29. What to write about? Maybe some general stuff...
Current snowpack
We haven't had any real snow since Dec 5th, that's almost two weeks ago. With some sunshine (finally!) and no new snow, the snow cover we do have has settled a bit. Currently I found 10" to be the average depth. The maximum so far this season here has been 15". The current snowfall total this season here is 21.645" of snow, shown by my precipitation tallies in the green right-hand column.
Climatologically
Temperatures will finally rebound to normal this week, after two weeks of being a little chilly. Normal high and low for today is 25.17 & 8.947 degrees. Highs should reach into the upper 20s across NW WI, a pleasant change from teens.
The chart (to the left) is a screenshot I just took of highs and lows of the last three days. This shows the return of normalcy :)
The climatological range of temperatures for today's date is a bit extreme:
High temperatures of -3 in 1919 to 48 in 1939. Low temperatures of -26 in 1919 to 35 in 1977.
1939 seems quite warm, and 1977 isn't bad either. Of course, with temps like that, there couldn't be much snow on the ground in those years.
Wisconsin's lowest overnight temperature
The lowest temperature in the state this morning was at Land O'Lakes, north of Eagle River on the UP border. A very pleasant place, at least in the summer, there's a little food stand that has excellent deep-fried cheese curds. After 2:00 this morning they reached 3.2, that implies the UP had a cold night too!
Weekend recap
Saturday brought some clear skies across the region, comfortable temperatures in the upper 10's and light winds. An impulse crossed the region on Sunday heralding the approach of some milder modified-Pacific air. This triggered some flurries from an overcast sky. I spent most of the day in Duluth where the clouds cleared in the afternoon, while calls to Ashland and Price counties reported the flurried continued through the day. However, there was no real accumulation.
Chance of a white Christmas?
No question here. I've always had a white Christmas for the last 27 years, except the two years I spent in Africa, so I've seen 25 white Christmases... not that I remember the first few. Up here, we don't wonder if we will have snow for Christmas. Actually, it wasn't until I had a college roommate from down-south that I realized people don't have snow for the holidays. Wow! I know, naïve of me.
This is a map from the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) that shows the probability of a white Christmas. White areas are above 90% chance. I'll explore temperatures on Christmas in the past years in a future blog.
Climatologically
Wisconsin's lowest overnight temperature
Chance of a white Christmas?