Weather Data Analysis

Weather Data

There are a variety of different types of weather systems indicated on the surface map. Several different types of fronts are shown indicating the direction and where cold and warm air is located. In addition to the fronts isobars are present to show the wind speed. Isobars that are closer to one another indicate a stronger wind speed in comparison to isobars that are further apart. There is also the presence of high and low pressure areas on the map. Low pressure areas have a counterclockwise incoming air flow, while high pressure areas have a clockwise outgoing air flow.  

These are the air masses that have the most influence North America. Each air mass impacts different parts of the North America as well as have unique types of air. Tropical air masses are warm to hot, while polar air masses are cool to cold in temperature. Continental air masses are drier in comparison to maritime air masses. The type of air mass in an area impacts the climate accordingly.

This map shows weather station symbols that can be used to identify weather conditions of specific areas. The circle symbols show cloud cover where white shows no cloud cover, and black shows full cloud cover. The line protruding out from the circle symbolizes the wind speed and direction. The amount of flags attached to this line indicates wind speed, where more represent strong winds and none represent calm winds. The angle of this line around the circle shows wind direction. There are also a variety of precipitation symbols that would surround the cloud coverage circle displaying if there is any type of precipitation. This map does not show any precipitation. There are also number surrounding the cloud coverage circle indicating temperature (top left), dew point (bottom left), and pressure (top right). This one symbol gives a significant amount of information regarding current conditions.     

This is the weather station symbol map of the Midwest region. The weather conditions of this area can be interpreted by the weather symbols throughout the map. After analyzing the symbols it is evident that majority of the region has full cloud cover, and no evident sign of precipitation. The winds range from around 10 - 15 mph. There are a variety of wind directions throughout this map, but it is evident that there is a south west wind in the Eau Claire area. Most of the temperatures range from just below freezing to the mid teen range. After looking at the symbols for this area, it is easy to identify all the necessary pieces of information to describe the weather conditions. 

This AccuWeather map is an example of  weather news released every day on the site. This specific event portrays significant snow fall that is occurring from Missouri west to New York. The blue areas indicate different levels of snowfall ranging from one to 12 inches. 

The Jet Steam map shows the high wind speeds along with the direction. Jet streams are fast, narrow air currents blowing through the atmosphere. They form at the edges of air masses with significantly different temperatures. The polar region jet streams are most inflluencial in the Northern part of the US and the Tropical region jet streams influence the south  

This map was obtained from the NOAA and indicates the amount of water vapor in the air. Areas that are covered in darker  blue represent areas with a significant amount of water vapor in the air. The white color shows intermediate amounts of water vapor and the brown shows low amounts. There is a significant amount of water vapor to the south east of Wisconsin because of the snow fall soon to strike that area(see above map). This map is helpful in determining chances of precipitation and the direction it is going.

Various Climate Data

The precipitation records for the United States indicated a pattern of continual rising and falling on a year to every other year basis. After a year of above average precipitation, the following year reversely experiences below average precipitation that has been fairly consistent from 1900 to 2015. The amount of precipitation for 2015 is slightly lower than the previous year and is still slightly below average.

Like the precipitation records for the United States the temperature records display a similar pattern of rising and falling on a year to every other year basis, which has also been consistent from 1900 to present. However, it appears that on years where precipitation is on the high end of the pattern, temperature is reversely on the low end. So years when precipitation has increased from the falling year, temperature has decreased. Because of this reversed relationship, the temperature for 2015 has significantly increased, in contrast to precipitation, from the following year and has risen above average.  

Like the precipitation records for the entire Untied States, Wisconsin experiences a similar rising and falling pattern with only slight differences considering the data is focused on averages at a state level. The record for 2015 in Wisconsin shows a decrease in precipitation in comparison to last year, same as the entire United States, and also remains below average.   

The Wisconsin records for temperature also portray the same type of pattern as the records for the entire United States, but again with small differences. With respect to the reverse relationship that is apparent from the data between temperature and precipitation, the temperature for Wisconsin in 2015 has increased oppositely of the precipitation decrease since the pervious year. The increase in temperature in Wisconsin is also similar to the overall increase in temperature throughout the United States, and thus 2015 temperature in Wisconsin is also above average.  

The map displays regional ranks of precipitation showing areas with average, above average, and below average amounts of precipitation in March of 2015. According to the map the south central part of the United States has experienced above average precipitation, while the rest of the United States has been normal to below average in regards to precipitation. Considering much of the United States has experienced below average amounts of precipitation, it is synonymous to the annual precipitation graph above which also indicates that 2015 has decrease in precipitation from the previous year and is below average.        



