Tuesday 2/26

Temperature: 35°F (Low 26°F)
Humidity: 67%
Pressure: 1011.6 mb
Wind Speed: NE 16 mph
Today is an overcast day with gusty conditions. The sky is blanketed with stratus clouds which are non-nimbus (no precipitation). The temperatures today were fairly warm, but the wind throughout the day made it feel quite a bit more chilly than the temps indicated. The Jet Stream dipped unusually far South today, which was an effect of the mid-latitude cyclone that went through the Great Plains yesterday and today. As for Wisconsin, everything is pretty uneventful. The Jet Stream is pretty much straigh West-East through the Midwest, and there doesn't appear to be any major precipitation headed our way.

Sunday 2/24

Temperature: 34°F (High 34°F)
Humidity: 56%
Pressure: 1018.9 mb
Wind Speed: W 5 mph

Could it be!? Is there a chance we are finally going to be finished with the cold weather? I think it's true. It's a beautiful day today, with warm temperatures, clear skies, and hardly any wind. After Winter Storm Q came through on Thursday all we've seen is sunshine. Hopefully this nice temperature will continue into the Spring. As for this week, I think it's going to be fairly eventless weather-wise. The radar shows no precipitation headed our way, so expect more sunshine.

Friday 2/22

Temperature: 25°F (Low 17°F)
Humidity: 85%
Pressure: 1011.1 mb
Wind Speed: W 6 mph

Today Eau Claire got hit by the Northernmost extent of Winter Storm Q. We received between 5-6 inches of snow throughout the day, but for the most part, it was a pretty pleasant day (at least I thought so).  The effects of the storm have passed over the Midwest already, but from the water vapor map below you can see that the Tropical Jet Stream has been attracted upwards into Gulf of Mexico and the Southern states, which will be receive large amounts of precipitation.

Wednesday 2/20

Temperature: 15°F (Wind Chill -9°F)
Humidity: 61%
Pressure: 1031.0 mb
Wind Speed: NW 7 mph

Today Minnesota and Western Wisconsin are located directly under an area where the air in the Jet Stream are converging. This causes air aloft to be forced downward towards the surface, which leads to very clear skies and high pressures.



This high pressure probably won't last long however, as we are still preparing for Winter Storm Q to hit us later tomorrow evening.

Tuesday 2/19

Temperature: 7°F (Wind Chill -14°F)
Humidity: 52%
Pressure: 1017.3 mb
Wind Speed: NW 15 mph Gusts up to 24 mph

Yesterday evening the wind direction changed from a East or Southeast wind to a straight NW wind. This wind direction change brought much colder air from the North than the air from the South. As a result, the temperature has dropped nearly 30° from the high yesterday. Also, it's worth noting that a midlatitude cyclone is formulating out West, and will need to be monitored throughout the week. As of right now, this storm (Winter Storm Q) is predicted to drop 5-8 inches of snow on Eau Claire around Thursday or Friday. On the map below, there is a stationary front along the East side of the Rocky Mountains that will funnel cold Arctic air towards the East, and towards Wisconsin. Bundle up, and get your shovels ready.

Monday 2/18

Temperature: 35°F (High 34°F)
Humidity: 72%
Pressure: 999.5 mb
Wind Speed: W 6 mph

The current conditions are turning out to be a little different than the forecast. As you can see, we have already surpassed the forecasted high temperature, and there was supposed to be a 90% chance of snow, which we have not seen yet. Based on the doppler radar, I would say that there is a better chance of not getting any snow today in Western Wisconsin.



We are in an elongated area of low pressure (trough) today, so we will be seeing some more cloud formations later this evening.

Saturday 2/16

Temperature: -1°F (Low -18°F)
Humidity: 79%
Pressure: 1023.2 mb
Wind Speed: Calm

The past few days have been cold here in Eau Claire. We've seen consistent highs of about 17°F, and it is likely going to stay that way through the weekend. If we take a look at the Current Weather map from Weather.com, we can see that there are two warm fronts to the West of us that are likely to come our direction. This means by early next week we might see some warmer temperatures.

Wednesday 2/13

Temperature: 31°F (High 35°F)
Humidity: 69%
Pressure: 1006.1 mb
Wind Speed: W 6 mph

For a mid-February day in Wisconsin, it is gorgeous outside! Light wind, plenty of sunshine, and warm temperatures (the average mean temperature for February 13th is 19°F). The bad news, is that there appears to a cold front headed our way, which will bring some cold polar air with it. We can expect the temperatures to drop a little bit towards the weekend.

Tuesday 2/12

Temperature: 26°F (High 31°F)
Humidity: 71%
Pressure: 1014.6 mb
Wind Speed: SW 14 mph

Today there is kind of an interesting situation; the wind in Eau Claire is coming from the Southwest, however it's not unusually warm. Normally, any wind coming from the South is typically warm air, but in today's case, it is not any warmer than the air we have gotten the past few days. If we take a look at the jet stream today, we can see that the jet stream is bringing this air from the Southwest, but all this air originated in polar regions, so it is still cold.



