Weather Observations Mid-day Sunday, April 29th

Sunday April 29th Weather Obs
Temperature at 11Am was 53.1F at the UWEC Rooftop Weather Station. Wind out of the ESE at 5MPH.  Mostly clear conditions with plenty of sun at the moment.  Thin, wispy looking clouds overhead.  Cloud cover 20%. Overcast cloudiness yesterday gave way to clearer skies today.  Forecasts are calling for a high of 64F which would be about ten degrees warmer than yesterdays temperature. 

As we look to the west of Eau Claire you can see a fairly busy map.  Low pressure sandwiching high pressure in the plains should be creating some interesting weather.  The low pressure in northern Oklahoma has some heavy rain and possible severe weather associated with it right now.  This is the same "Low" that I mentioned in my blog yesterday.  It seems to have developed a bit more from yesterday and be moving on a ENE direction.

Friday, April 27th Obs & Sat, April 28th Obs/Report

Friday April 27th Weather Observations
Observed at Phillips Hall on the UWEC Campus & Walking around Water Street
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Woke up early, wind was out of the East at 10-15MPH.  Sunny conditions at 9AM, cloud cover 0%.  Temperature cool but nice with the sun shining.  Temperatures in the mid 50's (F) for the most part of the day, with a high cloud deck of patchy, scrappy looking cirrus clouds moving in around 2PM.  The breeze out of the east took more of a Southeasterly pattern at this time too while still blowing at 10-15MPH.  At this point I was just wondering when the rain would be coming.  It seems like I've posted this alot but when the wind has been out of the East and the cloud cover has been increasing throughout the day it has been a precursor to bad weather this semester.  The temperature did not drop off very hard during the evening hours as the cloud cover increased to near 80 or 90% by 10PM.  These overcast conditions kept the surface more "insulated" than usual moderating the temperatures somewhat for the first part of the night before the rain came.  I was walking home from a friends' at about 1/130 (somewhere in there), and it began to drizzle and lightly rain on the last two blocks of my walk.  The breeze had calmed down right before the precipitation began, and then once it did begin the wind must have been gusting to 20-25MPH for short periods of time. 

Saturday April 28th Weather Observations
Didn't wake up nearly as early this morning as last haha. Pretty gloomy outside so far today.  Overcast conditions, cloud cover 90%.  Dark grey, mid-level stratus mostly from what I saw.  Light winds at 5MPH out of the E-ESE again...I found the current conditions image to be quite interesting especially for our location here in Eau Claire (see below)

As you can see there is what looks like a small band of precipitation just barely south of Eau Claire at the moment (less than 30 miles).  High pressure to our NE in Ontario represents the sunnier conditions that we saw on Thursday and early Friday.  Now this pressure has moved east and a couple of low pressure systems are found to our South and West.  The system to our south looks as though it could develop some strong storms if the cold front keeps moving east (closer to the high pressure in Florida, and the warm/moist Gulf air).  Getting back to the precipitation band, it stretches all the way from Northern N. Dakota over to the western edge of Pennslyvania. UWEC Rooftop Temperature was 45.5F at 2:20PM CST.  Conditions are supposed to continue to be overcast which judging from the wind direction and my outdoor observations that the cloudiness should continue.  It will be interesting to see whether or not this system strengthens over Eau Claire or if it will just dissapate and fizzle out.  I'm banking on the latter, I think that the low pressure systems will not be close enough or quick enough to strenghten the small bit of precipitation that we might see today. 

Weather Observations April 24th

High to mid-level status and cirrostratus clouds observed on my way to class this morning at 7:30AM.  Some sun peeking through here and there, cloud cover at about 70%.  Slight breeze out of the S-SE (0-3MPH).  Temperature as of 9AM CST was 54.7F.  High of 67F expected today as the barometric pressure continues to slowly drop off.  A chance of rain is observed in the forecast later for tonight, so I will be keeping an eye on the sky and cloud type/cover as it comes in today.  A stationary low is located just to our west in Minnesota currently.  This low is drawing up a lot of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and the state of Texas.  Here is a snapshot of the current conditions showing the development to our west.

As this low pressure develops or fades, we will know because it is headed west in our direction.  Winds should continue to be out of the South or East as this pressure moves.  Look for increasing winds and some developing clouds today in order to see if this small mid-latitude cyclone becomes larger.

