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