April 2, 2018

Nature's Not Joking

Current Conditions

Temperature: 29 °F
Dew Point: 26 °F
Winds: ENE 9 mph
Pressure: 1013.5 mb
Visibility: 4 miles

Today started off a bit chillier than it has before with a temperature of 15 °F and sunny skies. The sun would be short-lived however. By the afternoon skies had clouded over and the snow began to make its appearance. This can be seen in figure 1.

Figure 1. Weather Overview for April 2, 2018.

 The temperature and dew point started off separate and both in the teens but by 3:00PM both had risen to mid-20s and the dew point depression sunk to 0, meaning the air was completely saturated. This is when the snow began.
Figure 1 also points out the lower temperatures Wisconsin has been experiencing as of late. A temperature map is shown in figure 2.

Figure 2. Temperature map of the United States on April 2, 2018.

You can see winter's claws reaching into the states! Unfortunately this cold seems to be sticking around for at least the next five days.
After 3:00PM the snow fell pretty consistently until about 6:00PM and there has been a lull since then. However, around midnight the snow will pick up and it will continue to snow all day tomorrow. The low pressure system responsible for all this is shown in in figure 3.

Figure 3. Surface map of the United States.

 The white patch around western Wisconsin denotes the snowfall in the Eau Claire area.

Previous Prediction

Yesterday I predicted slightly warmer temperatures and snow, both of which are correct. The snow is a bit lighter than I expected, but that will come full force tomorrow.

Prediction

Tomorrow's prediction isn't that hard; snow, snow, and more snow. I'm not kidding, I wish I was. The snow should pick up at midnight and continue all day tomorrow, warranting the winter storm warning. Figure 4 shows the prediction for tomorrow.

Figure 4. Predictive map for April 2, 2018.