This afternoon National Weather Service offices in Duluth, Marquette, and Green Bay have issued a Freeze Warning for early Sunday morning (5.31.09).
High pressure, located over the Yukon this afternoon (Friday) will rotate down into the Dakotas by Saturday and the Western Great Lakes by Sunday. This dome of high pressure will bring very dry air and calm winds.
Dry air cannot hold as much heat as moist air, so there is a period of several hours that temperatures may fall below freezing.
High temps, high wind, high flames! 5.20.09.
There were several fires reported across northern Wisconsin last Wednesday during a very hot and windy day. Most fires were easily traced to downed power lines by trees and branches breaking in the high gusts.
The biggest fire was called the Blockhouse Fire (pictured above and below) because of its close proximity to Blockhouse Lake east of Park Falls, WI -- not too far from my old stomping grounds. The fire ended up totaling 112 acres with several houses lost, one was a permanent residence, but firefighters were able to save a dozen other houses from the flames.
Other fires started in Bayfield (13 acres burned), Ashland, Iron (five fires and one barn), and Vilas counties (45 acres), and20 acres outside of Rhinelander in Ondeida County.
Stories about the fires from several local newspapers:
While the temperature at most weather stations across the north hit 90 degrees, the air was very dry too. The dewpoint at Ashland was 43 degrees in the afternoon, with a relative humidity of 19% !!
I put wind speed and temperature data from Ashland's airport into a graph (to the right). The highest recorded wind gust was 52 mph, one of the highest in the region.
High temps, high wind, high flames! 5.20.09.
Other fires started in Bayfield (13 acres burned), Ashland, Iron (five fires and one barn), and Vilas counties (45 acres), and20 acres outside of Rhinelander in Ondeida County.
Hot + Dry+ Windy = Excellent Fire Conditions!