Each night (actually…early morning) on my way to work I drive by a house where the whole yard is lit up with about fifty gigantic blow-up Christmas characters and snow-globes that look like something from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  You can see the warm glow from miles away.  I want to get out and walk through it, maybe have a cup of hot chocolate and take a few snapshots, but at 1 a.m., I’m pretty sure the homeowner would not appreciate it and may even call the police. So, rather than trying to explain my obsession with the oversized punching bags to a police officer…I slow down and admire it from the road.

It did however get me thinking about how the tradition of Christmas lights came about.  I thought it might be a nice heartwarming story I could share with my kids while sitting around the lighted Christmas tree.  Well, it wasn’t really…but that’s o.k.  I look forward to all the different displays each year and for some reason they always seem to bring a sense of calmness to the hustle and bustle we’ve all come to know.

Click on the link below if you’d like to read the story of how Christmas lights came about…and, whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, enjoy the holiday season and take a little time to bask in the lights.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071210030131AAGyvlO

Happy Holidays!

Weather Headlines

Warmer as we start the week with a few chances for light snow on Tuesday and Thursday, but a better chance for snow Friday night into Saturday.  Stay tuned to see if the snow throws a monkey wrench in your holiday travel plans.

Meteorologist LeAnn Lombardo

Posted under Hometown Weather

LeAnn is so right!  I remember going to sleep on Christmas Eve, dreaming of all the presents that I’d be opening the next morning, while outside it was cold with several inches of snow on the ground.  There was the year I built a snow fort and crawled through it with my trusty boxer pup at my heels (I have pictures to prove it!).  Detroit streets were narrow enough, but when snow covered those very streets, driving down them became a bit of a game.  Who was going to be courteous enough to shift over and risk getting stuck in the snow so that the other car could pass first?

Then there were the holiday seasons that I spent in Colorado . . . the first one (1996) featured sunshine and mid-50s.  I was literally wearing shorts outside on Christmas Day!  It was odd to experience four Christmas years without an inch of snow on the ground.  Needless to say, there was some excitement on my part on December 1, 2002 when I realized my chances of seeing a "white Christmas" were pretty good.  I envisioned at least a half foot of snow on the ground and frigid temperatures when that time of the month rolled around.  You can understand my shock when December 25 finally came, and the snow depth in Eau Claire was . . . 0!  What??  I mean, we are on the same latitude as Minneapolis,and Yellowstone National Park.  How can we not have snow on the ground? 

A simple blame can be placed on a phenomonon called "El Nino".  It seems that during those particular years, lengthy mild and snowless periods are bestowed upon the upper Midwest.  It’s no coincidence that three out of the last five years have featured a weather pattern with El Nino characteristics.  The following is a charting of the official snow depth for Eau Claire in the years that I’ve lived here:

                                2002:  0"                                          2005:  3"

                                2003:  2"                                          2006:  Trace

                                2004:  1"                                          2007:  ??

I mean seriously, a meager 2" just doesn’t cut it in my book.  I have been looking forward to a December like the one we had in 2000, when the snow depth was 13" and the morning low was -26 on Christmas morning.  Okay, maybe I can live without the latter of those, but really, we should be able to maintain an 8" snow depth in December this far north.  We are just two weeks away from Christmas and that is what our snow depth is as of today.  Unfortunately, for those of us dreaming of a whiter Christmas than the past few have been, an image like this from the Climate Prediction Center doesn’t bode well.

Yes friends, that map shows the dreaded warming trend that will erase a lot of that snow in the days before Christmas.  A week of highs in the 30s will definitely take its toll on our lovely 8" of snow cover.  True enough, there may still be enough to classify this as a "white Christmas", but sitting inside sipping egg nog  on Christmas Eve would be so much better with a beautiful coating of fresh snow on the ground.  Keep up the hope . . . we still have two weeks to go!

Chief Meteorologist Doug Michaels

Posted under Hometown Weather

Posted under Hometown Weather

It sounds like a ship, maybe the name of a freight train.  Could it be a new species of bird?  How about a resort?  The answer . . . none of the above.  Our close proximity to Canada allows it to affect our weather every winter.  Of course I’m talking about the Alberta Clipper!

It’s a fast moving weather system that we see and talk about every winter here in Wisconsin.  In fact, we are usually in the path of most clipper-type systems.  These areas of low pressure generally develop in the lee of the Canadian Rockies, or in Alberta, Canada.  Low pressure then moves southeast very quickly into the northern Plains or upper Midwest, carried along by the jetstream winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere.  There is often a very pronounced temperature difference between the warm and cold sectors.  Milder air from the Pacific preceeds the area of low pressure, while Arctic air blasts in behind the trailing cold front.  It is this difference in temperature that fuels the system, generating the quick snowfall that accompanies the storm.  An average Alberta clipper will dump between 1-3" of snowfall, but the more intense ones can unload a quick 3-5".  All of this occurs within a 6-9 hour window.

