Everybody talks about the weather, but a few of us try to figure it out. In Wisconsin, dozens of cooperative observers and several U.S. Weather Bureau offices have regularly observed the weather across the state – and accurately recorded conditions since 1891. What do these continuous records show? How do we distinguish normal from extreme weather, and can this knowledge help us see future trends?
Wisconsin remembers 125 years of winter
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Mike Kong shovels his driveway Tuesday afternoon outside of his residence just off Wisconsin Street in Portage. “Yesterday it was spring, today it’s winter all over again,” said Kong, who works at Associated Milk Producers Inc., a factory in Portage. The first day of March fits the old saying, “In like a lion, out like a lamb” describing typical weather for the month. The Portage area received 3 to 4 inches of snow Tuesday. High temperatures for the rest of the week are forecast to be in the high 20s to high 30s. But by early next week, temperatures in the 50s are expected.
Skid steers are frequently used to plow snow. Drive cautiously and keep in mind that weight shifts to the front end when the bucket is loaded.
A pedestrian crosses State Street after a December 2012 storm dropped more than 15 inches of snow in Madison. In 2012-13, the city plowed six times.
Cows can be comfortable at low winter temperatures if they can shelter out of the wind.
On cold winter days, small irregularities on glass surfaces modify the way ice crystals grow, generating repetitive patterns. These ice crystal patterns on a windowpane resemble frozen ferns.
Juneau County Highway Department plow trucks had some work to do after Tuesday morning’s snowfall. Overall, the winter has been easy on plows and salt usage.
