So what’s at stake for the rest of the winter? Meteorologically speaking, there are only 20 days left in the season. Let’s face it though; winters in Northeast Wisconsin extend well past February. In fact, we typically see an average of 18.6 additional inches of snow between now and our last snowfall.

March is no push over. It’s a month that averages 9.2” of snow. However, in recent years our March’s have been kind. Last year we had no snow in March for the first time on record. The chance of that repeating this year is very slim. We are expected to still be in a la nina this spring. It’s a pattern that has typically brought Northeast Wisconsin above average snowfall.

If the rest of the winter plays by the average, we will come away with more than 61 inches of snow. That will make it the third snowiest winter in the last ten years. It would also fall into the range of our winter forecast which called for between 60 and 75 inches of snow.

Meteorologist Andrew Thut

But for parts of western Wisconsin it was even colder. Eau Claire fell to -22°!

It’s not too uncommon for that part of the state to see the extreme cold. In Eau Claire they see more than 30 days below zero each year. It’s even colder, or worse depending on your preference, in Rhinelander. On average, they have more than 40 days below zero annually.

In that part of the state, lows will generally drop to -25° or -30° at least once a year. Further south there is some improvement. Green Bay’s coldest temperature of the winter generally falls between -15° and -20°.

Our record low, from 1888 is -36°. The states record comes from Couderay, located in northwest Wisconsin. During a cold snap in February of 1996, Couderay plummeted to -55°.

Meteorologist Andrew Thut



The freighter was one of the largest on the Great Lakes (729 feet long) and was carrying almost 26,000 tons of ore on its last voyage across Lake Superior. The final route of the Edmund Fitzgerald is documented in the image below.

Edmund Fitzgerald Route

On the afternoon of Sunday, November 9 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald departed Superior, WI en route to a steel mill near Detroit, MI. Shortly after leaving, the Fitzgerald made contact with the Arthur M. Anderson, a freighter headed on a similar route toward Gary, IN.

Due to an intensifying storm system, the two freighters decided to take a more northern route than was typical for the voyage. The forecast called for gale force winds to come out of the Northeast, and the more northern route would bring the ships close to the Canadian shoreline at the storms peak. This would provide a buffer for the ships and reduce the speed of the winds and the waves that the ships would experience.

On the afternoon of November 10^th, the wave heights of more than 15 feet were reported and the Fitzgerald began taking on damage. By around 7 PM wave heights of more than 30 feet were reported and the Anderson made final contact with the Fitzgerald. When asked how the Fitzgerald was doing they replied “We are holding our own”. Shortly afterwards the Fitzgerald disappeared from the Anderson‘s radar screen. The freighter sank 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan. The Great Lakes Shipwrecks museum has the final chatter between the two ships posted on this page at the bottom of their website. There are numerous theories regarding how and why the ship sank, but no one definitively knows what led to the Fitzgerald’s demise.

Meteorologist Andrew Thut

There is a slight risk for severe thunderstorms this afternoon and this evening.  Isolated storms will form that could contain hail and damaging winds.  Saturday evening/overnight we could see more storms.  Saturday’s storms need to be watched closely as damaging winds and heavy rainfall is possible.  With the flooding rain we received this week we obviously don’t need another round of heavy rain. Stay tuned to Fox11 for any weather updates.

Aftershocks continue to trouble Haiti.  Several 4.0 to 4.8 quakes have occurred in the last 24 hours.   While not considered strong 4.0 quakes can cause more damage to already weakened building.

For a link to Google Maps Before and After Photo

For the latest map on Haiti quakes click here.

For a list of all quakes recorded in past 7 day click here.

For an explanation of the Richter scale click here.

Haiti Aftershock As Of Friday 9:30AM

I did one year. Maybe because I wrote them down while a friend was watching.
By the end of the year, when we got together I was so proud at how many I had accomplished. I had set 10 goals. And accomplished most of them. The ones I failed on are the same ones I make every year: lose weight, get organized, get financially fit.

Well I’m making them again. The same ones. Whether I say they are my resolutions or not, they are the three things I want for myself.

