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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) annual State of the Climate report for 2009 shows that this past year was warmer and wetter than normal across the contiguous United States.

According to data maintained by the National Climatic Data Center going back to 1895, the average temperature for the contiguous US in 2009 was 53.1 degrees Fahrenheit. This is 0.3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average. While this might not seem like much, it follows the gradual warming trend observed over the past several years.

Overall, the South, Southwest and West saw above normal temperatures in 2009. Much of the Central Plains and the Midwest (including the Coulee Region) saw below normal yearly temperatures. According to the 2009 Climate Summary compiled by the La Crosse office of the National Weather Service, La Crosse had an average temperature of 44.9 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit below normal.

The US averaged 31.47″ of precipitation in 2009. This is 2.33″ above average. Here in La Crosse, 36.64″ of precipitation were measured at the La Crosse Airport, which is 4.28″ above average.

Looking specifically at December, the contiguous US had an average temperature of 30.2 degrees Fahrenheit. This is 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit below average. In fact, no region in the country had above normal average temperatures in December. Average precipitation across the contiguous US in December was 2.88″. This is 0.65″ above the 1901-2000 national average. Overall, this past December was the 11th wettest on record.

The National Weather Service in La Crosse just released the results for the top 10 weather and/or climate events for the region in 2009. This list was voted on by staff at the NWS office in La Crosse, emergency management directors and media meteorologists… including yours truly.

Here was my Top 10:

1. Dec. 8-9 Blizzard
2. July 27 Crawford County Tornado
3. Aug. 8 Severe T-Storms/Heavy Rain
4. April 24 Warm Temps/Severe T-Storms
5. Cold July
6. June 17 Austin, MN Tornado
7. July 24 Severe T-Storms/Large Hail
8. Dry & Quiet End To Summer
9. Oct./Nov. Flip-Flop Weather
10. Jan. 13-16 Bitter Cold

Here is the (Official) Top 10 (as voted on):

1. Dec. 8-9 Blizzard
2. June 17 Austin, MN Tornado
3. July 24 Severe T-Storms/Large Hail
4. Cold July
5. Jan. 13-16 Bitter Cold
6. Oct./Nov. Flip-Flop Weather
7. April 24 Warm Temps/Severe T-Storms
8. Aug. 8 Severe T-Storms/Heavy Rain
9. July 27 Crawford County Tornado
10. Drought

Honorable mentions were the 1- Dry and Quiet End To Summer and 2 - Dec. 23-25 Xmas Winter Storm.

So I agreed with most everyone else about the #1 weather event of 2009 being the Dec. 8-9 Blizzard that dumped 12″-17″ of snow across the region. Whether some of the other events occurred in our viewing area or not swayed my votes. For example, I ranked the Crawford County tornado higher than the Austin, MN tornado because Austin is not in our viewing area.

For a complete look at the Top 10 list and also many more details about each event, click on the following link to the La Crosse National Weather Service website: Top 10 Weather Events of 2009.

Now let’s see what Mother Nature has in store for us in 2010. So far, it’s been all about the COLD!

Until next time, see you in the morning!

We ended 2009 with the second wettest and sixth snowiest December ever recorded in La Crosse, and we’re starting 2010 with the coldest average New Year’s Day temperature (6F) since 1993.

The average temperature for December was 20.1F, which is 1.7F below normal. According to the Preliminary Monthly Climate Data recorded at the La Crosse Airport, the highest temperature of the month was 49F on December 1, and the lowest temperature was -6F on December 11th.

December was a very wet month, and 3.36″ of precipitation was recorded at the La Crosse Airport. This is more than 2″ above normal. Most of this rain fell during the Christmas storm of December 23 - 25, which dumped about a foot of snow at the Minneapolis Airport.

And speaking of snow, let’s not forget the Blizzard of 2009 on December 8th and 9th, when we picked up almost 18″ of snow at the La Crosse Airport. In fact, we ended up with a little more than two feet of snow for the month (24.9″). This is 15.3″ above normal, and more than half of the roughly 44″ of snow we normally see in a snow season.

I pulled out the calculator and the monthly summaries for the rest of 2009 and decided to crunch some numbers. These data are from the Preliminary Monthly Climate Data reported by the National Weather Service and recorded at the La Crosse Airport.

Average Monthly Temperatures:

January: 8.8F (7.1F below normal)

February: 22.8F (0.1F above normal)

March: 34.5F (0.1F below normal)

April: 48.0F (0.4F below normal)

May: 58.9F (1.7F below normal)

June: 67.8F (1.8F below normal)

July: 68.1F (5.9F below normal) — Third coldest July on record

August: 69.1F (2.5F below normal)

September: 64.5F (1.8F above normal)

October: 44.5F (6.1F below normal) — Fourth coldest October on record

November: 42.7F (7.2F above normal) — Fourth warmest November on record

December: 20.1F (1.7F below normal)

The only months with average temperatures at or above normal were February, September and November; all other months had average temeperatures below normal. Based on these preliminary climate data, the average temperature for 2009 is about 45.82F, which is 1.5F below normal. Overall, 2009 was the 43rd coldest year on record in La Crosse, according to the National Weather Service.

Monthly Percipitation:

January: 0.74″

February: 0.97″

March: 1.18″

April: 2.51″

May: 3.94″

June: 2.85″

July: 2.27″

August: 5.29″

September: 1.02″

October: 5.67″ — Fourth wettest October on record

November: 0.58″

December: 3.36″ — Second wettest December on record

Precipitation for 2009: 30.38″ (1.98″ below normal).

