Tuesday July 19th, 2011
Greetings and welcome!
The weekend came about as expected. It was warm Saturday and hot Sunday.
The rain never got here Saturday, but we had a good storm Sunday night just after dark. That one brought a dramatic lightning display and some strong winds. I guessed the rain totals here at 3/8-1/2″ and went home to find the rain gauges showing 0.39″. Lucky guess.
We had another line of storms come through yesterday that brought some heavy rains. I didn’t get so much here, but the Peshtigo River watershed (outlined) and to our SW had areas that saw 1-2″ of rain.
It is good to see the area get at least some rain, it has been a few weeks since we have had meaningful rain.
The heat is the topic of discussion these days. It has been hot and humid here like everywhere else. I saw on the TV weather last night that an area near Green Bay reported a dew point over 80 degrees yesterday. That is pretty humid air. That has only happened 3 times in the last 50 years in this area.
Usually the rule is a dew point over 60 is where humidity starts getting uncomfortable. In the 70-75 range it is very humid and quite uncomfortable. Over 80 is oppressive.
I could tell that there was a lot of humidity last weekend because the rocks in shaded areas of the trail were sweating. The warm humid air came in contact with the cool rocks and the humidity condensed, leaving them wet. Assuming a ground/rock temperature of about 60 degrees, that would put the dew point higher than that.
At the moment (11:30am) we are looking at 89F and a dew point of 72, a fairly hot and very humid day. Tomorrow looks like the peak of it all when temps could go to 97 and dew points could be in the mid-70s.
Once we get through tomorrow the heat and humidity should gradually ramp down a little. Look for mid 80s for Thursday-Sunday, and dew points in the 60-65 range.
With a hot juicy atmosphere there is a chance of rain daily. Usually it will be a 30 or 40% chance, and when the rain comes it might be a good T-storm or downpour, but it won’t last too long. The squall Sunday night maybe lasted an hour, storms since have been less.
The weekend weather looks interesting. The models right now have a warm front camped to our south for Saturday. That could bring a little rain downstate, but they leave us dry. Early Sunday morning they are showing a cold front coming through with an area of storms. This could bring an inch of rain, but it will also bring in much cooler air behind it. Monday we are looking for a high of 79 with a lot less humidity.
Last weekend I stayed wet to beat the heat. I think I went swimming at least 6 times. Sunday afternoon a few of us went tubing down the calm stretch of the Peshtigo by Kosir’s, and that was a lot of fun. The water was even warmer than usual after the hot day, leaving it very refreshing.
The storms this week have already brought the river up an inch or so, and more will follow. Depending on how many storms hit the watershed, the weekend water levels could range from good enough to great. Yesterday’s rain should keep it above zero and in positive territory for the weekend, how much higher is the question now.
This is a big weekend around here with Saturday being the Caldron Falls Bar’s 26th annual Hog Wrestling competition. The event is one of the biggest in the area, bringing in an estimated 5-8,000 people. The idea is that people go into a muddy ring of calf deep water and try to put a pig on a barrel.
I will encourage you to bring your designated driver. This weekend always brings a lot of people and also a significant law enforcement presence. Don’t be driving drunk or screwing around or there is a pretty good chance of getting some unwanted attention. Have a great time, just be smart about it.
That is about it for today. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB