July 2013

Thursday July 11th, 2013

Greetings and welcome!

It has been an interesting week in weather. We started the week out with oppressive humidity that took dew points close to the 70 degree mark (tropical). We had an inch or so of fast heavy rain Monday that helped purge the atmosphere of some of the moisture, but it didn’t quite get the job done. There were scattered showers and thunderstorms again Tuesday. By Wednesday it was much more pleasant out.

In the process of the atmosphere purging there was severe weather in the region. Apparently there was a small tornado in southern Oconto County, Langlade Co, and one in Waupaca Co as well.  Here is an article about it.

After the rain there was a big area of high pressure that moved over the central US. With its clockwise flow the high pressure brought cool dry northern air into the region and made for some pleasant days. That always comes at a price. The leading side of the high pressure brings air in from the north, but as it passes, the trailing side will pump warmer and more moist air up from the south.

Thankfully it is well timed for our weekend to be about in the middle of it, so we are looking at decent weather and mid-80s for Friday and Saturday. Sunday brings a 30 chance of rain and storms, and that will go up as Monday rolls around. I am going to put it out there that 30% seems a little low from what I am seeing on the models, but let’s go with it for now.

We have some events coming up this weekend.

Saturday is the Athelstane Fireman’s Picnic and parade. The parade starts at A & C at noon followed by the Picnic. Expect the standard food and drink, live music, raffles, and if memory serves me, they have water fights between fire departments too. That is held in the park on C just east of A right across from the Athelstane post office.

Lakewood is having their Mardi Gras Celebration this weekend, and that looks like  big deal. They have live music Friday and Saturday nights, A parade Sunday at noon, carnival rides, and a lot of associated sales and events going on all weekend.

This is also the weekend of the first of three Bear Point Yacht Club floats down the Menominee River this summer. They start in Wausaukee and float down to Bear Point in anything from inner tubes to pontoon boats. After the float there is fun and friends back at the bar. Anyone can come and it is free, but you will want life jackets and kids will need to bring their adult.

In Wabeno there is big stuff going on. Here is a copy n paste from the town event calendar..

July 12, 13 and 14 Steam Up Days at Firefighters Park and Downtown Wabeno

Friday, the 12^th , Firefighters Park

• Steam Up Days Pre-Registration,
• Fish Fry 5-9pm
• Firefighters Water Fight 6:30pm
• Music/Dance, Firefighters Park, 7-11pm

Saturday the 13^th , All Around Town,

• Expo Events: Noon
• Arts and Craft Sales–Downtown Wabeno
  • Crafters:  Application for a Vendor Table
• Kids Tractor Pull, Firefighters Park, 1pm
• Human Foosball, Firefighters Park, 2pm
• Presbyterian Women’s Pie Sale, Firefighters Park
• Annual Wabeno Library Book Sale on Library Lawn, 9 am-3pm
• Rescue Squad, Loggers Breakfast, American Legion Hall, 6:30 am
• Wabeno Quilt Guild, Firefighters Park, 10am-3pm
• Pig Roast, Firefighters Park, 5pm
• Music/Dance, Firefighters Park,  7-11pm

Sunday the 14^th, All Around Town

• Rescue Squad, Loggers Breakfast, American Legion Hall, 6:30 am
• Parade, Downtown Wabeno, Noon
• Wabeno Quilt Guild, Firefighters Park, Noon-3pm
• Horseshoe Tournament, Firefighters Park, 1:30pm
• Pig Wrestling, Firefighters Park, 2:00pm
• Music, Firefighters Park, 1:30pm

Next weekend is a big one for events too. That is the Saturday of the 28th Annual Hog Wrestling Competition at Caldron Falls Bar.
That usually brings thousands of people to the area along with food & refreshments  and live music.

I also saw at the grocery store that next weekend is the Doty Fire Assn Picnic. That is held just north of Hwy 64 and just west of 32. Take Hwy T from 64 to Star Lake Rd and you are there. They will have raffles, meat raffles, games for the kids and the standard fare for a VFD picnic.

There are probably more events coming up next weekend, but that is all that I have in front of me at the moment.

The whitewater rafting will continue to be good this weekend. The inch plus of rain Monday brought the river up, and the waves of showers and storms Tuesday hit the watershed too. Right now the Peshtigo River is running about +4, above normal for this time of year and well into the fun zone.

The Menominee River is way above normal this week. That watershed really got pounded by the early week rain. The median flow for today is 1,610CFS, and it is running about 3,000. If you are up for some big water whitewater rafting, that is the hot ticket this weekend.

Well there is a lot going on this weekend and the weather looks nice. Get out there and have some fun while summer is still here.

Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Wednesday July 3rd, 2013

Greetings and welcome!

Q-Why does it always seem to rain on the night of the 4th of July? Is is the gunpowder smoke from the fireworks?

A- I’d bet against it, some of the old time rain makers didn’t have much success lighting off large amounts of gunpowder and explosives to bring rain. My guess is that it is caused by all of those people that washed their cars for the 4th of July parades.-RJB

We don’t have much to worry about with the rain this 4th of July and over the weekend. There is a very minor chance of a shower today through Thursday (the 4th) night. The NWS pegs it at 20% today and tonight and 30% for the 4th between 2-8pm.