And I have one more for 2010. I resolve to blog once a week.

It won’t be easy, but looking over my list, it might be the one that I can actually accomplish.

Good luck to you all! And Happy New Year!

The whole ordeal was pretty uneventful.. Until I met Laurie.

She was wearing a pink hat to cover the fact that she had lost her hair.

But what was most memorable about meeting her was her positive attitude.

She told me (in the 4 minutes or so that we talked) that she had originally gone in for a colonoscopy. (If I remember correctly, it was because a family member had been diagnosed with colon cancer.)

After the all clear on the colonoscopy.. Her docs suggested while she was there she should have a mammogram.

And that’s when they found the breast cancer.

Laurie looks like she’s my age. Her kids are older.. Maybe in middle and high school. But my age!

That’s when it hit me .. How lucky I was to have that piece of good news in my hand.

But it was lucky for her, too, that her doctor urged her to get that mammogram.

It actually took me a year to finally do it. My doctor’s office kept calling to remind me and I kept putting it off. I don’t know what I was worried about. I was in and out of there in about 20 minutes. And it DID NOT HURT. I repeat.. DID NOT HURT. Maybe it’s because I breast fed my children.. but it was a piece of cake.

 
So here’s my October is Breast Cancer Awareness message for you. GET A MAMMOGRAM.

Laurie did.. And it saved her life.

The average temperature during the meteorological summer, which runs from June through August, was 65.2°. That number may not mean a lot to you, but it means that this summer was the 12th coolest on record!

Not only was it cool, but we haven’t had a lot of precipitation. When you don’t get precipitation, it is hard to get severe weather. The only reports of severe weather this summer were on July 27th, when Green Lake County experienced a weak tornado and small hail. It was the first time on record, that there was no report of severe weather in the month of June.

The National Weather Service, in Green Bay, only issued 29 severe weather warnings this summer. The next fewest ever issued in a summer was 83 in 1997.

Of course it is still possible to get severe weather over the next couple of months, but attention will start to shift towards cooler temperatures.

The average high for this time of year is 75°, but by the last day of the meteorological fall, which is November 30th, the average high is only 35°. During the same time period, the average low falls from 53° to 19°.

If you aren’t quite ready for the cooler temperatures, the good news is that warm weather is ahead over the next week. Meanwhile, the Climate Prediction Center, thinks that above average temperatures will continue over the next three months. This doesn’t mean that every day will have warm temperatures, but as a general consensus, the CPC believes that temperatures will trend warmer than cooler.

But even with above average temperatures, the mercury will continue to slide over the next few months, and the form of precipitation will shift from rain to snow. In fact, Green Bay has even seen a trace of snow by the third week of September. However, on average the first measurable snowfall, doesn’t occur till November 11th.

Until Next Time,

Meteorologist Andrew Thut

   Welcome back to Packers Training Camp!  It’s a whole new look this year- for everyone involved.  For the players, the new field takes a little getting used to, but the slipping and sliding around of the first day seemed to get a little better on day two of camp.  For the fans, it’s a much better view of camp, as they have a place to watch that is a little more comfortable than dodging the traffic on Oneida.  With the raised stands, they get a better view, and can hear the players better as well.   For the media, it isn’t that much different, though we have a nice afternoon shade spot, thanks to the Don Hutson Center.

   Sunday was offensive penalty day at camp.  Not officially, of course, but it could have been.  False starts, illegal snaps, poor play.  At one point I thought Aaron Rodgers was going to pop someone.  Still, lots of time left in camp to clean that up.  Even with the new system being put in place, the defense looks to be ahead of the offense right now.  Some players have been standing out- Jeremy Thompson looks good in coverage- he told me he lost some weight, trying to get quicker- though he hasn’t be able to get by the likes of Chad Clifton.  No one gets by Chad Clifton in training camp, by the way.  They just don’t.

      Hopefully the kinks will be worked out as they go along.   Hit of camp so far, by the way, Nick Collins giving DeShawn Wynn a forearm shot and de-cleated him!   We’ll hopefully get more fun as the days go on.