The Final Post

Observation time: 11:35 am

Precipitation: None
Sky conditions: Overcast
Wind: 16 mph from the southwest
Temperature: 51 degrees

For my final post, I wanted to show you how you can relate temperature to the locations of various fronts. For example, the cold front that moved through our area overnight can be located by following the line of 70-80 degree temperature that starts to our east near Green Bay and ends in Texas. Now that we are on the back side of that front, things have cooled off considerably, while to the east of the front things are still quite warm. You can tell there is probably low pressure and another cold front in the northwest as well, as it is pretty chilly out there.

Today's Rant

Today we are going to be seeing cooler temperature than we have the past few days now that we are on the backside of the cold front that brought us some rain yesterday and overnight. High pressure should be moving in later on, making for some clearer conditions, although it won't be a whole lot warmer. We are seeing a fairly stiff breeze coming from a mostly southern direction which probably won't be helping our high temperature at all. As for the rest of the country, there is a long, well-defined line of showers and storms to the east of the leading edge of the cold front that we saw, and that precipitation is now falling from Lake Michigan to Louisiana. There are extremely scattered showers in the northwest and the mountains thanks to a separate cold front, while the middle of the country is mostly dry from high pressure. There is really a mixed bag of conditions today throughout the country.

Forecast for Tomorrow (My Final Forecast!)

Tomorrow, at least for the daytime hours, I expect things to clear up a bit as it looks as though we may be in a trough from a northern air mass sagging down into the area. There is going to be plenty of precipitation going on to the west because of the cold front that is currently located out there, but that should still take a little while to get to us. Temperatures may go back up some as well, as winds should remain out of the south. This will be providing even more moisture, however, that when mixed with the cold front (when it gets here) should mean a good chance of rain, but that might not happen until Sunday. Showers and storms from the cold front to our east should continue to impact the east coast and southeast, while out west, their cold front looks like it might bring snow in the Rockies and rain along the coast. Overall, it looks like another mixed bag kind of day, but in our area things should be fairly decent, at least during the day.

This will be my final blog post for this semester. I hope anyone who has actually been following it has enjoyed it. I have missed reporting days here and there for various reasons, but I always did my best to try and post something for you. I hope that you will take advantage of the links I have posted in the links page above, as they are all excellent places to get information if you would like to start forecasting for yourself instead of relying on the local "experts."

Stormy Morning

Observation time: 2:20 pm

Precipitation: None
Sky conditions: Mostly cloudy
Wind: 9 mph from the east
Temperature: 62 degrees

Today's surface analysis map shows the thunderstorms we saw this morning moving towards the east. This map also gives us a good idea of what tomorrow is going to be like. The warm front to our south will continue to push north, while the cold fronts to the west will continue to move east. When the cold fronts combine with the southern moisture tomorrow, it will mean warm temperatures, but most likely some rain as well.

Today's Rant

Today started out with some thunderstorms moving through the area, but since then we have gotten back to the same kind of conditions we have had the last few days. We continue to see mild winds from the east, a mix of sun and clouds, and temperatures in the 60's. There is plenty of low pressure here in the middle of the country, and we do have a warm front to our south in Illinois. There are also a couple of cold fronts currently in the mountains and the northwest. Those aren't necessarily impacting us yet, but over the next couple of days that looks like it may change.

Forecast for Tomorrow

Winds tomorrow should be coming from the south as that warm front currently to our south pushes further to the north. This should bring warmer temperatures, but also means there will be a bunch of new moisture moving into our area. This moisture combined with the cold fronts coming from the west should make for some good conditions for rain, and plenty of it. So overall, tomorrow should be a nice warm day, but that may be spoiled by clouds and some rain thanks to that southern air mass pushing into the area and combining with a cold front.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Observation time: 7:10 pm

Precipitation: None
Sky conditions: Clear
Wind: 13 mph from the northeast
Temperature: 63 degrees

Taking a look at today's nullschool wind map, you can clearly see that long stationary front cutting the country in half. This front is the main reason that thing have been relatively quiet throughout the country in the last few days. Neither the cold, dry air from the north, or the warm, moist air from the south have been able to take control and dictate the weather.

