September 2011

Monday September 12th, 2011

10pm

Greetings and welcome!

We have a cold front heading this way that is about to change our weather in a very dramatic way. Yesterday and today were about 87, a little above the normal high of 70. Tomorrow after the front passes we are looking at high temperatures in the upper 60s or low 70s.

As the week progresses the cool weather deepens. Wednesday we are looking at a hi/lo of 53/35 and Thursday, 55/29.  There are a couple of chances for frost this week.

As far as precip, there is a chance of some rain Tuesday night into Wednesday. With the temp Tuesday night in the 37-42º range, I had to check upper layer temperatures to see if that could bring the first sleety snowflakes of the season. And the verdict is.. probably not.

In order to have snow I look for the 850Mb temperatures (measured a few thousand feet up) to be -4C or colder. The 0C line will pass over us, but it isn’t much colder than that behind the line. The next temperature gradient, -10C is still way up by the Arctic Circle.

With the way that the low pressure system and the high behind it will be working in tandem to bring cold air in from the north like a pump it might be close, but unless the air to the north cools off a little more than the models show now, it is a probably not.

The weekend looks pretty nice with temps around 65-70 and lows around 40. There is a chance of rain again Monday.

The leaves have started changing and some of the underbrush is dying back, but there isn’t much for color yet. When we were in Lakewood and Townsend Friday you could tell that the trees were a lighter green than in summer, but they were still green. There are a few splashes of color here and there on early maples, but they are just getting started. The ferns and cat tails are dying back, as are some  other brush plants. The color is coming, but it isn’t here yet.

Last weekend kicked off the bear hunting season with hunting for dogs. This weekend kicks off more hunting seasons as bow deer hunting opens, along with small game, crow, and turkey. There is an additional bear season that opens Wednesday, and a youth waterfowl season over the weekend.

I filled in as a bartender Saturday night at Rapids Resort and my crowd had a lot of bear hunters. You guys were very fun, thank you very much.

Something that I picked up on the DNR site.. This bow deer season will be the longest ever. Bow hunters can now hunt during the gun season, but they have to wear orange. With the Friday before opening day closed to all deer hunting, that is the line between early and late season bow. Otherwise it runs from Sept 17th to Jan 8th.

No I didn’t miss the grouse hunting starts this weekend, I just wanted to give it it’s own treatment. The big news here is that the DNR says that drumming surveys are up 39% over last year.  And..

In northern Wisconsin, survey data suggest a current grouse population as high as any since the early 1970s. 2011 likely marks the current peak population for grouse in Wisconsin, and hunters should therefore plan to take advantage of outstanding grouse hunting opportunities this fall.

Ya gotta like that.

The TV news tonight brought the tragic story of a 19 year old woman who died in an ATV accident near Silver Cliff this past Saturday. The report said that rough terrain threw her from the ATV and it rolled onto her. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends.

Slug sent in some pictures of where the Wausaukee Tornado came through the swamp by him. This one shows the damage well. Also of interest is how it is an a circular pattern from a bird’s eye view. That is one of the ways the the NWS establishes if damage was from a tornado with a circular debris field, or from straight line winds with a more directional debris field.

I think that is going to about wrap it up for tonight’s full moon report. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Thursday September 8th, 2011

Greetings and welcome!

I don’t have a big update today because work kept me from getting out much this week.

The pleasant weather this week is forecast to continue into the weekend. We are between systems and at that point the forecast is a little boring. Look for a high of about 70 and a low in the low 50s through the weekend. The next chance of rain is for next Monday. Can we believe it?

We do have some events for this weekend. The Country Fling at Parkway Inn is this Saturday. They have live music outside under the tents, along with food & drink and a lot of people.

I did finally start the wood burner yesterday. The cold night earlier in the week left it about 60 in here and it hadn’t improved much. Instead of observing the tradition of making too big of a fire and taking it over 90 or 100 degrees in here I finessed it, and when the fire went out it was a cozy 74. There is still time.

