PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
        NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
        705 PM CST MON JAN 3 2000

                      ...A LOOK BACK AT 1999 FOR LA CROSSE...
                          ***5TH WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD***

                       TEMPERATURES                     PRECIPITATION

        MONTH   HIGH   LOW    AVE   DEPARTURE     TOTAL   DEPARTURE   SNOW

        JAN     22.9   5.8   14.3     -0.1         2.84     +1.91     31.9
        FEB     39.4  22.6   31.0    +11.1         0.78     -0.12      3.3
        MAR     48.2  25.7   37.0     +4.2         0.61     -1.35      5.3
        APR     61.8  41.4   51.6     +3.9         6.02     +3.14       T
        MAY     73.8  52.1   63.0     +3.5         4.32     +1.06      0.0
        JUN     81.3  59.5   70.4     +1.9         2.43     -1.47       -
        JUL     87.3  67.3   77.3     +3.8         8.42     +4.63       -
        AUG     79.9  60.4   70.2     -0.6         2.19     -1.73       -
        SEP     72.9  50.7   61.8      0.0         2.39     -1.40       -
        OCT     61.5  38.3   49.9     -0.3         1.43     -0.77      0.3
        NOV     53.6  32.4   43.0     +7.4         1.50     +0.23      0.0
        DEC     35.2  19.2   27.2     +6.9         0.65     -0.62      4.9

        TOTALS  59.8  39.6   49.7     +3.3        33.58     +2.72     45.7

        ******************************RECORDS*******************************

        TEMPERATURE...

        HIGHS:        98 ON JULY 29TH
                     100 ON JULY 30TH
                      74 ON NOVEMBER 8TH
                      75 ON NOVEMBER 9TH
                      73 ON NOVEMBER 13TH
                      53 ON DECEMBER 29TH

        HIGHEST LOWS: 33 ON FEBRUARY 1ST...TIED RECORD
                      34 ON FEBRUARY 2ND
                      54 ON MARCH 31ST
                      80 ON JULY 4TH
                      50 ON NOVEMBER 9TH
         
        LOWEST HIGH:  44 ON OCTOBER 3RD
         
        MONTHLY:      8TH WARMEST FEBRUARY AT 31.0 DEGREES
                      8TH WARMEST JULY AT 77.3 DEGREES
                      2ND WARMEST NOVEMBER AT 43.0 DEGREES

        YEARLY:       5TH WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD AT 49.7 DEGREES


        PRECIPITATION...

        ONE-DAY PCPN:      0.57 ON JANUARY 2ND
                           1.60 ON APRIL 22ND
         
        ONE-DAY SNOWFALL:  7.3 ON JANUARY 2ND
                           4.5 ON JANUARY 14TH
                           8.0 ON JANUARY 24TH
         
        MONTHLY PCPN: 5TH WETTEST JANUARY WITH 2.84 INCHES
                      6TH WETTEST APRIL WITH 6.02 INCHES
                      8TH WETTEST JULY WITH 8.42 INCHES
                      3RD DRIEST MARCH WITH 0.61 INCHES

        NO SNOW FELL THIS PAST NOVEMBER...MAKING IT THE ONLY NOVEMBER ON RECORD
        WITHOUT ANY SNOWFALL.

        FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW...LA CROSSE SET A YEARLY TEMPERATURE
        RECORD...FINISHING AS THE 5TH WARMEST AT 49.7 DEGREES. THIS ALSO MARKS
        THE THIRD TIME IN THE 1990/S IN WHICH THE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE FOR A YEAR
        FELL AMONG THE ALL-TIME WARMEST. THE ONLY OTHER COMPARABLE PERIOD WERE
        THE LATE 1930/S WHEN 1938...1939...AND THEN 1941 ALL FINISHED IN THE
        TOP TEN FOR WARMEST YEARS.

        ***********************************************************************

        JANUARY GAVE NO INDICATION OF THE WARM YEAR THAT WAS AHEAD...WITH
        TEMPERATURES RIGHT AT NORMAL. PRECIPITATION WAS WELL ABOVE NORMAL
        THOUGH...WITH OVER 30 INCHES OF SNOW DROPPING ON THE LA CROSSE AREA.
        THERE WERE ONLY TWO SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENTS...WITH 7.3 INCHES FALLING
        ON THE 2ND AND 8 INCHES FALLING ON THE 25TH. THE REST OF THE SNOW WAS
        SPREAD OUT OVER 16 OTHER DAYS...WITH VARIOUS SMALL AMOUNTS. IN FACT...
        JANUARY USUALLY AVERAGES A BIT UNDER 9 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE
        PRECIPITATION (RAIN OR SNOW). THIS PAST JANUARY THERE WERE 18 SUCH
        DAYS!

