2/12 and 2/13 Weather Observations

2/12 - Clear skies as we move into the overnight hours.  Thin stratus clouds seen to the North but a great night for stargazing overall.  Cloud cover 0%.  Light winds out of the West at 5 mph or less.  Barometric pressure dropping as we head into the late evening here.  Temperature at 21 F (8PM).


2/13 - Light snow.  Cloud cover 100%.  Temperature of 28.1 F as of 8:02 pm (Wunderground).  South wind at 2 to 5 MPH.  Forecasts for the area have been predicting about an inch of snow accumulation overnight with light snow and freezing drizzle (overnight forecast from WeatherUnderground.com) .  90% Precipitation coming in a Wintry mix (info from weather.gov) through the overnight hours and less than a half inch of snow accumulation predicted.

Here is a good article I read about the current conditions facing the Midwest that came from Weather.com

Observations for both 2/12 - 2/13 were taken at 911 Lakeside Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54703
8PM

Weather Observations 2/10/2012

The arctic air mass discusses in class yesterday seems to have made its way down through Wisconsin and Minnesota today resulting in much windier and colder conditions.  Winds out of the North at 10 to 20 mph have continued to keep the weather cold throughout today.  Small puffy cumulus clouds directly overhead my location and larger stratocumulus clouds can be seen far to the South.  Cloud cover 20%.  Sun has been consistently in view for most of the day with a few breaks here and there.  Current temperature is 16 F and that is expected to drop to -1F tonight.  Sunny conditions are expected to continue which makes sense because the cold front that pushed through is also associated with higher pressure.

Observed at 3:48pm, 911 Lakeside Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54703

Weather Observations 2/9/2012

Clear skies this morning as I walked to school kept the temperatures a bit chilly if you were outside this morning.  S-SW Winds observed as I walked east past the Holiday on Water St.  Wind blowing at 5 - 10mph.  Cloud cover 0%.  Temperature as of 7:15AM was 19.6 F.  Barometric pressure declined overnight from 30.5 inches to 30.2 inches in Hg.  A lower pressure system was observed on a couple different weather websites.

As you can see from this current fronts map that I used from Weather Underground there is also a high pressure system to our south.  I would expect winds to stay coming out of the S/SW if these conditions remain the same.  I would also expect the intensity of winds to increase if the stationary Low seen to the north starts moving south.

Assignment 1 Pictures/Images

Water Vapor Satellite Image

Bright and colored areas indicate high water vapor (moisture) content (colored and white areas indicate the presence of both high moisture content and/or ice crystals). Black and brown areas indicate little or no moisture present. WV imagery is useful for both determining locations of moisture and atmospheric circulations.

Source : NOAA

Surface Data Maps

This legend explains what the numbers and symbols on the white map above.  Surface data maps are a great way to read what is going on in a particular region without having to look elsewhere.  They give a variety of statistics such as wind direction and strength, temperature, dew point, etc.

Jetstream Map

Illustrates the pattern of upper air movements and the jetstream as well as measuring their strength.  Important in determining where winds will be strongest and where vorticity might be present.

Barometric Pressure Chart

Important in identifying changing weather patterns over the course of the day or week.  Generally an indicator of whether or not good or bad weather lay ahead.

Weather Observations 2/7/2012

Weather remained much the same today as it was yesterday.  Mild temperatures today rose to about a high of 29deg F.  Yesterday was much warmer where it actually topped out just above 40deg F.  Barometric pressure today steadily rose throughout the morning and daytime hours.  Pressure is staying constant as of 5pm this evening.  High level undualting Stratus clouds to the North forming into thin Stratus clouds directly above my location.  Cloud cover 70%.  Winds light and out of the N at 3-7MPH. 

Source : WeatherUnderground

Observed at 911 Lakeside Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54703

Weather Observations 2/3 , 2/4 , 2/5

2/3 Observations - Very nice day for early February in Wisconsin.  Temperature at 45 deg (F) at mid-day with winds very light out of the SW.  Cloud cover is about 60% consisting of mostly of puffy cumulus clouds.  A high level stratus cloud can be seen off to the West of my location otherwise conditions are partly cloudy. 

Recorded at 911 Lakeside Avenue, Eau Claire, 54703 (2:30 pm)

2/4 - Not a single cloud in the sky today.  High pressure at the start of the day has left the sky clear and the sun shining so far.  Temperatures just shy of 30 deg F at 3pm in Minneapolis, MN.  Winds out of the NW blowing at 6-10 mph.  Barometric pressure declining this since the noon-hour indicates maybe there could be increased clouds or windier conditions in the next couple days.

Recorded at 3637 S. 4th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN ( 3 pm)

2/5 - Gloomy overcast day as I woke up today in Minneapolis.  Cooler and windier conditions have definitely arrived overnight.  Temperature at 11AM was measured at 29 deg (F) on Wunderground.com.  Barometric pressure holding steady over the past few hours, and winds picking up to 8mph out of the NW.  Large systems of High pressure are lining the Rockies moving eastward to our location.  I suspect that the weather should stay acceptable for the next few days maybe even pleasant if the air from the NW is not too cold.

Observed at 3637 S. 4th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN (11:07AM)

2/1/2012 Weather Observations

Mild, Overcast day especially this afternoon.  Very damp and moist air feeling when walking about outside.  Current temperature of 35.4 deg F according to Weather Underground at 4:15pm.  Winds are very light out of the SW, not more than 5mph or so.  Cloud cover is 100%, light gray clouds, mid to low level formation.  I believe the clouds are thick Altostratus because the Sun or any wind sheers cannot be seen.  Foggy conditions are expected to linger into tonight's forecast with temperatures just dipping the below freezing mark.

Observed at Phillips Hall - UW-Eau Claire, 54701