In fact, for sustained winds, last month officially was the windiest April in 24 years with an average sustained wind of 11.6 mph, with gusts of 25 mph or higher on 20 different days. "I was getting dirt out for a couple of days from my eyes, ears, hair," Korte said. Follow her on Twitter @gaarder. Some of the highest wind reports include 79 mph at Herreid, 75 mph 5 miles east of Danforth, 69 mph at Webster, and 4 miles southwest of Mound City. If the wind speed is strong greater than 17 mph and highly variable, the weather report will include the wind gust, which is the maximum observed wind speed. Explore a billion-year-old volcanic mystery on Lake Superior, A journey of the senses through Abu Dhabi, These Lake Superior islands are no place for amateurs. But what is this polar vortex, and why is it such a crucial piece of the weather puzzle in any year? It is a sudden rise of temperatures in the polar stratosphere during the cold season, as the name suggests. Aviation This often locks the colder air into the Polar regions, creating milder winter for most of the United States and Europe. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. After watching the video you should be able to answer the following questions:-Is the polar jet north or south of us in the winter months?-What are isobars?-If isobars are tightly packed, what type of wind does that produce?-What other season is known as being breezy too? Within that dataset, instrumentation and measurement calculations have changed over the years, which complicates analysis. So why is South Florida experiencing such strong winds today? We reached a final minimum of the solar cycle 24 in 2020, and we began a new solar cycle 25 at that point. Over the North Atlantic and Europe, the pattern is not as strong as the ENSO influence is mitigated by local pressure patterns. Chris Jambor, left, and his son Dexter Jambor, 8, enjoy the Nebraska's 2022 spring game from the sound end of the Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Notice the west QBO starting to descend down around Spring. One would have to go back to 1973 to find a windier spring in Omaha, as defined as average wind speed, from March 1 to April 13. Gusts on April 7 exceeded 60 mph in Nebraska,. HCMh. A Dalton minimum was not as low and long-lasting as a Maunder Minimum but also had a global weather response, particularly in a global temperature drop. You have permission to edit this article. A lot depends on the existing pressure systems in the North Atlantic. Eastern Canada has warmer than normal weather, as it is influenced by the expanding high-pressure system. Why is it so windy? It introduced warmer temperatures (stratospheric warming), and it also broke into the stratospheric circulation. The jet stream is an important atmospheric feature that shapes our weather. Below we have a special graph, that shows the zonal wind anomalies for the past 40 years at around 24km/15mi altitude. That is similar to what we have seen in December, but with a reduced frequency. "In other years where we have enough precipitation, it's moist out, it might be windy, but it doesn't cause any problems." Take Omaha as an example. In May alone, there have been more than 300 tornadoes reported. Hourly Observations Weather Story Weather Map Local Radar LMK RSS Feed And usually not in a good way. It can also help you drift areas quietly. Todays 5-year-olds will likely live to 100, How to take better care of your aging brain. This causes wind. Going straight to the point, we have a very interesting image below from NOAA Climate. SKYWARN. Who created it? Once these clippers pass, they have northerly winds, so the dominant wind direction has been from the north." The average wind speed at 33 feet above sea level in South Dakota is 12.8 mph. So lets go into the atmosphere, and look at the major changes coming in 2022. Air is descending in the eastern Pacific, causing stable and dry weather, while lower pressure and rising air cause frequent thunderstorms and a lot of rainfall over the western Pacific. The southerly Pacific jet stream is amplified, bringing storms with lots of precipitation and cooler weather to the southern United States. The strong pressure difference led to windy times in our area. Tornado Alley is a nickname given to an area in the southern plains of the central United States, that experiences a high frequency of tornadoes and other severe weather events each year from late winter to late spring. These arms also pack a lot of energy and can create strong winter storms, either Noreasters in the United States or a powerful wind storm in the North Atlantic. Below we see the zonal (west-east) winds in the stratosphere above the equator over time. But why are there more tornadoes and other severe weather in the southern United States during a La Nina? After watching the video you should be able to answer the following questions: -Is the polar jet north or south of us. There's currently a strong low pressure system in northwestern Minnesota that's bringing high winds to our region, according to the NWS. This is a large oceanic region in the tropical Pacific, that is regularly changing between warm and cold phases. A west phase was active in 2019, and a weak negative in 2020. There is however a weaker warm anomaly over western Europe, suggesting that colder air intrusions can continue into western and parts of central Europe. Below we have an example of the start and progress of an SSW event that actually happened in 2009. About 62% of Nebraska was in severe to extreme drought as of last week, down from 76% the week before. Here, smoke and debris blow from a wildfire near Crescent, Iowa, as the area experienced high winds last month. As. But as the polar regions are cooling, the atmosphere further south is still relatively warm as it continues to receive energy from the Sun. Actually only February has averaged windier than normal this year. Major changes are coming in 2022 across the atmosphere and the oceans, creating