Monday, April 30, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 80° F 
Feels Like: 83° F
Humidity: 67%

Wind Direction: SSW, 14mph

Heat wave! It is a very sunny and warm day with winds coming from the southeast making it comfortable to be outside. The jet stream is responsible for the winds coming from that direction. Looking at the east coast, there is still a midlatitude cyclone sitting in that region. The wind patterns have continues to follow that same cyclone for the past few months which is very interesting.  Unfortunately, Eau Claire is in the region for rain and thunderstorms. There is a warm front and a cold front headed our way with a series of lows which could cause precipitation tomorrow. 

National Forecast Chart

Wind Map

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 55° F 
Feels Like: 54° F
Humidity: 24%

Wind Direction: NE, 13mph

It is very nice and sunny day! There is a high pressure system sitting over Wisconsin that is providing us with sunny skies. It is pretty chilly with the wind but if you sit in direct sunlight it starts to feel pretty warm. The cold winds are coming from the north which are continental polar winds. My prediction for tomorrow is that we will still see some sunny skies and chilly winds. 

National Forecast Chart

Friday, April 27, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 52° F 
Feels Like: 48° F
Humidity: 45%

Wind Direction: ENE, 18mph

It is a pretty cloudy and dreary day here in Eau Claire. It appears that there are some cirrus clouds high in the sky and some cumulus clouds closer to the surface. The low pressure system is causing the cloudy skies and will most likely bring some precipitation along with it as well. The forecast chart looks a little busy compared to what we have seen lately. There are quite a few cold fronts and a bunch for low pressure domes across the United States. It is very interesting to be receiving winds coming from the East at this time. 

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 65° F 
Feels Like: 69° F
Humidity: 29%

Wind Direction: SW, 13mph

I'm going to sound like a broken record here but it is a beautiful sunny day once again! Plenty of sunshine with once again, scattered cirrus clouds. There are some interesting wind patterns in the midwest that are lining up along the cold front and low pressure systems. It looks like Eau Claire is just out of the range for rain warning which is nice. Otherwise, it is a pretty uneventful weather day here. It has been very refreshing this week to finally have nice weather.

Wind Map

National Forecast Chart

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 46° F 
Feels Like: 43° F
Humidity: 47%

Wind Direction: WSW, 6mph

Once again, another gorgeous day! It is a pretty calm day with low winds. The sky is almost completely clear of clouds at this current moment except for a few wispy cirrus clouds. The temperatures are slightly cooler than they were yesterday but the suns rays still feel very warm. It looks the east coast is experiencing another low pressure system that is causing severe weather. That side of the US just can't catch a break. Although luckily it looks like they are just experiencing rain and thunderstorm instead of snow. West of Eau Claire, the cold front and low pressure system is moving in which will most likely cause an overcast day. It doesn't appear that this area will experience any precipitation from the forecast but low pressure systems are usually followed by some sort of precipitation so time will tell. 

Wind Map

National Forecast Chart

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 68° F 
Feels Like: 68° F
Humidity: 29%

Wind Direction: N, 12mph

Wow it is almost 70° F  degrees!! It is a partly cloudy day with some wispy cirrus clouds. There is a present breeze which is actually kind of refreshing because sitting in the direct sunshine can get pretty warm. Looking at the forecast chart, there is some precipitation headed our way following the low pressure system. However, there is a high pressure dome following right behind that will hopefully bring back the sunny weather for the weekend. An interesting phenomenon that is currently happening within the polar jet stream is an omega high. This occurs when there is a sequence of nice days in a row. The omega high is present off the coast of California currently. My prediction for tomorrow is that there will be some sunshine but we might see some nimbus clouds rolling in as the forefront for the upcoming precipitation. 