Weather observed Phillips Hall, UW-Eau Claire, 54701

Weather Observations 4/23

Afternoon observations - 30% Cloud Cover, Puffy Cumulus clouds, mid-level all around. Winds out of the North for the greater part of the day at 10MPH gusting to 15MPH at times.  Sunny/Partly cloudy conditions observed for the whole afternoon into the evening.  Temperatures were moderate, highs in the low 60's.  Current temperature reading at 10:30PM is 53.2F at Weather Underground.  Barometric pressure has been steadily dropping throughout the day, indicating windier conditions.

I would not be surprised if some type of precipitation pushes through within the next two days if not sooner. A huge storm is currently out east in the New England Region even dumping snow on some parts Western New York and into the Montreal (CA) area. 

There is a cold air mass located directly north of Wisconsin as well as a warmer air mass associated with low pressure to the Northwest in the Dakotas.  If these two happen to start mixing or approach one another some type of precipitation would be possible.  It looks as though most of the inland states are seeing some stable conditions at during this snapshot taken from the National Weather Service on April, 23rd.

Eau Claire, WI 54703

Saturday, April 21st Weather Observations

This morning I observed fairly clear skies over Eau Claire at 9AM.  Small cold puffy little cumulus clouds observed to the S-SW. Winds out of the South at 7-10MPH.  Sunny conditions, temperature must have been in the low to mid 40s (F).  Clouds moved in over the course of the early afternoon hours.  A low to mid level cloud deck pushed in, consisting of mainly stratus and cumulus clouds.  Winds picked up to 10-15 out of the S-SE by 2 or 3 pm and I knew the weather would be changing soon at this point. 

A cool breeze pushed through around 4PM, and brang with it much cooler and overcast conditions.  Very cool compared to what it had been just two to three hours ago. 
2PM Temp = 57F , 5PM Temp = 51.5F

Overcast conditions in all directions of Eau Claire with the darkest clouds to our NW and N. 

Looks like the South winds are easily explained as seen in this image from Weather Underground at 5PM today. High pressure in N. Missouri is pushing the wind into the weak Low pressure "funnel" found in Central Minnesota in this image.  This difference in pressure results in the more moderate to heavy winds that have been increasing during the afternoon today.  It looks as though this system is dropping some moisture too with the leading warm front mixing with the cold front behind it.

Eau Claire, WI 54703

Weather Observations April 17th & 18th

Tuesday's Weather (April17) - Clear in the morning, cloudy by evening would characterize this day.  Morning into the early afternoon hours were fairly clear with cloud cover being 20% or less.  Thin stratus and cumulus clouds moved in by mid afternoon.  Cloud cover was 80% by 7pm with the wind picking up out of the southeast.  Winds in the morning were light at 0-5MPH out of the S-SW.  By afternoon they were blowing at a steady 10MPH from the S-SE.  This led me to believe that theyre might some activity up in those clouds.  I was a little worried with the SE wind because that is typically seen a few hours before weather turns worse. 
Temperatures topped out shy of 60F in the afternoon, with a recorded temperature of 56F at 7pm.  Slightly declining pressure throughout the day too (see image below)

Wednesday's Weather (April18) - Eventually we did see some precipitation in the night but it came through very early in the morning as I saw puddles early today when walking to school.  Nice breeze for the greater part of today out of the SW-W at 10-15MPH. These winds tapered off as of 6 or 7 pm to about 5mph or less. Cloud cover between 50-60% during the noon and afternoon hours.  Mostly puffy cumulus clouds in the day, some of which were rising higher into the sky.  They almost looked as though they were on a 45 degree angle rising upwards as they moved east over Eau Claire's Water Street area.  Later on in the evening higher level cirrus clouds were seen in the west as the sun set.  Temperature at 9PM was 54F.

Here is a look at the current fronts around the US

There is an occluded front to our NE located right on the eastern portion of Lake Superior.  Heavy rain is probably associated with this Low pressure occlusion.  Winds at our location in Eau Claire seem to be funneling towards the center of that Low.  This makes sense as most of the wind today was out of the S or SW.  The rain from this morning was associated with a cold front which you can see is now making its way through Chicago and Des Moines.  Another potential for some inclement weather is seen in the Low pressure systems located along the Rocky Mountain Range.  Sporadic moisture is also seen in the South with plenty of low intensity showers in the states like Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas

Observed at Phillips Hall Eau Claire, WI 54701
   

Weather Observations 4/16

Woke up at 8AM to see thick flakes of snow.  This lasted for nearly an hour until it mixed into graupel and freezing rain.  Precipitation ended by noon, winds still strong out of the W.  Wind blowing at nearly 20MPH during the morning snow/rain mix and slowing to about 10MPH out of the NW by the 6PM hour.  Overcast skies all day, 100% cloud cover this morning.  Stratus undulatus clouds observed this afternoon just after 5PM.  Temperature was recorded at 35F at 11AM, high temperatures expected to reach 45F when I checked the forecast for the day at that time.  6PM temperature reading was 39F. 