Overall, 2009 will go into the record books as slightly cooler and a bit drier than normal, based on the 30 year climatological averages.

Happy new year, and all best wishes for a seasonable 2010!

Much of the Central U.S. has been pounded this week by an extremely powerful winter storm. Blizzard Warnings were in effect Thursday afternoon from North Dakota all the way down to North Texas, where almost a foot of snow was forecast for Wichita Falls and the Panhandle. The good news is that this monster storm is finally starting to wind down. This doesn’t mean the wintry weather is over, though!

Here in the Upper Midwest, the biggest problem from the storm has been the mix of precipitation types. This storm is very different than the blizzard we had a couple of weeks ago, when we knew we’d see snow and the main question was how much. This storm has brought a wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice pellets, and snow, and these precipitation types have been changing, sometimes hour-by-hour.

The reason for this mix of precipitation is the track of the area of low pressure responsible for this storm.

The circulation around an area of low pressure in the Northern Hemisphere is counter-clockwise, and these areas of low pressure usually move from west to east across the North America (but sometimes can move east to west, or retrograde). When a low moves up from the Southern Plains, like this one (and the low that brought the early-December blizzard), it scoops up a lot of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and transports this warm, moist air ahead of it. Meanwhile, cooler air is brought down the western side, or back side, of the low.

During our blizzard a couple of weeks ago, the track of the low stayed south of us and the low rapidly rolled east. This meant we kept more of a northerly flow of cool air into the region, temperatures stayed below freezing, and precipitation stayed all snow. The low responsible for this week’s storm, on the other hand, stayed west of us and moved much more slowly. This, in turn, helped keep temperatures at or above freezing through much of the region east of the Mississippi River. The result has been a sloppy wintry mix and a heavy, wet snow.

The story has been very different west of the Mississippi River, where temperatures are staying at or below freezing. This has had a dramatic effect on precipitation type and amount.

In fact, on Thursday more than a half-inch of liquid precipitation (mainly rain) was recorded at the La Crosse Airport, but only a tenth of an inch of snow was measured. Meanwhile, in the Twin Cities, a little less than a half-inch of liquid precipitation was recorded while a single-day record of 5.2 inches of snow were measured.

This powerful low begins to fill-in and weaken today as it spins in place over central Iowa. The remaining small area of low pressure slides east through Saturday, and finally moves away from the region on Sunday. Temperatures will fall below freezing across the region today, and precipitation will change to all snow region-wide by this evening. It’s likely we’ll be dealing with light snow through Saturday, but only minor accumulations are expected. Clouds decrease through the day Monday, and we’ll have much more sun (along with much cooler temperatures) by Tuesday.

This storm has been one for the record books, but we’re finally getting to the final chapter.

It’s Wednesday morning… and everything is pretty much on track with a powerful winter storm emerging into the South-Central Plains today. This storm is huge with the parent low still over New Mexico, but weaker disturbances rotating around it are already sending waves of moisture northward into Iowa. There’s even a little moisture lifting into southern portions of our viewing area in the form of freezing rain and sleet.

Any precip that falls today will be light, so today will be the best travel day… and the earlier you can leave, the better. However, still watch out for ice on roads from any light freezing rain or drizzle.

The first good surge of moisture still looks to arrive tonight, especially after about 9pm. It’s going to be a close call, but indications from most computer models show this will start out as snow… then become mixed with freezing rain or sleet towards daybreak Thursday. Periods of snow or freezing rain should continue on Thursday as well. This heavier precip could cause travel to become difficult with snow and/or ice on area roads.

Heavier bands of a wintry mix or snow will still be possible Thursday night and into Christmas Day as the main area of low pressure slowly drifts over NW Iowa. Colder air will then start to wrap into the system and any precip should become all snow later Friday and especially by Friday night.

This system will be slow to move out too so still expect lighter snow showers on Saturday, with a slight chance of light snow or flurries even lingering on Sunday.

Even though the storm looks to be on a similar track than what I was thinking before, forecasting how much snow and/or icing we’ll get across the viewing area is still extremely difficult since we’ll be dealing with a mixed bag of precipitation.

With that said, the heaviest snow still looks to fall to our northwest. NW Wisconsin, Central and SW Minnesota and NW Iowa could pick up 1 to 2 feet of snow! In fact, the Twin Cities NWS office is comparing this storms potential to the Halloween blizzard of 1991 when 27″ fell at the MSP airport.

Closer to home, the range of snowfall amounts across our viewing area could be great. Areas north and west of La Crosse could pick up 6″-12″ or more. The immediate La Crosse area is a much tougher call… so at this point I’m just going to say anywhere from 4″-12″. Yes I know this is a wide range, but with precip type questions — I have no problem with it. Areas southeast of La Crosse and down towards Madison will see less snow, perhaps 1″-6″. Some areas could also see minor ice accumulations of 1/10″ to 1/4″, especially along and south of I-90.

Like I said before, this is an incredibly “changeable” forecast since the freezing line will be draped directly over our viewing area. Also, if we get any heavy freezing rain or plain rain at times, that can pack down any snow that has already fallen.

Stay tuned for updates, as I’m sure there will be plenty! Until then, see you in the morning!