Computer repairs and web sites have been keeping me very busy this year, and I am literally weeks behind in my work. That is a good thing except for in the firewood department. I have been out a few times and have about 15% cut and piled. I am starting to get pretty anxious about the other 6-7 cords that still need to be done. Last year the wood shed was half full of split stuff by now.

I checked the DNR outdoor report to see what they had to say. The takeaway from that is that the muskie fishermen have been seeing a lot of action in the last week.

That is about it from here. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Tuesday September 6th, 2011

Greetings and welcome!

It was a cold night last night. Athelstane Weather marked a low temperature of 34 degrees. There was a little frost in the low spot by the pond, but the rest of the back yard escaped un-frosted.

It only got down to 60 in here this morning, about the cut off for starting a fire in the wood burner. Since I only brought in oak last night, I passed, sticking it out in the 60 degrees instead of going for the annual 110º with the doors open ritual. There is still time for that..

The day is recovering quickly, and as of 9:30am we are up to 55, and well on the way to a high of about 70. We could have another cool night tonight, but less of a chance of frost. The NWS forecast has us in the upper 30s or low 40s overnight.

The rest of the week and the weekend look like a pretty consistent forecast of a high of about 70 and a low of about 55. There is no rain expected in the next week.

The fall colors started being more apparent in the past week. Now we are seeing the ferns and othe meadow plants starting to die back, as well as some of the underbrush. There are a few leaves here and there getting some color on the bigger trees, but it is still occasional.

The Labor Day weekend brought the end of the rafting season on the peshtigo River. The campground usually stays open a few more weeks, and they are running rafting trips on the Menominee for the next couple of weekends.

If you see trucks with dogs in the back or stopped sticking an antenna out of the window you know thatit is bear season. Here in Zone B bear hunting with dogs starts tomorrow, and is dogs only for a week before the season opens for other types of bear hunting.

It looks like the 17th brings the opening of a lot of other hunting seasons including bow deer and wild turkey.

Well as usual the clock is getting away from me and I have to scoot. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Monday September 5th, 2011 Labor Day

Frost Advisory Tonight

Greetings and welcome!

The weekend forecast was an epic failure. It was supposed to be nice Saturday except for a chance of rain later. That turned into rain all day and an inch of the stuff adding up. We did get the later wave of rain Saturday too. It finally stopped about 7pm with only a few sprinkles after that.

The cold front that brought us rain Friday was supposed to sink south and give the southern half of the state the treatment that we saw Saturday. It stayed a little north and had broader coverage than expected and it was not a nice day Saturday.

Sunday and Sunday night were a little cooler than normal, and today we are not in the 70s, but the mid-50s. Tonight we have a frost advisory where the NWS is looking for lows in the 29-34 degree range.

The colder than expected stuff we can blame on a very large area of high pressure on the periphery of the former hurricane.  The NAM model is  showing it with pressures as high as 1024.

The clockwise flow will bring old air down from Canada and give us the cold day and night. Tomorrow look a little more normal with temps in the upper 60s to low 70s,  but Tuesday night could go into the low 40s.

This too will pass. Once the high pressure passes and we start seeing the return flow we are in for normal high and lows of around 70/55 through next weekend according to the NWS.

It is likely that I will be among many that might light the wood burner tonight if the temps go into the 30s. That is a good time to remind people to clean their chimney or stove pipes.

If you don’t have a brush, they aren’t that much money. You can get the brush for under $20 and the 3′ rods for as cheap as $8 each on E-Bay. Menards, Fleet Farm or the local hardware shouldn’t be too much more.

Chimney fires are bad news. Especially with the more efficient wood burners like I have it is important to maintain your pipes or chimney regularly. I probably cleaned it 3x last year and the spring cleaning was pretty built up.

Someone brought up the point last night that if we do go into the 20s tonight that should spell doom for a lot of pesky bugs. That wouldn’t bother me, the gnats were pretty thick last week cutting firewood.

RJB