February 27, 2018

Shorts Weather!

Current Conditions

Temperature: 35 °F
Dew Point: 26 °F
Winds: 0 mph
Pressure: 1010.8 mb
Visibility: 10 miles

Today the temperature reached a toasty 50 °F, so the shorts definitely came out! This morning the temperature was 23 °F with no winds and clear skies. The afternoon was much the same except the temperature continued to climb up to 50 °F. Other than the warm temperatures, there was not a lot going on in the Eau Claire area today. 

The warm weather can be attributed to the southerly wind direction at the surface and the direction of the jet stream explained in figures 1 and 2 respectively. 

Figure 1. Map of the surface winds in the United States. The winds in the Eau Claire, WI area are originating from the south and bringing warm air with them.

Figure 2. The jet stream is coming off the Pacific Ocean and heading up through Mexico bringing warm, moist air into the Midwest this week.

In the current surface map a couple of things can be noted (figure 3). Over the Wisconsin region is a low pressure system which indicates the warmer air. There is a stationary front in our area as well which means temperatures aren't changing. In the south near Louisiana there is severe flooding due to continued thunderstorms. This area and up into Kentucky experienced severe thunderstorms and tornadoes last week and the continued rain is making matters worse. Flooding is also causing issues in the Ohio River Valley near Columbus. 

Figure 3. Mixed surface map of the United States.

While the rest of the United States is experiencing warm temperatures, the west coast is experiencing uncharacteristically cold temperatures. In figure 2 one can see the dip in the jet stream denoted by blue. This is bringing in cold air from the continental polar air mass and keeping temperatures low. 

My prediction from yesterday was correct, temperatures were definitely warmer. 

For tomorrow, I predict slightly cooler temperatures because of the high pressure air mass to the north that will continue to descend into the area. And let's be honest, these warm of temperatures never last long during winter in Wisconsin.