Today we have mostly sunny skies in Eau Claire, which is always leads to some evaporation and possible cloud formation, but for the rest of the day and into tonight temperatures will most likely remain in the mid-twenties.

Monday 2/11

Temperature: 27°F (High 30°F)
Humidity: 75%
Pressure: 1006.4 mb
Wind Speed: W 14 mph, Gusts up to 26 mph

Well the pressure is lower than it has been the past week or so, which explains the cloudy conditions and the relatively high winds. If we take a look at the Sea Level Pressure map for today, we can see that Eau Claire and most of the Great Lakes area are in a large low pressure system. Also, we can see that the isobars are pretty close together over Eau Claire, which is why we are having fairly strong winds blowing towards the center of the low pressure system.



It seems as though that there is nothing but high pressure systems forming to the West of Eau Claire, so we can expect to see the sun a little bit more throughout the next couple of days. However, don't be surprised if we continue to get some dustings of snow, those Alberta Clipper systems are not finished quite yet.

Thursday 2/7

Temperature: 25°F (Low 11°F)
Humidity: 81%
Pressure: 1022.5 mb
Wind Speed: N 8 mph

Today was a pretty crummy day. It was overcast all day, with fog in the morning and freezing mist at night. The Jet Stream was in a very geostrophic position, blowing straight West to East for the most part. This would explain the lack of strong winds and a relatively boring day of weather.

Wednesday 2/6

Temperature: 20°F (High 26°F)
Humidity: 85%
Pressure: 1019.2 mb
Wind Speed: SE 6 mph

As you can see, the winds changed directions today. Instead of blowing out of the Northwest like they have been recently, today they are coming from the Southeast. This change of wind direction seems to have brought some moisture along with it, because today Eau Claire is receiving a little bit of snow throughout the afternoons and into the night.



The Sea Level Pressure map doesn't show much activity in our neck of the woods. The isobars are relatively spread out, which explains the weak winds blowing from the SW towards the low pressure system in the Dakotas. I think we expect constant temperatures around 30°F for the next few days.

Tuesday 2/5

Temperature: 25°F (High 26°F)
Humidity: 78%
Pressure: 1009.9 mb
Wind Speed: NW 9 mph

Well my first forecast of the season was correct (albeit not a very risky one). I said the sun yesterday could create some evaporation, stratus clouds, and warmer temperatures, which is exactly what happened. Today has been overcast all day and temperature highs are 10° warmer than yesterday.

Over the past couple of nights we have been experiencing some light dustings of snow. These are called Alberta Clippers, which are moist air masses from the NW brought to the midwest by the jet stream. Given the location of the jet stream today (bottom right), it looks like it is in perfect position to bring some more of that precipitation from the Pacific (notice Washington, bottom left) our way once again.

Monday 2/4

Temperature: 11°F (High 13°F)
Humidity: 56%
Pressure: 1018.5 mb
Wind Speed: Calm

Well today is a pretty calm, average day. Fairly chilly temperatures, but the bright sunshine and the lack of wind makes it a pretty enjoyable day.

As you can see from the Sea Level Pressure map from weather.unisys.com, Western Wisconsin is currently in a high pressure system. If I were to make any forecasts, I would say that the sunny skies will cause some evaporation of the snow, and we could see some cloudy, stratum type skies the next few days, along with warmer temperatures.

Friday 2/1

Welcome to the Becker Diurnal Weather Journal! Here on the Home Page I will be giving a daily (or near daily) rundown of recent and current weather conditions, as well as make short-term forecasts in the Eau Claire, WI area. I will provide current weather conditions based on information received by weather balloons sent up the National Weather Service station in Chanhassen, MN. For example, today's weather conditions are as follows:

Temperature: -6°F (High 0°F)
Humidity: 64%
Pressure: 1026.3 mb
Wind Speed: 7 mph

Also in my posts, I will talk briefly about the weather from the last few days or so, the current weather, and make a short term forecast. I will also include weather maps to illustrate my explanations.

It's been a wild week of weather here in EC. Sunday (1/27) saw fairly warm snow, and alot of it. Monday followed with unusually warm temperatures, and hard showers of rain in the evening and into the night. After a night of rain, Tuesday brought clear skies and very, very icy conditions. It was safer to travel with ice skates than by walking. Wednesday was similar to Tuesday, clear skies, light breeze, and more icy conditions. Thursday (yesterday) was blustery, with light snow in the morning, and decreasing temperatures throughout the afternoon and into to today, and let me tell you, it certainly is cold! Today we have a wind chill of -30°F! I can definitely say I'm happy to be inside reporting on the weather, not experiencing it.

Just for fun, here is a picture of the current wind patterns in the US (11:59 CT 2/1). To find the live interactive wind map, navigate to the Favorite Links page on this blog.