Today's Rant

We continued our small streak of very nice days today as temperatures continue to hang in the low 60's even after 7 pm. There are clouds to our north and south, but we are lucky enough to be in a small band of clear skies. Winds have been somewhat stronger than yesterday, but coming from a more eastern direction instead of from the north, helping it to feel closer to the actual temperature. That long stationary front I have been talking about is still hanging around and is now basically cutting the country in half from California to the Carolinas. South of that front, things are very quiet once again today, while to the north clouds are dominant. Extremely scattered shows are littering the northwest, as well as the northeast, but almost everyone else (ourselves included) are dry even if they aren't sunny. Other than that, there really isn't much to report around the country today as that long front is really keeping things in check.

Forecast for Tomorrow

With eastern winds predicted once again tomorrow, don't expect that temperature to change much if at all. It doesn't look as though there is going to be much movement with that stationary front yet, so the possibility of another clear, sunny day is becoming a reality as well. This may seem like a very short and boring forecast but, in all honestly things don't appear as they will be changing a whole lot anywhere in the U.S. in the next 24 hours. We have that massive front spreading across the whole country, and that really isn't allowing low or high pressure to gain control of anything. South of that line, things should be almost completely clear once again, and to the north where we are, expect much of the same. The exception will most likely be the northwest again, but what else is new?

Beautiful Sunday

Observation time: 4:05 pm

Precipitation: None
Sky conditions: Clear
Wind: 9 mph from the north
Temperature: 57 degrees

Today's surface analysis shows the long stationary front I have been talking about recently. That is making for relatively calm conditions in most places, although it has become a cold front in the northeast, bringing some rain. Don't be surprised if this map looks quite similar again tomorrow, with the exception of the northwest where low pressure should result in more rain showers.

Today's Rant

Although we are very close in temperature to yesterday, today feels much nice. We have been seeing just a light breeze from the north making our upper 50's feel like upper 50's instead of upper 40's. Skies have been almost completely clear all day long thanks to high pressure that has moved into the area from the north. That continental polar air mass that we hate in the winter because it makes it so cold is actually benefiting us at the moment. We still have that very long stationary front extending from the tip of Illinois all the way out to Seattle, so there isn't really a whole lot going on anywhere other than the northeast where a cold front in in control. South of this massive front, everything is extremely clear and dry. Not even a cloud on the surface maps. All around, this is a very nice day for the majority of the country.

Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow's wind forecast calls for breezes from the East, and that shouldn't really impact temperatures in a significant way. 60 degrees would be my ballpark estimate for a high. That big stationary front looks as though it will still mostly stationary, at least for the time being, so things should once again stay pretty clear for not just us, but for many Americans tomorrow. Low pressure in the northwest looks like it could bring some scattered showers, but then again, when isn't that the case? Overall, we should expect to see another day much like today, and that is just fine with me.

Finally, A Break from the Rain

Observation time: 3:40 pm

Precipitation: None
Sky conditions: Mostly sunny
Wind: 14 mph from the northwest
Temperature: 58 degrees

Comparing today's nullschool surface wind map to earlier in the week, things are much calmer now with the absence of that mid-latitude cyclone. You can see we are still experiencing some moderate winds from the northwest however, so that is keeping our temperature from really reaching their full potential today.

Today's Rant

Today we have finally gotten a break from the cold and rainy conditions that plagued the area most of this week. Gone are the clouds and rain and back is the sunshine and warmer temperatures as that mid-latitude cyclone has all but broken up, leaving us in a bit of a trough with not much action to speak of. We continue to see some moderate winds from the north again however, so it could be a little bit warmer if not for that fact. A big thanks goes out to the long stationary front associated with our trough, which is extending from Kansas all the way to the northwest and into Canada, and keeping things relatively quiet. Elsewhere, the cold front from that cyclone has moved off of the east coast and into the ocean, so the strong storms in the southeast have concluded with the exception of southern Florida. There is high pressure is the southwest, making for clear and dry conditions in the desert region, and there is a bit of low pressure once again building in the northwest.

Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow is looking like it could be yet another fairly nice day. With little change in the winds, expect temperatures to stay pretty consistent with what we are seeing today. That very long stationary front looks as though it is going to stay put for now which should mean we will see some clearer skies again as well. But with lots of low pressure building in the northwest, we may not be out of the woods in terms of this rainy pattern we have been seeing. Look for that moisture to possibly make its way to us early or mid-next week.