system over Michigan rotating the air in a clockwise direction. The current barometric pressure reading is 30.31" and is slowly falling, indicating a few more clouds will move in. Tomorrow we will continue to see increasing temperatures and cloud cover. There is a chance for precipitation tomorrow evening.

Current water vapor image - notice the hurricane-like shape over the middle of the country. This is a midlatitude cyclone and corresponds with the current radar image that shows a line of storms right along the edge of the dark area.

Sunday, March 13th

My prediction for Saturday was correct. The morning was not pleasant weather. It was windy and cold. I drove to Hudson yesterday morning, and the more east I got, the stronger winds/more precipitation I encountered. Today turned out to be a nice day. It was cold and cloudy early this morning, but skies cleared to about 20% cloud cover (stratus clouds) and we reached a high temperature of 31 degrees F. The clearing skies were due to the center of the high pressure system moving over us. It stayed light out for longer too, thanks to daylight savings. It will probably be harder to get out of bed in the morning though :( Tomorrow should be slightly warmer, with mostly clear skies.

Friday, March 11th

I had predicted SW winds for today, however they are more SE winds. The current temperature is 34 degrees F, but we should get up to 40 later this afternoon as the small warm front passes over us. There is about 50% cloud cover, with mainly stratus clouds. Tonight there is a good chance for precipitation. As the low pressure system gets closer, we will see stronger winds. The wind direction will change from SE to SW and eventually to W as the system moves in. The low for tonight is 26 degrees F and the barometric pressure reading is falling rapidly indicating clouds and precipitation on the way. The foracested surface map shows isobars close together over WI meaning tomorrow will be windy. It will also be colder because a cold front is moving in.

Thursday, March 10th

My prediction for today was pretty accurate. We had clear skies this morning, and now there is about 30% cloud cover, mostly cirrus clouds. The current temperature is 37 degrees F with 12 mph NW winds. There isn't much weather on the surface map, as the storm system has past and is on the east coast. Taking a look at the 24 surface map forcast, it looks as though a small warm front will move in, followed with a low pressure system to our west. The low pressure system should give us SW winds and the warm front will give us warmer temperatures, possibly reaching into the low 40s. Tomorrow night there is a chance for precipitation.

Wednesday, March 9th

It is hard to state the accuracy of my prediction for snowfall today, because whatever we got seems to have already melted. It snowed all morning and into the afternoon, so if I had to guess I would say 2 or 3 inches. The current temperature is 36 degrees F, dew point is 17 degrees F, there are overcast skies, and light north winds. Tomorrow there will be more north winds from the high pressure system to our north. The barometric pressure reading is rising slowly according to the weather station on campus, so for tomorrow I predict it to be a little less cloudly than today, but with similar temperatures.

Tuesday, March 8th

I was correct in predicting cloudy skies and warmer temperatures, as the high today was 38 degrees F. Currently it is still 32 degrees F with light snow and east/northeast winds of about 11 mph. As the low pressure system continues to move northeast, the winds will switch to north/northeast. This will bring slightly cooler temperatures, more clouds, and more precipitation tomorrow. The national weather service is calling for 2-5 inches by tomorrow night. This storm's intensity has definitely lessened from the original prediction made last week. There was predicited to be a wider trough in the jetstream containing a larger pocket of cold air.

Current jetstream taken from http://www.intellicast.com/National/Wind/JetStream.aspx

Monday, March 7th

I was not correct in my wind prediction for yesterday, as we had SE winds instead of NE winds. I was correct however in prediciting similar temperatures and no snow. This morning we had a light snow shower which gave us just a trace of snow. The current temperature is 32 degrees F with overcast skies, and light south winds from the high pressure system to the SE of us. After taking a look at the forecasted surface map, tomorrow the center of a low pressure system will be right over us. The rising air in a low pressure center favors the development of clouds and precipitation, so cloudy weather and warmer temperatures are very likely tomorrow. Weather.com has indicated our area is in a Winter Storm watch beginning tomorrow night, so that is when the snow is predicted to start.

This is the water vapor map of the western U.S. There is an obvious "U" shaped line stretching across the Baja California Peninsula up through Colorado/Kansas. I believe this is called an upper-level trough.

Saturday, March 5th

Current conditions are sunny skies with about 40 % cloud cover, mainly cirrus and cumulus clouds. It is 28 degrees F with 10 mph north/northeast winds. The rest of the day should remain the same, with a low of 9 degrees F tonight. Tomorrow I predict we will see similar temperatures and more north/northeast winds from the high pressure system to our north. There is a small chance for snow showers tomorrow night.

Thursday, March 3rd

It didn't feel as warm as I had thought it would today, however there were a few snow showers this morning as I predicted yesterday. Currently it is still 30 degrees F at 7pm, which is impressive. There are light NE winds which will continue throughout the night. Due to the cloud cover it is going to stay relatively warm tonight, leading to warmer temperatures tomorrow. There is a warm front and a low pressure system to our south, and as they move east, we will have slightly warmer temperatures and east winds. The high will reach the mid 30s and there is another chance for precipitation.

Wednesday, March 2nd

I was correct in my prediction yesterday for a cold front moving across WI. It was especially noticable last night when the winds picked up and it got a lot colder. Currently it is 14 degrees F with a wind chill of 6 degrees F. Today there were clear skies due to the high pressure system being centered right over us. Now as the high pressure system has moved east, there is about 70% cloud cover with stratus and cumulus clouds, however it is hard to tell exactly because it is almost dark out. The winds have died down and are very light winds from the north. As the high pressure system continues to move east, it will give us south winds and warmer temperatures tomorrow. With the combination of a change in wind direction and a falling barometric pressure reading (according to http://metstation.uwec.edu/Current.htm), this indicates a chance for precipitation.

Tuesday, March 1st

As predicted yesterday, the high pressure system moved south and left us with warmer weather. The current temperature is 38 degrees F with about 45% cloud cover, mainly cirrus clouds. There are now two high pressure systems affecting the air movement in our area, one to our south and one to the southeast. This is accounting for our WSW winds. As a cold front passes over WI this evening and a high pressure system moves in from the north, we will see colder temperatures and a change in wind direction. The high for tomorrow will only be in the upper teens with light north/northwest winds.


Surface map from http://www.weather.com/maps/ at 2:22pm