The storms that reached us late last night (Apr 15) also moved through with a cold front.  Low pressure created a serious mid-latitude cyclone to be dealt with.  Temperatures went from mid 60's (F) to mid 30's (F) overnight!  Wish I would have been better able observe the event.

As of 6PM on Monday, Skew-T readings were showing an inversion at the 825mb level.  Stable conditions observed with considerable cloudiness overhead at my Eau Claire location. 
Here is a picture of graph...

Observed at Eau Claire, WI 54701

Observations Friday April 13th

Kinda spooky looking weather on a day known for having eerie things occur on it.  Windy, 12-16MPH SE-E. Low pressure located to our east as seen in the picture below from the NOAA

As you can see from the map an occluded front is just to our west as of 5PM CST.  This leads me to believe there there is probably some heavy precipitation associated with this front.  Some of the heaviest storms are located between the wishbone looking gap of warm and cold front seen in the Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.  This is where the mixing of cold and warm air masses can create intense weather conditions especially if one of these air masses is carrying considerable moisture. 

I know I mentioned wind earlier but it has been increasing throughout the day.  When I walked to class this morning the winds must have been less than 10MPH or so, and now at 5PM they're blowing a consistent 15MPH and gusting over 20MPH.  Cloud cover also increased from this time period from 60% to 100%.  High level stratocumulus observed overhead.  Stratus clouds in the distance with kinda puffy gnarls and curls in them which was somewhat odd.  They definitely looked scary and with the wind blowing the way it is I would not be surprised if the worst is brewing just to our southwest. 

Temperature at 5:10pm was 56F, with lows expected to drop to 50F or just below.  Temperatures are expected to be near 70F tomorrow so this could potentially bring some thunderstorms into the area if conditions are right.  We shall see...

Observed Eau Claire, WI 54703

Weather Observations Wednesday, April 11th

Sunny and clear conditions all day as of 7:09PM.  These conditions are mostly because of a strong High pressure to the west, overhead states like Iowa and Minnesota.  Winds light today 0-5 MPH fluctuating between north and west.  Temperatures were nice, topping out in the mid-50s (F).  Temperature as of 7:15P was 53.5 deg F. 

Barometric pressure throughout the day has remained steady (2nd Graph from Top).  As this large High pressure system hangs about, look for conditions be mostly the same tomorrow.  Expect little cloud cover, light winds and probably a good measure of sun.

As you can see from the Current Fronts map (Wunderground.com) the high pressure has created a large ridge in the middle of the country.  Off to the west though a funky low pressure system associated with some cooler weather is brewing.  The isobars that are so closely packed together in the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Montana show that there is a large differential in pressure here which usually results in higher winds.
Here is a map from Intellicast showing the current winds.

Weather observed at 7:05PM Eau Claire, WI 54703

Weather Observations April 8th (Sun) & April 9th

Sunday April 8th
Windy and Cool today.  Partly cloudy conditions in the afternoon with cloud cover 75% or greater.  Really puffy cumulus clouds breaking apart into what looked like a rows in the sky.  Winds N at 7-15 MPH with gusts near 20 in the late afternoon hours.  Even though the clouds were observed to be in fractal patterns they still are associated with changing weather so I was not surprised when I woke up this morning (Apr 9) to a completely clear sky and even windier conditions than Sunday (Apr 8).  Temperatures on Sunday peaked out at 61F around 4 this afternoon. 

Monday April 9th
Crazy windy today.  Wind gusts close to 30MPH, blowing between 10-15 N-NW regularly.  Clear skies were observed this morning at 10AM with some clouds off to the South and West of my location but too far off to see what type definitively.  At 3PM the cloud cover  had increased to near 70% with winds still blowing moderately throughout the day.  Large puffy cumulus clouds observed, probably cold clouds as they looked wispy and were at mid to high level in the sky.  Temperature at 5PM recorded at 43F.  The wind out of the north has kept these past two days deceivingly cool despite the sunshine.  Tomorrow's forecast looks even colder with a high temperature of 45F and a freeze warning has even been issued for our general area. 

Observed 926 Menomonie Street Eau Claire, WI 54703

Midwest Regional Roundup

Heres a look ahead into our week and what we can expect for temperatures and precipitation.

