Thursday and Friday's Observation

Ok so yesterday was an interesting day for weather but yet again I was too busy to make it to the computer to blog. So here is a recap. As I was walking to school early in the morning the wind was coming from the east at around 12 mph hours. Half the sky was filled with cirrostartus clouds and the other half was filled with lower stratus clouds. (I caught a beautiful picture of the defined front that was present in the cloud formation). Then later in the day the wind had switched to the northeast indicating the the low pressure system that was moving into the region was going to pass to the south of Eau Claire. The temperatures were cooler all day and the skies remained 100% overcast for the entire day.

Today's temperature is also cooler at 45 deg F with a windchill at 35.2 deg F.  The dew point is at 23.2 deg F creating a relative humidity of 42%. The barometer is at 1017.7 mb. The wind is at 15 mph from the East. The skies are 100% covered with altostratus clouds. Therefore I predict that we will see rain or possibly snow within 18-20 hrs. The map from the Weather Channel shows that there is a clearly defined mid latitude cyclone (visible in a comma shaped pattern) in Kansas and Missouri. This is the same low that moved to the south in Thursday's observations. The occluded front (pink line) in the mid-latitude system means that the system is in its end stages and will be dying out in the near future.

Severe Weather Awareness

Ok so this week has been declared Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This includes the annual checking of each state's weather announcement systems. Now here is my small rant about these announcement systems... in the state of Wisconsin the sirens are not controlled by the weather service but instead by each municipality. In the state of Wisconsin the warning sirens are used not only for tornado warnings but for severe thunderstorm warnings. Not this causes a great amount of problems. For instance I am a Minnesota resident so sirens are only sounded when there is an actual tornado warning in the area. I have always taken this sound very seriously. It usually involve me and my mother shooing my two younger brothers downstairs and me gathering blankets and flashlights as quickly as I can while my mother tunes into the weather station for more information. So naturally we I heard the sirens sounded in Eau Claire, WI during Sunday's storms I flew from sitting on my bed to gathering my laptop and cellphone in my arms and started to move downstairs. That is when I remembered that Eau Claire used the sirens for thunderstorms as well. I was unsure whether I should still be concerned or not. Instead I returned to my room and checked the alerts on my laptop.

How am I supposed to tell the difference between a thunderstorm or a more serious tornado. My other roommates even ignored the sirens all together. This is not ok! The sirens should warn of immediate danger to the area not just weather concerns. In the case of a real tornado I don't believe that any Wisconsin residents would be properly warned to take cover because they would think it was just a thunderstorm if they even took notice of the sound at all. I believe that many residents have become desensitized to the siren sounds altogether.

Just to put things in perspective throughout last Sunday's Wisconsin storms there were in fact 10 reported tornado touchdowns throughout the state. Which is the largest number of touchdowns in a single day in the month of April recorded for the state. The warning for these events should not be taken lightly. Citizens need to be aware of possibly weather dangers and alerted properly based on the situation.

Tuesday and Wednesday's Observations

Yesterday we saw cirrocumulus clouds covering about 75% of the sky. The temperature was around 62 deg F with the dew point at 32 deg F creating a relative humidity of 33%. The winds were from the west at around 9 mph. The barometer was at 1030.6 mb which is much higher than the sudden drop in the pressure that we saw on Sunday when the larger storms were in the area. Yesterday we were in a high pressure dome with an approaching cold front over the Dakotas. I predicted rain overnight however this proved to be wrong.

Today's weather looks to be a bit gloomy. The temperature is at 52.5 deg F with a wind chill of 49.1 deg F. The  dewpoint is at 38.3 deg F creating a relative humidity of 58% meaning that there is alot more moisture in the air then yesterday. The wind is from the north at around 5 mph. The barometer is at 1017.5 mb which is a bit lower than yesterday this means that the lower pressure system that was off to the west yesterday is moving through the area today. In the eastern sky this morning I see cirrocumulus clouds however in the western sky I see a blanket of gray nimbostratus clouds. These western clouds are going to be bringing rain showers to the area throughout the day and into the night. The map below from the Weather Channel confirms that the cold front is indeed stretching across the western side of Wisconsin. This is bringing the cooler temperatures and cloudy skies.

Sunday and Monday Observations

Yeserday presented quite the array of weather. It began with Thunderstorms overnight on Saturday followed by overcast stratus cloud Sunday Morning, followed by partly cloudy/ slightly sunny midday. Then the winds picked up and the clouds turned darker and looked more like cumulonimbus clouds. Severe Weatehr Sirens sounded at around 4:30pm. Then the darker clouds drifted off around 6pm. However at  around 8pm they were back and the wind was blowing at around 15 mph. The temperature dropped throughout the day starting at around 55 deg F.

Today's temperature is 60.6 deg F with a wind chill of 54.9 deg F. Teh dew point is 28.2 deg F creating a relative humidity of 29%. The wind is blowing at around 10 mph from the northwest. The barometer is at 1010.0 mb. The sky is about 10% covered with a few cirrocumulus clouds. The map below fromt he Weather Channel shows that there are no new front moving into the region therefore I predict warmer temperatures adn clear skies for tomorrow.