National Forecast Chart

Jet Stream 250mb

Monday, April 23, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 55° F 
Feels Like: 52° F
Humidity: 58%

Wind Direction: W, 3mph

Such a beautiful day in Eau Claire!! The sun is shining and it finally feels like summer is on the way. You can tell it is spring in Wisconsin when its 50 degrees and people are in shorts and sandals. There is just better energy in the air when it is warm and sunny outside. The midwest is in a high pressure zone in between two low pressure systems. A cold front is heading our way with some precipitation following behind it. However, the precipitation shouldn't hit us until midway through the week. For now, we can just enjoy the nice weather and spend some time outside soaking up the UV rays. 

National Forecast Chart

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 44° F 
Feels Like: 39° F
Humidity: 37%

Wind Direction: NW, 8mph

Warmth!! And beautiful sunshine with a few wispy cirrus clouds in the atmosphere. Thanks to the high pressure dome, it should stay pretty sunny all day and most likely tomorrow as well. It looks like most of the US is finally seeing warmer temperatures as well. It is interesting that that northern Minnesota is slightly warmer than the whole state of Wisconsin. However, south of Eau Claire received quite a bit of snow yesterday which could correlate to the temperatures being colder in those areas. In the southeast, there is a large contrast of temperatures in short area distance. This area corresponds to the cold front moving into that region. North Carolina has a very large temperature range across the state. 

Temperature Map

National Forecast Chart

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 34° F 
Feels Like: 26° F
Humidity: 70%

Wind Direction: NNE, 11mph

It is a pretty chilly and overcast day with stratus clouds. The temperature is 34° F but it feels much colder most likely due to the continental polar winds coming in from Canada. Luckily, it doesn't look like Eau Claire will receive any snow because the precipitation mass will stay south of us. The winds could have moved the precipitation mass south because yesterday it looked like it was coming straight for us. The midwest is surrounded by low pressure domes which explains why the whole area has been overcast all day. For tomorrow's prediction, I expect the temperatures to increase and for there to be some sunshine. I also predict that temperatures should increase throughout the week and we will start to see some of the spring weather we have all been waiting for. 

Wind Map

National Forecast Chart

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 39° F 
Feels Like: 34° F
Humidity: 46%

Wind Direction: NNW, 7mph

Finally some sun!! A lot of the snow has been melting due to the sun rays and warm temperatures which has been wonderful. There are some cumulus clouds scattering the skies but it is a mostly sunny day. However, this bright ray of light will not be here long. For tomorrow, it looks like we will be seeing some precipitation. There is rain coming but also possible some snow following directly after. It will be interesting to see whether the warm temperatures will keep the precipitation as rain or if we will actually see some flurries tomorrow. Time will tell. Stay posted. 

NOAA Forecast

Monday, April 16, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 32° F 
Feels Like: 22° F
Humidity: 57%

Wind Direction: NNE, 13mph

No more snow fall! It is an overcast day with stratus clouds blanketing the sky. For once it is nice to see that Wisconsin doesn't have any winter storm warnings! It is still pretty windy though from the low pressure cyclone that is still moving east. The wind map shows a very interesting trend in the wind directions across the United States. Almost right in the middle of the contiguous U.S., there is line down the middle that isn't experiencing heavy winds. There is a high pressure zone near the top of this line and on the bottom which can explain the good conditions for those areas. The cloud free area to the west of us provided by the high pressure zone will hopefully reach Eau Claire tomorrow so that we can finally see the sun after this long stormy weekend. 

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 26° F 
Feels Like: 17° F
Humidity: 78%

Wind Direction: NNE, 10mph

Still snowing. However, there is light at the end of this ice tunnel. The snowfall isn't coming down as heavy as the previous days and the winds have died down slightly. Looking at the forecast map, there should be a break moving in soon. There is dryer air moving into the midwest which will help our case. An interest weather event happening east of us is the long line of precipitation from Michigan down to Florida. A large cold front accompanied by low pressure systems. Looking at the  water vapor map, that line of precipitation corresponds where a high concentration of water vapor is in the atmosphere in the midwest. For tomorrow's prediction,  there will finally be a break from the snowfall. Although temperatures should be around 32° F, it will be an overcast day so there will be no help from the suns rays to help melting the snow. 