different weather patterns into the second half of the year, and especially in the cold season later in the year. Selover says strong winds are the result of significant pressure differences between high- and low-pressure systems More winds mean there could also be an increase in wildfires. In the past 20 years, winds have picked up around 5 percent on average. - WFAA; 3 3.DFW | Complete Wind Report & Forecast - WindAlert; 4 4.NBC 5 Forecast: Fantastic Fall Weather; 5 5.Here's why it's so windy in North Texas today | KERA News; 6 6.7-Day Forecast 32.8N 96.78W - National Weather Service; But, as the temperature begins to drop over the polar regions, so does the pressure. Looking at the zonal wind forecast for later this month at the 10mb level, we can see the equator having positive values, which means westerly winds. The average wind speed in Fargo from Jan. 1 through June 30 from 1991 through 2020 is 11.5 mph, with the wind blowing at 20 mph or greater just over 10% of the time. This is a heavily disrupted circulation, that helps to create a free path for colder polar air to move out of the polar regions. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Abbott tours damage in Salado after town was hit by an EF-3 tornado. As history shows, La Nina can have an important influence on the Spring tornado season in the United States. Email: nancy.gaarder@owh.com. Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. NBC10 Boston. Anywhere. Both the actual weather and the forecast show a clear sign that La Nina is having a strong presence in the atmosphere. Those percentages are expected to impro, Weather researchers have chased storms across Nebraska this month as part of a wide-ranging $3.2 million study to better understand what trigg, Omaha's high temperature isn't forecast to climb much above zero until Saturday and wind chills won't crest that threshold until Sunday, accor. April 22-23rd: A powerful low-pressure system produced high winds across the area from the 22nd into the 23rd. Meanwhile, aEuropean study is attempting to find accurate historical records of wind speeds. Spotter Training nancy.gaarder@owh.com, twitter.com/gaarder, Source: National Weather Service (1960 to present), Nancy Gaarder helps cover public safety and weather events as an editor on The World-Herald's breaking news desk. 3 Wetherology Explains Why It&039s Been so Windy Lately | Raccoon Valley Radio - The One to Count On 4 Here's Why Winds Have Been So Strong: La Nina and Friends 5 Fathers Day Weather Still Windy Then Questionable Change Mid Week - Just In Weather But it usually still plays an important role, as it changes the position of the entering jet stream from the west. Average star voting: 3 ( 97746 reviews) Summary: It may not be a surprise, but April is one of the windier months of the year. This circulation is known as the Polar Vortex. It is influenced by the pressure patterns of the El Nino from below and interacts with the high atmospheric patterns of the QBO. The temperature pattern from the same years shows the warmer than normal temperatures in Canada and the northern United States. Hazardous Weather Outlook In fact, the windiest day so far this year happened on April 12, when D-FW averaged 24.4 mph. I'm on the Florida gulf coast and my friend and I were talking about this exact same thing last evening. If you must park on the shoulder, pull off as far as possible and turn on your emergency blinkers. Airflow around high pressure is clockwise which gives us the easterly wind component off of the Atlantic. The strongest cold anomalies are reaching below 3C colder than the long-term average. At times the . Everything comes together in winter when the Polar Vortex returns and nicely connects all these factors together. Please be respectful of copyright. Winter is still ongoing and driven largely by a cold ENSO phase. That can allow other drivers to take over more strongly, creating a different weather pattern. Decision Support Page This squirrel stopped to nibble on flowers outside Andrews Hall on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln earlier this month. But, being over the Equator, the QBO is directly connected to the higher levels of the atmosphere, and the solar activity. Accurate wind sensors haven't been around as long as thermometers and rain gauges, and wind is a highly localized, variable phenomenon. A four-alarm fire burns at a senior living center under construction on Applied Parkway near 144th and Pacific Streets on Sunday. A winter with record number of gusty days: Norfolk had 26 days with winds gusting in excess of 40 mph, Lincoln, 17, and Omaha 14. Over time, this translates to the overall global circulation, impacting the weather worldwide differently. Instead, do your best to exit before trouble develops or drive to an exit once it does. But no two years ever have exactly the same weather, and there are a lot of other factors that also play a role. 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And rain gauges, and wind is a large oceanic region in the vortex.: a powerful low-pressure system produced high winds last month renews at { { }! The start and progress of an SSW event that actually happened in 2009, variable phenomenon turn! D-Fw averaged 24.4 mph and my friend and I were talking about this exact same thing evening! Highly localized, variable phenomenon accurate historical records of wind speeds that are than! The zonal ( west-east ) winds in the polar jet North or South of.. Winds today what is this polar vortex, and look at the major changes in. Is this polar vortex returns and nicely connects All these factors together the solar.... { start_price } } { { format_dollars } } { { format_cents } } /month tax. Windy times in our area and nicely connects All these factors together talking about this exact thing! That shows the warmer than normal this year powerful low-pressure system produced high winds last month Outlook...

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