Last night brought the country our biggest tornado outbreak of the year with a confirmed F4 that touched ground in Easter Texas near Granbury. This mile wide twister has claimed 6 lives, has left 7 people missing, has injured dozens more and has detroyed hundreds of homes. This outbreak isn’t uncommon, however after last year’s relatively tame severe weather season, it caught many people off guard. It is important to remember that May is peak season for tornadic activity, with the peak for thunderstorm activity coming in July. -Greg

Posted under Project: Tornado, severe weather, statistics, tornado, weather

This May has brought us a little bit of everything when it comes to both high and low temperatures with highs reaching into the 90s and lows bottoming out in the 30s. Despite these large temperature extremes, we have seen a very similar May to that of last year. Out of the 14 days this month, 7 have been warmer than last year and 7 have been cooler. The one thing we have going in our favor this year is an inch more of rainfall than we had through this date in May last year. -Greg

Posted under statistics, weather

Average Date of Last 32°

Patchy frost is in the forecast for early Sunday morning and again early Monday morning.  And while we are entering the middle of May, frost is not unheard-of this time of year.

In fact, the latest freezing temperature (32°) observed in Rockford over the current climatological period (1981-2010) is May 27th.  Most climate observation sites across northern Illinois are similar, with the exception of Mount Carroll.  Over the past thirty years, the latest freezing temperature observed in that Carroll County community was June 10th!

On average, the last 32° reading in Rockford is April 27th.  It is interesting to note that in 2013, Rockford has not fallen to 32° since April 26th!  But that could change, since temperatures are expected to fall into the lower 30s both Sunday and Monday morning.  Climatologically speaking, the chance to see such chilly temperatures will continue to decline.  Nine times out of ten, we won’t see temperatures fall below the freezing mark any later than May 14th. -Joe

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, climate/climate change, statistics, weather

I had the opportunity to visit two schools on Friday for Project: Tornado 2013.  My first stop in the morning was near Poplar Grove at North Boone Upper Elementary School, where I spoke with 5th and 6th graders.  My second stop of the day brought me to Franklin Grove, where I spoke with 3rd and 4th graders at Ashton Franklin Center Elementary School.

A great question was brought up at AFC and it stumped me!  The question was: ‘How many tornadoes touch down each year in Illinois?’

After digging around for the answer, I found that 54 tornadoes occur in the Prairie State during an average year.  This climatological average was derived from all tornadoes that touched down between 1991 and 2010.  This ranks Illinois as 6 out of all 50 states for the most tornadoes per year!  Of course, this is a climatological average, so some years will see more and some years will see far less.  In 2006, 124 tornadoes were observed in Illinois.  In 2012, however, only 39 tornadoes touched down in Illinois.  Wisconsin averages 24 tornadoes per year, ranking it at 20 out of all 50 states.

Another statistic that better portrays the yearly tornado threat in Illinois is the average number of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles.  Illinois’ average is 9.7 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles and Wisconsin’s is 4.5 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles.  How big is 10,000 square miles? To give you an idea, the size of all 13 counties in the 13 WREX viewing area put together is just 7,695 square miles.

-Joe

Posted under Project: Tornado, safety, severe weather, statistics, tornado, weather

Mostly dry weather and seasonably warm temperatures brought a pleasant weekend to the Stateline on May 4th and 5th. With a cut-off low pressure system stalled out in the Tennessee Valley, rain and cool temperatures stayed just to our south.  Since we were on the periphery of a ridge of high pressure, we saw enough breaks in the cloudcover which helped our local temperatures climb into the 70s. 

The forecast for the upcoming work week will stay the course, in terms of mild temperatures.  We’ve got a decent shot at 70 degrees for each and every day of the next five.  This would bring our total of 70 degree days to seven in a row!  The last time we saw such a streak was almost 8 months ago!  September 6th through 12th of 2012 brought Rockford and the Stateline high temperatures of 70 degrees or more.

The return of the mild air is certainly a welcomed sight.  Let’s enjoy it!

-Joe

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, statistics, weather

Saturday marked just the fourth time where temperatures climbed to 70 degrees or more in Rockford.  If you were like me, you probably enjoyed it!  The mild weather has been lacking across the Stateline for much of the year.  When reviewing all 124 days of 2013 (January 1 through May 4), just 15 days have had high temperatures at or above 60 degrees! That’s only 12 percent of all days so far. That figure lowers to just 3 percent, when reviewing days of 70 degrees or greater!

While only one day rose above 60 degrees in January, no days had high temperatures in the 60s (or higher) in February and March!  April saw ten days with high temperatures in the 60s. But it wasn’t until April 29 when Rockford broke the 70 degree mark (75 to be exact)—nearly one month later than the average first 70-degree day!

The forecast for the first full week of May will bring an end to the mild weather drought, so to speak, with at least 5 days at or above 70 degrees! -Joe

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, statistics, weather, weather geek

Today will mark our second day in a row that we have topped out at or above 80° in Rockford. This is the first time we have seen back-to-back 80s since September 11-12 of last year. This wonderful weather has put a spring in our step and the yearning for summer into our hearts. Hold tight before you soak in too much and get used to this trend. Tomorrow marks a return to cooler high temperatures in the 50s and chances for rain everyday through the weekend. With that said, enjoy this little summer vacation! -Greg

Posted under rain, statistics

April 2013 has been consistently cool.  As of this blog post, 17 days have had high temperatures below normal.  When factoring in high and low temperatures, 19 days have been below normal in Rockford.  The last three days of the month, however, will buck the trend.

Sunday’s high temperature is expected to reach 70 degrees in Rockford.  This is significant in many ways.  It will be the first 70 degree day of the year in the Forest City and the first since October 25, 2012!  On average, Rockford usually sees its first 70 degree day around April 2nd.  Sunday April 28th would be the second latest first 70 degree day in Rockford’s climatological history.  The latest first 70 degree day ever observed was May 6, 1971.

-Joe

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, record weather, statistics, weather

It is out with the old and in with the new. The first three weeks of April brought us an over abundance of rainfall. As a matter of fact, we are currently in 3rd on the list of rainiest Aprils with 7.94″. Thankfully, that number doesn’t look to go up much as we close out this month because a new weather pattern is taking shape. It is a pattern that looks to keep us dry and even mainly sunny for the better part of at least the next 7 days. If that isn’t enough to spark a little happiness, maybe this is. By the time the beginning of next week rolls around we could see our first back-to-back 70 degrees since last October! Right now there are three 70° days in the forecast with the possibility of even more to come! -Greg

Posted under First Look, statistics, weather

This April has brought us quite a bit of rain so far, and it’s not done yet. Since April 1st we have seen 2.61″ of rain which gives us a surplus of 1.07″ so far this month. Lsat year through this same date, we had only measured 0.75″ of April rainfall. The average for this month is 3.35″, and with multiple chances for some additional precipitation coming this week there is a good chance we will end the month with a surplus. -Greg

Posted under rain, statistics, weather