It’s about 30° colder today than yesterday with flurries and snow showers expected so it is a perfect day to unveil the winter storm names for 2012/13.  The first name was a boy’s name (Alan) since we started with a girl’s name last year (Angela).

In case you’re wondering who picks the names…that would be me.  I run it by my boss but I put the first list out there and sometimes we tweak it a bit.  I try to use popular names from different decades (the social security list of names comes in handy)  so that all generations get a chance to have a storm named after them.  For instance Alan was popular in the 60s and Denise in the 70s; Brianna in the 2000s.  I’ve also heard from a number of people who would like to have a continuation of names into the next year so that we would see some winter storms that start with  the letter “P” or “S”.  I may have to consider that next year because I admit, it is getting a bit lean for different names at the beginning of the alphabet.  Below you’ll find the names and the factors the FOX 11 meteorologists use to determine if a storm should get a name.

Don’t forget to tune in Wednesday during the FOX 11 News at 5 for Patrick Powell’s winter weather forecast.  Long range forecasting like this is very difficult and Patrick uses every bit of his expertise and skill to come up with an idea of what the season will look like in both temperature and snowfall.

Yes, I can now be grouped in with the “crazy dog” people.  Phoebe, our Pembroke Welsh Corgi just turned 1 year old.  My step daughter Sarah made her a doggie birthday cake (mostly peanut butter and carrots).  My wife added the party hat, while I was happily snapping pictures the entire time. 

  I’ve been a dog enthusiast from way back.  But when my Labrador Retriever passed I tried going without a dog.  I thought that some new carpeting would be nice.  No dog hair would mean a cleaner house, and I’d save money on dog sitters.  Looking back now those were some silly ideas.  2 weeks of being dog-less and I was suffering from “empty nest syndrome”, or as my wife simply put it I was “freaking out”.  I really missed the pitter patter of paws, the sloppy kisses, the constantly wagging tail, even the fur that coated my work suits.  I found a home with no dog is a truly empty place.  Now my wife was not ready for another dog (she was still missing our Lab).  So I played dirtiest of tricks and emailed her a picture of a new litter of Corgi puppies.  My underhanded email worked and the next day we were in agreement, we are getting a puppy!

  We visited Phoebe and the rest of the puppies once a week as they grew from gerbil looking things into miniature Corgi’s.  At around 6 weeks the puppies ears started popping up into the traditional Corgi pose ^ ^ and we were so proud of our little pup.  New Year’s Day is when our family became complete again and Phoebe came home.  It’s been a doggie love affair ever since.

  Phoebe (aka “The Phoeb’s”…. aka “Fuzzy Butt”….. aka “Big Ears” aka….. aka “My Little Girl”) is a smart dog and loves her toys and chewing the stuffing out of them.  Tug-of-war is a game she always wants to play, and when she does, she makes a most ferocious growl.  I think it’s her way of acting bigger than the 18 pounds she sports.  But her favorite activity of all is catching Frisbees.  She can’t jump very high but she is quite a speedster and catches most of the disks thrown her way.   Although Phoebe like us a lot, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend lately, she seems lonely.  I think she needs a little brother or sister to keep her company.  It may be time to reach into my bag of tricks and email some puppy pictures to Carol.  When it comes to dogs I don’t fight fair. 

  If you are looking for some companionship I highly recommend dogs, though cats are nice too.  This link Petfinder.com will help you search for you perfect pup or kitty from shelters across Wisconsin and the U.S.  If you have not had an animal before I encourage you to go to a shelter and ask lots of question about what you need to do as an owner.  If a dog fits into your life I highly recommend getting one.  There are a lot brown eyed fuzzy wiggle butts waiting for a forever home!    

Why is Sandy being called a “Super Storm”?  Well, it’s certainly not for its wind speeds.  Forecasters use the Saffir Simpson scale as a measure of hurricane winds.  The scale starts at a Category 1 storm with winds of 74 mph increasing to a Category 5 storm with winds of greater than 156 mph.  As of 10 am Saturday Sandy is just barely a Category 1 storm with winds of 74 mph.  The forecast has winds continuing in the 70 mph range as it makes landfall sometime Monday night or Tuesday morning.