What we are looking at is the standard stray summer shower, not any kind of an organized system. The forecast model that I just checked had a few blobs pop up south of Hwy 64 for tomorrow, all in the lowest precip range, 0.01 to 0.1″. The HPC QPF did not predict any rain at all.

I’d expect generally nice weather with upper 70s for highs and low 60s for lows today and for the 4th. We can bump those temps up about 5 degrees for Friday and the weekend.

It looks like it will be a good holiday for the area. Some people stayed after the weekend, and I have been seeing steadily increasing traffic over the past two days. It will be good to see more people in the area and having them catch good weather and plenty of events.

The event calendar from last week hasn’t changed much. The only addition that I have at the moment is an event in Crooked Lake on the 6th. A n updated copy of that calendar is below.

I saw in the paper that the Marinette Co OWI Task force will be out around the High Falls/Twin Bridge area again on Saturday the 6th. That goes with them targeting that area pretty much on any busy weekend for the past year or so.

If you are in the area you can still go out, just be smart about it. Use designated drivers and make sure that the car is in good shape. Many businesses will arrange for rides home or even round trip rides. Most bars & restaurants are part of the Safe Ride program where a ride home is free.

The get-wet season is here. No matter if you like rafting, tubing, boating, or hitting the beach, it’s time. As always I will tell you, to go to Kosir’s. They have rafting on two rivers, lazy river tubing, sit on top kayaks on Caldron Falls Flowage, and now pontoon boat cruises on the flowage too. The top beaches right around here are Boat Landing 9, Newton Lake, and Twin Bridge Park, but there are dozens of other spots around the area.

The whitewater rafting is above average right now. Last week’s storms really charged up the rivers. The Peshtigo is running at 460cfs (+4), well above its mean flow of 272. Likewise the Menominee has been running a pretty steady 2,00cfs this week well above its mean of 1670.

Gas prices have tumbled 40-50 cents in the last month. Yesterday I paid 3.51 in Lakewood and the Silver Cliff BP was priced the same.  I checked Wisconsingasprices.com and found pretty similar prices from Milwaukee north.

I checked Mequon, Sheboygan, and Green Bay and they were all in a range of about 3.48-3.51. The lowest price in Prescott, WI (3.23) doesn’t count, they are near the Twin Cities. There were a few places in the Milwaukee and Kenosha area still showing gas under 3.30 a gallon. This might be one of those times where you save a few bucks by heading north with a full tank.

There are a lot of upcoming events in July. I will be getting on top of those after the weekend. I can tell you that next weekend brings the Athelstane Fireman’s Picnic and the Lakewood Mardi Gras celebration. The Bear Point Yacht Club is having the first of their three Menominee River Float Trips the 13th (the others are on the 27th and August 3rd), and I will have details on that.

That is going to wrap it up for me for today. Have a fun and safe weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

4th of July week/weekend Event Calendar

July 3&4

4th of July Celebration at Zippel Park in Gillette
Tractor pull, Horse Pull,4×4 Truck Pull, Live Music
PARADE starts at 2:00 PM & FIREWORKS at dusk
Classic antique car show 9:00 AM –4:00 PM at Zippel Park
– See more at: http://www.ocontocounty.org/events/?i=4th-of-july-celebration-2013-07-03&d=2013-06&view=l#sthash.iYMNzUD3.dpuf

Thursday July 4th
Crivitz 4th of July Parade and Celebration – Thursday July 4th @ 11:00am, Farmers & Flea Market after the Parade at John Shaffer Pavilion… Food by VFW Post #2063 – Beverages & DJ Music by American Legion, Free Horse Drawn Wagon Rides & Bouncy Houses Fireworks at 10pm

Friday July 5th
Fundraiser Street Dance at Goodman Fire Hall 7-11pm -grilled burgers n brats, Bucket Raffles, music by Duct Tabe (Cest La vie)

July 5th-7th
Crivitz Adult Men’s Slow Pitch Softball Tournament will be held at baseball field at intersection of Louisa Street and Hall Avenue on Friday evening and all day Saturday.  To register your team contact Dale at (715)927-1909 or Alex at (715)927-3181.

Saturday July 6th
Wausaukee Rec Assn Firecracker 5K run– Benefits area youth sports programs. Info on Wausaukee.com

Wausaukee 4th of July Celebration– Parade at 1pm, food, trout pond, music, beer garden, crafters and vendors

Twin Bridge Water Ski Show & Fireworks at Stephenson Town Park on High Falls Flowage 6:30pm

Crivitz Ski Cats Water Ski Show & Fireworks at Lake Noquebay County Park 6:30pm***

Friends of Chute Pond Celebration at Everbreeze Resort Music by Renage Band 3-7, fireworks at dark

***Goodman 4th of July Family Fest at Township Park on Hilbert Lake-10a-7pm- Bucket Raffles, games and face painting for the kids, 1pm flag retirement ceremony, Fireworks at dusk, bring a non-perishable food item for the food pantry.

Goodman Armstrong Creek Rescue Walk/Run-8am, starts at Ranger Station west of Goodman

Kid’s Fishing Tournament at Birch Hills Resort

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