OSNW3 | OSHKOSH-NORTH

A locally grown complex of thunderstorms in NW Outagamie county organized late in the afternoon on July 2. Gaining strength as it moved south into Winnebago county the strength of the storm was evident as it reached peak intensity directly over Oshkosh. (Radarloop Jul 2, 2012) Hail, strong wind gusts, and street flooding were the most common reports from the eleven storm spotter reports made to the National Weather Service in Green Bay. A condensed version of the NWS-GRB Oshkosh reports are located here . Fellow storm spotter, Mark Martin, had the opportunity to snag a hail stone and measure it. His hail measured just about an inch, but there were reports of larger hail measuring 1.5 inches. A photo of Mark's hail is below. I recovered a quarter sized hail stone at OSNW3 but was unsuccessful in getting a quality photo of it. I did get pelted in the head during the act of retrieval. I will admit that it hurt and that I should not have gone out to retrieve it in the first p...

The cool and crisp feeling of Autumn is finally being felt here at OSNW3. It took a while. We have yet to dip below the freezing mark, however. Fairly soon though we will be adding the 2011 date to the Winter History page. ( **First Freeze took place on Oct-28 ) The later it comes, the better in my opinion. Only because recent climate trends show more snow falls in winter when the first cold blast takes place a couple weeks later than average. The average first freeze in Oshkosh is Oct 12 (1981-2010). This year has more climatological posibility since it is another La Nina year. A comparison for Oshkosh winters during La Nina is below. "For the second winter in a row, La Niña will influence weather patterns across the country, but as usual, it’s not the only climate factor at play. The ‘wild card’ is the lesser-known and less predictable Arctic Oscillation that could produce dramatic short-term swings in temperatures this winter." Read more here . With that said...