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| Figure 1: Average temperature in the month of March from 1895 to 2015 in the Contiguous United States |
This year is much warmer than last, this years average temperature is about 45°F compared to about 42°F last year.
This years is about 3°F warmer than the overall average temperature.
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| Figure 2: Average temperature in the month of March from 1895 to 2015 in the state of Wisconsin. |
This year has been about 4°F warmer than last, 26 to 30.
This year is about 2°F warmer than the overall average temperature.
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| Figure 3: Average precipitation in the month of March from 1985 to 2015 in the Contiguous United States |
This march, about 2.1 inches of precipitation fell from the sky compared to about 2.4 inches from last. Not a huge difference, but a decrease in itself.
This march is about .4 inches less precipitation than the average amount of precipitation fallen in the month of March.
Most states and regions experienced above average temperatures in March 2015. The entire West experienced a much above average ranking with Washing, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Nevada receiving the highest rank. The North Mid West (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan) along with the South East (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Carolinas, and Virginia) experienced an above average month. The North East was the only region to record below average temperatures.
The only region to record above average ranks was the south central, Texas to Kansas. The rest of the United States recorded below average precipitation including much below average in the North Midwest and California/Nevada region. Surprisingly, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan ranked the lowest in the amount of precipitation.
The top 10 coldest years are 1. 1965 2. 1912 3, 1960 4. 1969. 5. 1906 6. 1915 7. 1924 8. 1932
This march is about .4 inches less precipitation than the average amount of precipitation fallen in the month of March.
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| Figure 4: Average precipitation in the month of March from 1895 to 2015 in the state of Wisconsin. |
The average precipitation in the month of March in Wisconsin graph is very sporadic. After a high amount of rain fall it seems to decrease by a huge amount, and vice versa. This makes for a trend hard to read. The crazy influxes happened from around 1960 to 1980, in the past 30 years the record amounts have been decreasing and less sporadic.
This month has decrease compared to last March, however both years were well below the average. It decrease from around 1 inch to 0.8 inches.
This month is well below the average precipitation in the Month of March. This year about 0.8 inches fell compared to the average of 1.8 inches.
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| Figure 5: Regional Average Temperatures for March 2015 |
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| Figure 6: Regional Precipitation for March 2015 |
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| Figure 7: Top 10 coldest years for the month of March in the Contiguous United States (Average Temperature) |
9. 1899 10. 1958
How does the information in letters a-f relate to the current debate we have in our society concerning climate change? What other forms of data might society rely upon to make a better informed answer on this topic?
The information shows that there has been a slow warming of our climate since about 1995. In fact the warmest year on record in the United States took place 3 years ago in 2012. If in the next 10 years the average temperature continues to rise there is no denying that our climate is changing. Looking at the entire world, in average global temperature would also help this theory to be true.
The coldest Month for both cities is January, Madison at 16.0°F and Milwaukee at 18.9°F. The warmest temperature for both cities is July, Madison at 71.0°F and Milwaukee at 70.9°F. The graphs seem to very similar except for Madison being a litter colder during the winter months.
The driest month for Madison was January at 1.1 inches and Milwaukee in February at 1.5 inches. The wettest month for Madison is August at 4.0 inches and Milwaukee it is a tie between April, July, and August.
Generate a daily climate report for Minneapolis, Eau Claire, and LaCrosse. Write down precipitation to date and snowfall to date for each location. How do these values compare. Why might they differ? How could this be a problem in your report? Hint: Think of where you get your weather information from and how those values may differ from what goes on in Eau Claire.
LaCrosse wasn’t available, I used Rochester instead
Search for Eau Claire. Scroll
down to select the Eau Claire county airport. How far do the records date back
on those sites in regard to climate data? How could this be a problem?
1961-1990, It only covers a
thirty year span, with the recent climate change I think it is important to
include the last 25 years in our data.
Why is it useful to compare your data to more than one of these locations?
Looking at different locations around one particular state gives you a wide variety of results. Comparing on area to another can tell you if temperatures are warmer or colder, and if areas are significantly wetter or drier than others.
What variables may influence differences between those locations and our location?
Some variables to consider would be if it is located near a large body of water, as in Superior on Lake Superior or Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes help maintain temperature and they also increase precipitation amounts. Another key factor to keep in mind would be Elevation, the higher the elevation, the lower the temperature and also it is more likely to snow. It is important to know the date of which you obtained your data, with the recent climate change it is very critical to know what years your data is coming from, in our case the data only goes up into the 1990s, more recent data would help greatly.
How might these data vary from your data regarding your data collection techniques?
