Ithaca, MI
This graph is great for understanding that there are differences in air temperature and soil temperature. As the air temperature heats up throughout the day so does the soil temperature. This is most likely due to the amount of solar radiation that enters the atmosphere and heats up the surrounding air then enters the ground and heats up the ground. However as the sun disappears the air temperature decreases. But since the solar radiation is actually absorbed by the soil this temperature stays warmer longer than the air temperature. This explains why the air temperature fluctuates on the line graph but the soil temperature remains on a slowly increasing line.
Michigan Station Location Comparison (three seperate locations chosen in the state of Michigan)
These graphs can be used to explain differences in temperatures based on location in a state. The max temperature for the three stations is close to the same increases and decreases over the period of the month. However it appears that the Ludington station shows the most overall fluctuation in temperature highs. On the other hand the Hawks station had the lowest overall minimum temperatures. I believe that since Ludington is on the coast it retains higher temperatures due to the warming of the absorption and retention of solar heat. I also believe that since Hawks station is further north in latitude the area doesn’t have the chance to absorb as much solar radiation. Additionally Hawks is further inland therefore it has a slight continental effect. Therefore the overall air temperatures have a greater range of air temperature instead of being nearby the water.
The same stations were used to compare soil temperatures based on location. The temperatures fluctuate at a much wider range than the soil temperature. The soils temperatures for two of the stations remain fairly stable. However the Ludington station soil temperature fluctuates frequently. I believe this is because of the amount of water that is in the soil. Water takes longer to warm up but it also takes longer to lose the heat. Therefore the soil temperature warms up and remains high it can greatly lose heat or gain more heat throughout the period, but it remain high overall. I believe that snow cover helps to insulate the heat that the soil absorbs therefore the soil temperature remains warmer longer into the winter season.
Evidence of Global Warming?
These two graphs show averages versus actuals for the Northwest region of the United State form years 1895-2011 shoing the long term trend of weather temperatures and precipitation.
This graph is showing how far off of the overall average temperature each year’s February average was for the year. The general trend shows that earlier years saw lower monthly averages then the overall average and later years saw warmer monthly averages then the overall average. I believe that this is another indicator of global climate change where the winter months like February are warmer than previous decades.
This graph of precipitation also shows a climate change trend. The earlier years saw a greater variance in precipitation levels and the later years saw more years with below average precipitation. This goes to show that areas in the Northeast that used to receive ample amounts of precipitation now receive less than the previous decades.
The question is do these changing weather patterns suggest that the climate is permanently changing over time?
Eau Claire, WI
I notice that the overall mean temperatures slowly increase from January into March. The extremes between highs and lows of the months appears to become more stable (not as many extremes) in the month of March. What I thought was interesting was that the difference between high temperatures and low temperatures has a smaller range during the month of March and a much larger range during the month of March. This indicates that the days are warm but the nights are still cold in the last month of March.
There is obviously no rainfall in January, little rainfall in February, and some rainfall in March. This has several reasons; first, because it is too cold in January to rain (it snows instead). Second, the temperature does not fluctuate as much during the earlier months for evaporation to occur consistently and produce larger rainclouds. I would like to point out that there is no recorded snowfall through the Phillips Metstation Archives. Therefore this does not account for all snowfall during the winter months.
I noticed that the overall dominant wind direction was West. This shows us that these few months saw many mid-latitude cyclones where the counterclockwise system would bring western winds as the cyclone moved westward across Wisconsin. There were more Eastern winds in March than in January and February indicating that mid-latitude cyclones are fewer as there has been more clockwise high pressure domes.
The graphs from this assignment correlate to the climograph I formerly constructed for Eau Claire, WI. It shows that I was correct in noticing that the mean temperature rises from January to March. It also shows that there is very little rainfall during the months of January and February compared to the rain heavy months of May-July.
Overall...
The graphs indicate that from January to February the mean temperatures grew warmer and that the ranges between the max and min temperatures grew larger. The multitude of mid-latitude cyclones that occurred provided western winds in along with some precipitation in February and March (and possibly snowfall in January). I found the above 50 deg F Max temperature seen in the month of February to been abnormal for the normally cold time of year in February. I also found that the larger portion of southeast winds in the month of March to be interesting. I believe that it was larger due to the long lasting mid latitude cyclone that occurred in that month. This brought warm moist air up from the tropical Atlantic marine air mass from the southeast into the Midwest to feed the cyclone system. Weather Summary for Eau Claire, WI (Jan-May 2011)
January: This month saw large amounts of snow fall and fluctuations in temperature. This caused many homes (such as mine) to encounter ice dams on the roof causing leaking roofs. Heavy snowfalls would fall and accumulate, then the temperatures would warm up enough for the snow to start to melt, then the the temperatures would drop a day later and then the whole bunch would freeze again.
February: This month began with some snowfall. The second week began the bitterly cold temperatures that I believe was the theme of the month. The cold temperatures were caused by the numerous jet stream troughs that allowed for polar air to spill into the Midwest from the north. Another brief warm up followed towards the middle of the month causing concerns across the United States for flooding. Flooding concerns were expressing in the New England area and even Fargo, ND (my future home).The end of the month saw another large snowstorm around the 20th.
March: This month began a series of extreme troughs in the jet stream. On the 7th the country saw on of the biggest troughs I've ever seen. The trough reached as far south as Texas causing cold polar to snowfall in the south and damaging crops in the south such as grapefruit in Texas. the month then started a series of mid-latitude cyclones that plagued the Midwest and New England regions. The mid-latitude cyclones caused strong winds and various precipitation (mainly snow for the season). Another winter storm occurred on the 22nd causing some more snowfall to occur across the upper Midwest.
April: The month began with some warmer temperature highs in the mid 40s. The trend of mid-latitude cyclones continued throughout the month. On the 12th the State of Wisconsin kicked off Severe Weather Awareness Week with some thunderstorm and tornado warning for the state (a total of 10 tornado touchdowns were recorded for the state on that day). A Colorado Low from the Rocky Mountains caused more snowfall to occur on the 19th. A few more mid-latitude cyclones and low pressure systems caused the temperatures to remain cooler (highs in the mid 30s).
May: This month saw increasingly warmer temperatures. This is when spring weather began to become more stable. The jet stream also did not see as many troughs in therefore upper atmosphere air temperatures were also allowed to stabilize.
