Half Full or Half Empty

As the meteorological winter nears the half way point, our area is feeling the effects of some moderated Pacific air. The current pattern is keeping us mild and dry. It's possible the genesis of the weather is El Nino related. Regardless of it's origins, it's a love/hate relationship. Fortunately for some, the warm air has been coupled with mostly cloudy skies keeping snow melt to a minimum. We are currently maintaining a 6" snowpack here, but it is likely to shrink some more in the coming days. (OSNW3 January Observations)

(OSNW3 January 2010 Summary)

(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)

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Weekly Snowfall
Not much happening in the snow department this past week. We had little more than a dusting back on the 11th.

(Jan 11, 2010 - 0.1")


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OSNW3 2009 Climate Summary
Looking back to what was 2009 a couple things stand out. The overall mean temp for the year exactly matched the average mean temp for Oshkosh. Precipitation was below average and almost 10" less then last year. Please click here for the data set complete with graphical representation. With this task finished, I am anxious to continue my analyzing of other annual data from around the region.

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Front Of House
The dark and dirty snow is starting to show through. Also, this photo reminds me that I need to take down the Christmas lights soon. I've neglected the process as our daughter still enjoys them in the early morning and late evening hours. :)

(FOH - Jan 16, 2010)


*Addendum*
Each day this past weekend, Jan 16-17, we had minor freezing fog develop. Sunday's fog had a more prominent look to it. Below is a photo I took of the fruit hanging from the tree out front. Also, in doing a little research of fog I read on wikipedia that "The foggiest land areas in the world are Menomonie, Wisconsin, Point Reyes, California, and Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, all with over 200 foggy days per year". I never knew, it's almost hard to believe Menomonie is in that sentence. ???

(Freezing Fog - Jan 17, 2010)


*Addendum* to the *Addendum*
I have a friend who lives in Menomonie, WI. I questioned him on my findings from wikipedia. He thinks someone is having their way with wikipedia.

Comments

  1. Whens the half way point anyway? Winter here was cold at first. now it's been mild, I myself actually love the mild temps. the clouds though, thats not so nice.

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  2. D, I'd say it's right around now. Dec-Feb is meteorological winter. The weather is fine, however, I'd rather be woveling snow, than not.

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  3. Our recent warmup finally melted the remaining snowcover. We had a prolonged time period with snow on the ground, which was very nice to see. It does tend to get dirty and unsightly after a while, though. Now everything is a mess as the ground is frozen, and the moisture has nowhere to go. Fog for the last four days (dense fog <1/4 mile vis. for two of those days)

    Great yearly analysis! I'll be doing some comparing through the week. I look forward to it.

    BTW...do you have a weather station that records your daily data? You have quite a comprehensive spread in your new monthly analyses and graph.

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  4. WxWatcher, speaking of fog, I added a photo to the end of this entry. We had a minor bout with freezing fog this past weekend.

    The yearly data was a blast putting together. I still enjoy analyzing the other annual summaries out there. I have 2008 and 2007 complete on the site as well. The upper right hand text on the page will bring you back or forth.

    The gathering of my data does not fully come from a weather station, as a matter of fact the only data that currently comes from one is the temperature. I like to keep a hands on approach to my record keeping. Each day I enter my data into a spreadsheet, save it, and then ftp it to my server. Takes less than 5 extra minutes if need be. Included in my database are a few data sets obtained from the NWS as well. Microsoft Excel is my engine of choice at the moment. If you'd like more info I'd be glad to share it with you along with giving you my spreadsheets for reference on how they're created/maintained.

    Thanks for the interest. :)

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  5. Fog: "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco." It is said that Mark Twain said that about my hometown.

    The summer fog in the city, specifically the western portion of the city, is generally ladened with fog during the summer. Simply, warm to hot inland temps. draw in cood moist air from the coast, more specifically that cool moist and condensed air is drawn right through the Golden Gate (the opening the the bridge spans).

    I like fog except winter fog.

    Bob

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  6. OSNW3,

    Any info would be great. I am always up for new and better ways to keep organized. If you don't mind, I'll take any spreadsheet you use for reference. Much appreciated!

    Also, I'm intrigued by all the fog talk that's been going on. I've started recording "days with fog" in my daily observations. I'll add that to my yearly data next January. Great picture of the freezing fog. We've had a bit of freezing fog here, but nothing to that extent.

    Bob,
    Whenever I hear about freezing fog, I think back to last year's eventful fog in your area. I can't imagine something like that happening here.
    I like the Mark Twain quote.