The only time I have collected weather data was during the micro climate survey, which we collected temperature, wind speed, humidity, and dew point using a small weather tool. These data collections are done over a great period of time with high accuracy and more frequent reads.
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| Figure 8: Top 10 warmest years for the month of March in the Contiguous United States (Average Temperature) |
The top 10 warmest years are 1. 2012 2. 1910 3, 2007 4. 2004 5. 1946 6. 1921 7. 1986 8. 2000
9. 1918 10. 1907
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| Figure 9: Top 10 warmest years for the month of March in Wisconsin (Average Temperature) |
The top 10 warmest years are 1. 2012 2. 1910 3, 1946 4. 2000 5. 1945 6. 1973 7. 2010 8. 1968
9. 1977 10. 1987
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| Figure 10: Top 10 warmest years for the month of March in Wisconsin (Average Temperature) |
The top 10 coldest years are 1. 1899 2. 1960 3, 1906 4. 1923. 5. 1912 6. 1932 7. 1965 8. 1926
9. 1943 10. 2014
How does the information in letters a-f relate to the current debate we have in our society concerning climate change? What other forms of data might society rely upon to make a better informed answer on this topic?
The information shows that there has been a slow warming of our climate since about 1995. In fact the warmest year on record in the United States took place 3 years ago in 2012. If in the next 10 years the average temperature continues to rise there is no denying that our climate is changing. Looking at the entire world, in average global temperature would also help this theory to be true.
 |
| Figure 11: Graph displaying the average temperature in Madison and Milwaukee, WI. Madison is the blue line, Milwaukee the orange |
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| Figure 12: Graph displaying the average amount of rainfall in Madison and Milwaukee, WI Madison is the blue line, Milwaukee the orange |
Generate a daily climate report for Minneapolis, Eau Claire, and LaCrosse. Write down precipitation to date and snowfall to date for each location. How do these values compare. Why might they differ? How could this be a problem in your report? Hint: Think of where you get your weather information from and how those values may differ from what goes on in Eau Claire.
LaCrosse wasn’t available, I used Rochester instead
Minneapolis – Precipitation since January 1st – 3.84
inches
Snowfall since July 1st – 32.4 inches
Eau Claire – Precipitation since January 1st – 5.12
inches
Snowfall since July 1st – 38.1 inches
Rochester - Precipitation since January 1st – 8.02
inches
Snowfall since July 1st – 50.4 inches
Minneapolis experienced the least amount of precipitation and
snowfall while Rochester experienced the most amount of precipitation and
snowfall. They might differ just based
on the year and randomness of the storms.
It is possible that these results could flip next year. However, because Rochester is the
southernmost city, this could lead to more precipitation and rainfall.
This could be a problem based
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| Figure 13: Average temperature in Eau Claire, WI from 1961-1990 Average Precipitation in Eau Claire, WI from 1945-1995 |
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| Figure 14: Average temperature in Minneapolis, MN from 1961-1990 Average Precipitation in Minneapolis from 1950-1995 |
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| Figure 15: Average temperature in Winona, MN from 1961-1990 Average Precipitation in Winona, MN from 1935-1995 |
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| Figure 16: Average temperature in Madison, WI from 1961-1990 Average Precipitation in Madison, WI from 1948-1995 |
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| Figure 17: Average temperature in Milwaukee, WI from 1871-1980 Average Precipitation in Milwaukee, WI from 1948-1954 |
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| Figure 18: Average temperature in Superior, WI from 1961-1990 Average Precipitation in Superior, WI from 1931-1995 |
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| Figure 19: Average temperature in Wausau, WI from 1961-1990 Average Precipitation in Wausau, WI from 1941-1995 |
Why is it useful to compare your data to more than one of these locations?
Looking at different locations around one particular state gives you a wide variety of results. Comparing on area to another can tell you if temperatures are warmer or colder, and if areas are significantly wetter or drier than others.
What variables may influence differences between those locations and our location?
Some variables to consider would be if it is located near a large body of water, as in Superior on Lake Superior or Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes help maintain temperature and they also increase precipitation amounts. Another key factor to keep in mind would be Elevation, the higher the elevation, the lower the temperature and also it is more likely to snow. It is important to know the date of which you obtained your data, with the recent climate change it is very critical to know what years your data is coming from, in our case the data only goes up into the 1990s, more recent data would help greatly.
How might these data vary from your data regarding your data collection techniques?
The only time I have collected weather data was during the micro climate survey, which we collected temperature, wind speed, humidity, and dew point using a small weather tool. These data collections are done over a great period of time with high accuracy and more frequent reads.
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