A perfect example is the one that will bring snow to the Chippewa Valley on Tuesday.  The following image from the National Weather Service will illustrate the forecast track and snowfall for the upper Midwest.

The best snowfall occurs to the north of the area of low pressure, so we need the track of the clipper to be southwest of the Chippewa Valley for us to see the most snow.  Of course, if it’s too far away, we will receive lighter amounts. 

Unlike winter storms, which last much longer and bring larger amounts of snow to the area, clippers come and go within a 12-18 hour period (when you consider the clouds we see before and after the snow).  Temperatures cool off considerably after the cold front passes, as Canadian high pressure builds in and the mercury tumbles due to the cold air and fresh snow cover.  Clippers can wrek havoc on road conditions, but they are also essential for building the necessary snow base at ski resorts and other tourist destinations across the state. 

  Chief Meteorologist Doug Michaels

Posted under Hometown Weather

Why is it that we have to wait until the later part of December before we can officially say it’s winter?   I mean, we are usually feeling the sting of winter cold long before the third week of December.  You have probably even had to scrape snow or ice off of your windshields already.  So the question is: when does winter really begin? 

I’ve wondered this very thing since I was in college, when I was told in my Intro to Meteorology class that December 1 is really the beginning of winter.  Imagine that . . . a full three weeks early!  Based on the quickly changing climate of western Wisconsin, especially during the second half of November, December 1 makes a lot more sense.  There are two ways of defining the start of winter, or really any season for that matter:  the meteorological and the astronomical.  The Meteorological beginning of a season occurs on the first day of every third month, which is usually a full three weeks before the calendar says so.  The astronomical start is right around the third week of the month, when the sun’s direct rays reach a certain angle of latitude.  For example, winter officially begins this year on December 22, when the direct rays of the sun are furthest south (over the -23.5 degree latitude line, or the Tropic of Capricorn).  The strength of the sun is weakest on this day here in the Chippewa Valley, and it’s also the shortest day and longest night of the year.

The National Weather Service keeps records based on the meteorological season, which means that Saturday was the beginning of the winter season.  I don’t know about you, but with near zero low temperatures and snow on the ground, I’m ready to acknowledge that winter is here, whether the calendar says it is or not!

Chief Meteorologist Doug Michaels

Posted under Hometown Weather

Can a snow fence help you?
Placed properly a snow fence can make all the difference between being snowed in (some folks may like this idea) and, smooth sailing down the driveway.

My husband and I had planned to put up a snow fence along our quarter mile driveway a few weeks ago when it was still nice, that didn’t happen.

So, Saturday morning rolls around, the snow starts falling and we’re out in the single digit temperatures (with wind chills well below zero), trying to quickly get the snow fence up.  After all, I have to get to work early Monday morning and cannot be snowed in!

If you’re planning on putting up a snow fence (either this year yet or just plan ahead for next year) here are a few things you need to know.

How they work:

As the snow and wind blow through the fence, the fence basically empties the air of snow before it reaches your driveway (or whatever feature you’re trying to keep the snow away from).  Drifts that would normally fall on the roadway now form at the

location of the snow fence.

To be effective, snow fences must be properly designed and located with respect to the roadway in need of protection. Not all roadways will benefit from snow fence.

A fence placed in the wrong location may not do an adequate job of protecting the road, and may even cause snow to accumulate on the roadway.

Height
Any standard size fence will help stop drifting snow. However, the taller the fence – the more snow will be trapped. One row of eight-foot fence is recommended for maximum efficiency. Multiple rows of shorter fence can also be used.

Length
Snow fence length determines the maximum amount of area that can be protected from blowing and drifting snow. Snow storage at the ends of a barrier is significantly less than near the center. It is recommended that the ends of the fence extend approximately 30 degrees beyond the desired protection limits to allow for wind variability.  Fences should be set back from the edge of the roadway a distance of 35 times the height of the fence. For instance, if the snow fence is eight feet tall, it should be placed 280 feet back from the edge of the roadway. (8′ high x

35 = 280-foot set back)

Placement
The fence should be placed as parallel to the road and perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction as possible.

Helpful hints
• Fences should contain 40 to 50 percent open space to be most effective.

• Horizontal gaps are the preferred design.

• A gap of six to eight inches is needed between the ground and the fence to reduce the tendency of fences to become buried in drifts, which reduces storage capacity.

Happy fencing!

Posted under Hometown Weather