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  7. Bob, during my travels to SF and the Bay area I've run in to my fair share of fog. It's marvelous to watch. I've been out to Point Reyes, where wiki quoted to have 200 days of fog. The day we were there wasn't so foggy however. Here's a pic of my wife and my buddy Chris who lives in Berkley somewhere on Point Reyes. One thing I do know about the city of SF, if you live there long enough the climate traps you in, literally. I have first hand knowledge of it because of my friend David who has lived in the city 10+ years. He rarely leaves and when he does he's usually over dressed. :)

    WxWatcher, I am willing to pass it on, however I positive it will not be better, just new. The freezing fog has been thicker south and west of Oshkosh. I will not forget Bob's photos of the freezing fog out his way. Insane.

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  8. We still have a few inches of snow here.

    Nice yearly weather graph. You use Excel for that, right?

    Nice picture below. We had much freezing fog down here. All the trees were covered in white.

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  9. I had some time to compare our yearly data today. One of the things that jumps out to me is your record yearly precipitation. It's a little more than 2" above our average. A major contributor to this difference is our ability to tap into the copious amount of moisture that streams in from the Gulf of Mexico from time to time. I would wager to say that most (if not all) of our 1"+ events came from such storm dynamics.

    It's interesting, but not surprising that our temperature extremes occurred relatively at the same time. Synoptically, our region does tend to be affected similarly to weather events (exceptions included of course, i.e. the recent cold snap). I see that you didn't reach 90° in 2008. Is that abnormal? Sounds nice to me. I don't particularly enjoy 90°+ weather (and the humidity that tags along).

    You also had significantly more precip. events than I did (>=0.01"), 101 days more to be exact. Statistically, here's how they broke down:

    OSNW3:
    Total - 228 days

    >=0.01" - 59.6%
    >=0.10" - 30.3%
    >=0.50" - 9.2%
    >=1.00" - 0.9%

    MO-CW-1
    Total - 127 days

    >=0.01" - 39.4%
    >=0.10" - 29.1%
    >=0.50" - 11.8%
    >=1.00" - 15.7%

    I'm enjoying this. Thanks again for the smorgasbord of data!

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  10. WxWatcher, an answer to your question... "I see that you didn't reach 90° in 2008. Is that abnormal?" - It is abnormal as Oshkosh averages around 8 of them a year. At my house I had zero, but at the WWTP they had two, consecutively on 9/2 & 9/3 (90°/92°).

    I like what you did with the total days with precip... however, my total amount of days with measurable precip is the actual total number of days with accumulation greater than or equal to 0.01" as well. In my formulas I do not have criteria that limits that particular result. The outcome doesn't change. It's just less significant as once thought.

    136 to 127

    Also, thanks for the Fog idea! :)

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  11. Aaahh. You know, I kept going back to that in my mind last night, thinking I had added wrong. "228 days? That's a LOT for Wisconsin..."

    :o) 136 makes much more sense. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

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  12. WxWatcher, thanks for participating in the data exchange! :)

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  13. ALRIGHT! My climate data is making a difference! A plow company is making erroneous charges and the party involved needed snowfall data for past dates. :)

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  14. OSNW3, here it appears the glass suddenly became empty- just early last week the creeks were solid enough to skate on...now spring like weather. We spent the afternoon, taking turns at the weather radio. Filed a hail report for the first time this year! Third time we have had hail in about 10 years. Saw a couple of rotations.

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  15. SuzieE, on the winter tip it may seem it's empty, but weather wise it would seem half full. Hail? Rotations? Exciting stuff! Speaking of hail, my buddy who lives in Berkeley, CA also experienced hail this week. I believe that happens out there less than 3x in 10 years. El Nino is certainly creating havoc this January. I hope this pattern breaks soon, for old man winter's sake here in the western great lakes region. :)

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  16. OSNW3 --

    The kids are very much enjoying the loop you put together for December. It has really hit home the idea of the Coriolis Effect on storms, and general West-East movement of our precip. It has become a "treat", that the kids get to watch if and when we finish all our work early.

    Their favorite part...definitely the Christmas storm. Lots of "whoaaaa!!!'s can be heard as it spins over Missouri and Iowa. :o) Makes this teacher smile when the kids get excited about anything (especially weather). So again, kudos for putting the time into that.

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  17. WxWatcher, it warms my heart to think about your students getting excited... makes the time well worth it.

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