Weather Observations - Morning of Thursday, April 5th

Woke up this morning to a mainly clear sky.  Some cirrus clouds exhibiting wind shear in them were observed to the south of Eau Claire as I walked to school this morning.  Wind is cool and fluctuating out of the East and North.  Temperature is 42.3F as of 10:34AM, with a high expected near 60. 
Current conditions around the nation are....

As you can see there is a large low pressure system to our south.  This would explain the north winds we have been experience over the past few days.  This low pressure was probably sucking in the air from areas in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin yesterday.  I am guessing that the cooler air located here in our area mixed with some of the air from the Gulf Coast states is creating the precipitation that you see in Mississippi, Alabama, and elsewhere in the southeast. 

Looking to the west one will see a large cold front associated with some low pressure.  Right now that system is currently over the Rocky Mountains.  The high pressure seen down near Colorado that is so close to the Low Pressure at the southern tip of Nevada should create higher winds than average because of the sharper pressure gradient change from one location to the other. 

Here is  map of the Jet Stream illustrating the Upper Air movements in our atmosphere on this day.

When comparing the current conditions map and the jet stream a couple of things become very evident.  The portion of the Jet in the Northwest United States moves north right alongside where the cold front is located in the current conditions map.  Also the Jet in the southern US has a very distinct shape like the stationary low located there. 

Weather Observed on the way to UW-Eau Claire's campus and at McIntyre Library

Wedsnesday April 4th Weather Brief

Very clear conditions pushed through in the later part of yesterday (Tuesday, April 3rd).  These conditions continued throughout the night and into today.  Clear conditions right now in Eau Claire, Sky cover about 5%, consisting of high level cirrus clouds in the distance to the east.  Winds out of the North at 5-10MPH has kept a cool breeze to go with the sunny conditions.  Temperature reading of 57F at four minutes before the noontime hour.  The temp should increase into the sixties before the day is done as the sky looks cloudless to our West and North.  High pressure has moved in over the last two days since our hail storm early Tuesday morning at 2AM.  Since then the clouds have changed from a homogenous stratus layer to cirrostratus, and now just a few cirrus clouds.  Given this high pressure we should have sunny conditions for at least another day or so, hopefully with the winds dying down tomorrow.

Observation taken at McIntyre Library, UW-Eau Claire 11:59AM 

April 3rd Weather Observations / Assignment 5 JPEGS

Not a bad morning considering the area got pelted with hail last night for about 5 minutes before turning into a downpour.  Total precipitation came out to be around .2 of an inch.  Winds from the East during the day began to come from the S-SE around 7pm last night as well as the cloud deck becoming thicker throughout the day.  Clouds variated through the day from mostly clear conditions in the morning, to partly cloudy in the afternoon, to 100% cloud cover by 8pm. 

Overcast this morning, wind out of the N-NE at 10mph.  This change in wind direction from the E to the N-NE shows that there may be a shift in cloud cover throughout the day.  Other notable things with this wind direction notes that the front from last night has pushed through as well.  Temperature of 50F at 9:04AM today, with a high expected to be around 61F.  Winds are expected to stay moderate at 10 to 15MPH.  Barometric pressure is on the rise in the last 5 hours as illustrated by the weather briefing this morning given in class.

Today we also worked on Assignment 5 in ArcMap 10 today.  We created a number of rasterized images and maps with the weather data that we collected on 3/27/2012.  Here's what they look like...

Weather observed at Phillips Hall, UW-Eau Claire 54701

Sunday April 1st - Night Obs & Monday April 2nd - Morning/Midday Obs.

Last night temperatures remained cool with a light breeze that picked up in intensity around 8/9 o'clock CST.  Winds gradually built to about 15 mph in gusts, and about a steady 7 or 8 mph otherwise.  Temperatures remained cool, wind out of the E/NE which was kind of weird to say the least.  High level stratus clouds in the distance to the Southwest, West, and North.

Woke up this morning to a windy breeze.  At least 10 to 15mph consistently, cloud cover at 20%.  High level cirrus, cirrostratus clouds seen.  Wind still blowing hard out of the E/SE.  Sunny/Partly cloudy conditions, with a temperature reading of 55F as of 12:54PM. High expected to reach 68 today but I expect it to feel much cooler with all the wind that is present today.  These windy conditions frighten me somewhat as conditions have become cloudier throughout the day and the wind from the east.  There is some sunshine but with the wind from the east there must be high pressure there and lower pressures to our west.  I do not know if this will cause any major storms or precipitation but there is a good chance if some of these cirrus clouds begin to change shape or type as we move later in the day.

Observed at Phillips Hall UW-Eau Claire, 54701