How is the ozone hole doing?
Currently, the ozone hole is not as large as it was in 2011, but it is larger than it was in 2010. The ozone hole refers to the rapid depletion of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica. This ozone is...
View ArticleWhat are cooling degree days?
A degree day is a measure of heating or cooling. A degree day is defined as a departure of the mean daily temperature from a given standard: one degree day for each degree of departure above (or below)...
View ArticleHow did we set an all-time high temperature record under cloudy skies?
On Dec. 3 the high temperature of 65 degrees F was the all-time highest December temperature ever recorded in Madison. Among the interesting aspects of this record high was the fact that the entire day...
View ArticleHow long has Milwaukee gone without snow?
By Sunday, Dec. 9, Milwaukee had gone 280 consecutive days without measurable snowfall (defined as 0.1 inches or more of snow). That set the all-time record long streak for no snow in Milwaukee’s...
View ArticleHow does weather variability affect our economy?
Weather has a big impact on our economy at all levels — local, state and national. In our local economy, weather influences various business decisions, such as when to plant or harvest, when to pour...
View ArticleHow cold has this winter been, historically?
Wednesday is the 62nd anniversary of the coldest day ever in Madison — Jan. 30, 1951 — when the temperature dropped to minus 37 F. As we described in a column a couple of years ago, to get the air that...
View ArticleHow are climates classified?
There are a few ways to classify climates. The plant hardiness zones often published with seed packages are one way to group climates. That approach is based on minimum wintertime temperatures but is...
View ArticleHow do citrus farmers battle the cold?
Last week was one of the coldest of the season in the southeast United States. Though not as bad as prior cold air outbreaks in late January or early February, such events have been known to present a...
View ArticleHow can it feel humid during a drought?
The drought that began in the spring of 2012 is actually an extension of the 2010 drought. The recent February storms have lessened the current drought, which covered 80 percent of the lower 48 states...
View ArticleJust how snowy has it been these past six weeks?
It sure has been a snowy last few weeks. As of Jan. 1, 2013, Madison had officially received only 32.4 inches of snow — nearly half of which (15.2 inches) was delivered in our Dec. 19-20 snowstorm....
View ArticleWas March colder than normal?
Nearly everyone is happy to see March 2013 end, as it was an unusually persistent cold month. In fact, Madison ended up 7.4 degrees below normal for March 2013 making it the 18th coldest March in the...
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