Forecast Map

Water Vapor Map

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 25° F 
Feels Like: 13° F
Humidity: 88%

Wind Direction: NE, 15mph

Snow snow snow. The last few days we have been receiving winds moving in from the northeast. The worst of storms arise from winds coming from the east which helps to explain why this winter (spring?) storm has been so intense. One aspect of the wind direction that could also be making the snow amount worse is that it is blowing over the great lakes and picking up more moisture along with it. Also, there are three low pressure systems south of us that is keeping all the stormy weather here.  It looks like Eau Claire is actually in a region that doesn't have the most moisture in the air but, the wind direction will continue to push the moist air from the Great Lakes to our region. 

Forecast Map

Water Vapor Map 

Wind Map

Friday, April 13, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 40° F 
Feels Like: 38° F
Humidity: 87%

Wind Direction: NE, 3mph

The weekend of severe weather has started. Storm clouds are rolling in which appear to be nimbostratus. It has been extremely rainy all day as temperatures have remained around 40 degrees. As it gets colder tonight, the rain will change phases to snow. The forecast places Eau Claire in a snow and freezing rain zone on the chart. It also shows the low pressure zone directly between the warm and cold front. Looking at the wind map, you can see the midlatitude cyclone in the midwest where the low pressure dome in located. Winds from the south are moving north but then are directly cut off of by the warm front. The snowfall will continue into the night and will most likely continue all of Saturday. This is just the beginning. 

National Forecast Chart

Wind Map

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 41° F 
Feels Like: 37° F
Humidity: 87%

Wind Direction: NW, 5mph

It is another overcast day with what looks like stratus clouds. Basically, another gloomy spring day here in Eau Claire. There is a low pressure dome over the state of Wisconsin which is likely the precursor of what we will be expecting this weekend. It is a pretty humid day and there was slight precipitation here and there but it's just the beginning of the huge stormy weekend. For tomorrow and the whole weekends prediction, just snow, all day, and lots of it. 

National Forecast Chart

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 40° F 
Feels Like: 38° F
Humidity: 69%

Wind Direction: N, 3mph

It is a pleasantly warm and slightly sunny day. The winds are coming from the North but they are not that strong so Eau Claire is not being affected by the continental polar air masses. There is a stationary front coming from the west and a cold front coming from the north that will likely be affecting this region within the next day because they are being followed by low pressure systems. The midwest region does not have any severe weather warnings at this current time except for a hydrological outlook which explained to lookout for rising rivers and streams as precipitation increases and snow continues to melt. For tomorrows prediction, I expect to see an overcast day due to the low pressure systems moving in. 

Wind Map

Weather Forecast Map

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 35° F 
Feels Like: 27° F
Humidity: 66%

Wind Direction: SSW, 10mph

It has been an overcast day so far and there has been a little bit of snow fall here and there. Temperatures are still staying pretty low for the month of April. Average temperatures in Eau Claire during in April in past years have been in the high 50's. Unfortunately, the whole state of Wisconsin is sitting in the trough of the polar jet stream right now which is why we are experiencing such cold temperatures. Looking at the temperature map, the temperatures directly correlate with the path of the polar jet stream. States in the ridge region are still staying relatively warm. The weather we receive can almost always be traced back to the winds aloft.

Wind Map 

Temperature Map

Monday, April 9, 2018

Today's Weather:
Temperature: 33° F 
Feels Like: 27° F
Humidity: 44%

Wind Direction: NW, 3mph

It is a slightly warmer and partly sunny day. However, Eau Claire is in a low pressure dome now which means that precipitation will be on its way. The forecast map shows that most of Wisconsin is actually in a possible rain and snow region because of the temperature. It is warm enough for rain but also cold enough for snowfall. The only issue with that is that there could be a chance for freezing rain. Although winds are coming from the NW, they are not very strong and consistent so they aren't really affecting the Eau Claire region. My prediction for tomorrow is that there might be some snow flurries here and there throughout the day. 

National Forecast Chart

Wind Map