The factor that makes this storm super is its size.  By merging with a winter storm Sandy will affect the entire eastern seaboard.  Many large cities will be at a virtual standstill as long as the storm continues to blow.  Here are the 4 main factors that will make this storm one for the history books:

1. Coastal Flooding.  Costal areas of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York will be affected by storm surge, now forecast at 4-8 feet.
2.  Power Outages:  High winds will be widespread across New England.  Winds will average 50 mph with gusts over 70 mph- this will break tree limbs and take down power lines.  The scale of this event (roughly from Vermont to Virginia) will keep some people in the dark for a number of days, maybe even a week.
3. Heavy Mountain Snow:  Moisture, cold air, and this powerful storm will combine to dump 1-2 feet of snow in high elevations.  Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania will be hardest hit.  Besides affecting travel this heavy wet snow will down trees and power lines creating more power outages. 
4. Flooding Rainfall:  The leading edge of Sandy will produce heavy flooding rainfall with 4-6” of rain forecast with isolated 8” amounts possible.  Flooding could stretch from Virginia to Vermont.

The path and strength of Sandy will continue to challenge forecasters, so go to the National Hurricane Center for the latest storm track.  This site from the National Weather Service in Virginia is also very handy for information on Sandy.  Click here for flight delays; there will be a lot of them starting Sunday night! 

A strong fall storm system will move into the Midwest on Saturday.  This storm has the potential to produce heavy rain in NE Wisconsin with computer models indicating maximum rain amounts of 1-2”.  Along with the heavy rain, there will be thunderstorms with this system.  The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted a slight risk for severe weather in Southwestern Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.  Some storms in the risk area could contain damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.  The Meteorologists at Fox 11 are keeping a close eye on this storm.  Stay tuned for further updates as we get closer to the weekend.

Enjoy the warm weather today because the cooler air is pushing in overnight.  A cold front will push through the state this afternoon but we’ll still be on the warm side so expect highs near 82°.  (Normal high is 72°)  Rain will develop overnight and we’ll see periods of rain Thursday with a high of only 65°!  If you’re heading to the Packers-Bears game tomorrow evening, there will still be a 30% chance of showers with a kickoff temperature of 58° and north winds at 5-10 mph.  We’ve seen a very warm Spring and Summer, check out the highlights on our timeline.

Enjoy the warm, sunny conditions today and tomorrow because as Sam Cooke sang, “A Change is Gonna Come.”  Breezy southwest winds today will usher in high temperatures in the 80s and we’ll continue to see unseasonable warmth Wednesday ahead of an approaching cold front. (The normal high for this time of year is 72°) The front will impact us Thursday as highs only reach 66° with periods of rain.  The cool down will last through the rest of the work week but right now it’s looking better for the weekend.  Bring your official NFL Licensed Green Bay Packer Poncho to the game on Thursday against the Bears, you may need it.

The northeastern U.S. will be under the gun for severe weather today.  The Storm Prediction Center has much of the area under a moderate threat for severe storms.  The primary threat will be from a long lived damaging wind storm called a Derecho, as well as a few Tornadoes.  Simply defined a derecho is a storm that produces winds of 58 mph or greater for over 240 miles. For a lot more information on derechos Click Here.

Click Here to track thunderstorms using  interactive radar.

Click Here for storm watches and storm reports.

We may see some patchy fog this morning, otherwise it’s shaping up to be a warmer, beautiful day with lots of sunshine. An area of high pressure will influence our weather the next few day.  The center of that system will be right over the state today which not only means sunshine but also light winds (west at about 5 mph).  The next best chance of rain and thunderstorms is on Friday.  Have a great day

We’re drying out today after a very wet Thursday.  Rainfall totals of between 1 and 2 inches was commonplace in the area.  Today we deal with strong north and northeast winds at 15 to 25 mph so hold on to your hats!  The weekend is improving with lots of sunshine and highs in the upper 70s.

As expected we are getting  rain this morning and although we’ll see a break from it for a time, we’ll likely see more this afternoon, probably after 2 pm in Green Bay and the Fox Cities.   Most of the rain so far this morning has fallen from Green Bay and areas south.  By 10 am Waupaca has already seen almost 2″ of rain.  Keep the umbrella handy!  Our high will only reach 65° which will be the coolest since June 1st!  After today, high pressure will start to build bringing lots of sunshine for the weekend.