This map is similar to the previous map displaying regional average ranks, however shows areas with average, above average, and below average temperatures in March of 2015. This maps indicates that majority of the United States in March of 2015 has been above average in regards to temperature. Much of the western part of the United States in addition to the north central and south east have experienced above average temperatures. Because the previous map indicates that March of 2015 has been below average in regards to precipitation this map consequently displays the opposite in regards to temperature. The reverse relationship between temperature and precipitation can be related back to the annual record graphs for the United States. The annual record graph indicates the same pattern as the map for the United States which both show and increase in temperature in 2015 from the previous year rising much above average.   

Top 10 Coldest Years     Top 10 Warmest Years           

1. 1965 (35.44 F)            1. 2012 (50.41) 

2. 1912 (35.76)               2. 1910 (49.44)

3. 1960 (35.91)               3. 2007 (47.66)

4. 1969 (36.03)               4. 2004 (47.41)

5. 1906 (36.1)                 5. 1946 (46.78)

6. 1915 (36.95)               6. 1921 (46.63)

7. 1924 (37.18)               7. 1986 (46.18)

8. 1932 (37.36)               8. 2000 (46.04)

9. 1899 (37.63)               9. 1918 (45.75)

10. 1958 (37.67)            10. 1907 (45.7)

The above information provided by through the above data can be related to the debate regarding climate change. For instance the annual record graphs for both precipitation and temperature for the United States provide information about an overall change in climate. Not only do the graphs portray an continual rising and falling pattern from year to year but also show an overall increasing pattern in terms of temperature and an overall decreasing pattern in terms of precipitation. From these observations it is apparent that temperature, although still falling from year to year, has been steadily increasing since 1970. Precipitation, despite the rise every other year, has reversely been decreasing overall since 1970 as well. In addition to the graphs the regional temperature and precipitation rank maps provide similar information. The map for March 2015 precipitation shows an overall below average pattern while the map for March 2015 temperature shows an overall above average pattern. Furthermore, the top ten warmest and coldest years reflect a change in climate in the sense that all of the top 10 coldest years have been before 1970, while many of the top 10 warmest years are after 1970. Thus, the data reflects an overall warming trend regarding a steady increase in temperature, which in turn reflects a steady decrease in precipitation. In addition to this data, other data that relates to climate change could include records regarding CO2 emission. Relating the increase in temperature to the increase in CO2 could further explain climate change.  

The Madison temperature map displays the lowest temperatures in the month of January and December. After January, average temperature steadily increases to its maximum average in the month of July, then slowly begins to decrease again to another minimum in December.  

The average precipitation trend in Madison shows a slight relationship to the trend in temperature. The lowest amounts of precipitation occur in January and February and steadily increase to until the summer months where it peaks in August. After August average precipitation begins to steadily decrease again.

Milwaukee average temperature trend is very similar to the trend of temperature in Madison. The lowest temperatures occur in January and December as well, and increase to a maximum temperature in July. After the peak temperature in July, the average temperature begins to steadily decrease just as in Madison.

Unlike the similarity between the average temperature trends in Milwaukee compared to Madison, the average precipitation pattern is slightly different. Although the lowest amounts of precipitation occur in January and February as well, the average amounts after these months rise at a much faster rate and remain steady throughout. Overall Milwaukee appears to receive more precipitation, and has a similar maximum amount of precipitation from April to September.  

Climographs

It is necessary to gather data from multiple locations in order obtain a proper analysis regarding climate. One area of Wisconsin can not be reflective of the entire state, therefore it is necessary gather data from multiple areas to get an accurate reflection of the States climate as a whole. Even though the data displays information of several locations throughout the state of Wisconsin, each location varies in regards to both precipitation to and temperature. Thus, more accurate interpretations of the overall climate can be made when considering the variations that occur throughout the State.

Variations that occur throughout different locations may be caused by a variety of factors. For instance, variation in topography is likely the greatest cause in variations regarding temperature and precipitation from area to area throughout Wisconsin. Landscape features such as hills, lakes, rivers, and land cover all allow for slight variations of climate variables at different locations. In addition to the landscape providing means for variation, mere chance of where specific weather systems occur have an effect on differences in temperature and precipitation across Wisconsin.

The data from these climographs not only vary from location to locations across Wisconsin, but vary from the data regarding the other data from above. The first reason for the variation from the climograph data to the other data is the time scale from which the climograph data was collected. The climographs only reflect averages up until 1990 while the other data is reflective up until the present date. Considering that major changes in climate began occurring around 1970, data only recorded up until 1990 does not reflect the full overall outcome of the actual change in climate. There is also a difference between the climograph data and the other data regarding the scale of the data. Much of the other data reflects averages of the entire United States, giving a more accurate representation of climate change as a whole. The climograph data on the other hand provides averages for Wisconsin alone, which can only portray information regarding the climate of Wisconsin.