        FEBRUARY SERVED AS A HARBINGER OF THE WARMTH TO COME...FINISHING 11
        DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL! STILL...THIS ONLY MADE IT THE 8TH WARMEST
        FEBRUARY ON RECORD. THE SNOWS ALSO ENDED...AS ONE MIGHT EXPECT DUE TO
        THE WARMTH...WITH A LITTLE OVER 3 INCHES FALLING FOR THE MONTH. THE
        AVERAGE IS MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT. ANOTHER INTERESTING FACT ABOUT THIS
        PAST FEBRUARY IS THE LACK OF SUBZERO TEMPERATURES. IN AN AVERAGE
        FEBRUARY THIS WOULD HAPPEN ABOUT 8 TIMES. IN FACT...LOW TEMPERATURES
        NEVER EVEN DROPPED BELOW 10 DEGREES.

        MARCH CONTINUED THE DRY AND WARM TREND...WITH THE FIRST 70 DEGREE DAY
        OF THE YEAR ON THE 30TH. ALSO OF SIGNIFICANCE TEMPERATURE-WISE WAS THE
        EARLIEST LAST FREEZE ON RECORD. MARCH 27TH 1999 NOW HOLDS THAT TITLE.
        NEARLY ALL THE MONTHLY SNOWFALL CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR BY ONE
        STORM...WHICH BLANKETED LA CROSSE IN 4.9 INCHES ON THE 8TH-9TH. THE MOST
        SIGNIFICANT EVENT OF THIS MONTH WAS THE EXTENDED DRY SPELL...WITH 18
        CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITHOUT ANY PRECIPITATION. THIS TIED THE SECOND
        LONGEST DRY SPELL ON RECORD FOR LA CROSSE. THE DRIEST SPELL IS 24
        CONSECUTIVE DAYS BACK IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER OF 1953.

        APRIL AND MAY BROUGHT MORE UNSEASONABLE WARMTH...BUT A LOT MORE
        PRECIPITATION. THE "APRIL SHOWERS" FELL MOSTLY IN ONE-QUARTER TO
        ONE-HALF INCH AMOUNTS...WITH ONLY A COUPLE INCH OR MORE EVENTS. UNLIKE
        APRIL THOUGH...TWO-THIRDS OF MAY/S MONTHLY TOTAL CAME AS THE RESULT OF
        THREE EVENTS. MAY ALSO BROUGHT THE AREA THE FIRST 80 DEGREE READING OF
        THE YEAR...TOPPING OUT AT 82 ON THE 3RD. AND EVEN THOUGH THE AVERAGE
        HIGH FOR EARLY MAY IS IN THE UPPER 60S...LA CROSSE USUALLY HAS ITS
        FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY RIGHT AROUND THEN.

        JUNE GOT THE "SUMMER" MONTHS OFF TO A COOL START INITIALLY...BUT THEN
        TURNED THE THERMOSTAT BACK UP WITH THE FIRST 90 DEGREE DAY OF THE YEAR
        ON THE 5TH. EXCLUDING A BRIEF COOL DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH...
        IT STAYED ABOVE NORMAL FOR MOST OF THE MONTH. PRECIPITATION WAS DOWN IN
        JUNE THOUGH...NEARLY 1 1/2 INCHES. BUT CONSIDERING THE OVER ABUNDANCE OF
        RAIN AND SNOW THAT HAD OCCURRED DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE YEAR...
        THIS ONLY PUT A SMALL DENT IN THE SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR.

        JULY WOULD REALLY ADD TO THE WET YEARLY CONDITIONS...DUMPING ALMOST 8
        1/2 INCHES! THE AMAZING THING ABOUT ALL THE RAIN WAS THAT THE MONTHLY
        TOTAL WAS A RESULT OF SEVERAL DAYS OF ONE-HALF TO AN INCH AMOUNTS...
        RATHER THEN ONE OR TWO LARGE EVENTS. THERE WAS ONLY ONE "BIG" RAIN EVENT
        ...WHICH WAS ON THE 8TH WHEN 2.26 INCHES FELL. TEMPERATURES MANAGED TO
        STAY THE COURSE OF PERSISTENT WARMTH...WITH 13 DAYS OF 90 DEGREE OR
        GREATER HEAT.

        AUGUST ROUNDED OUT THE SUMMER WITH COOLER...BUT MORE SEASONABLE
        TEMPERATURES. THERE WERE NO BIG TEMPERATURE SWINGS...WITH HIGH
        TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM A HIGH OF 88 DEGREES TO A LOW OF 71. DRIER
        CONDITIONS ALSO WERE THE RULE FOR THE MONTH...WHICH WAS 1 3/4 INCHES
        BELOW NORMAL.
         
        THE DRY TREND WOULD CONTINUE FOR SEPTEMBER AS THE MONTHLY TOTAL FELL
        ALMOST 1 1/2 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. AND AFTER STARTING OUT VERY WARM...
        WITH 90 DEGREE WEATHER FOR 3 OUT OF THE FIRST 4 DAYS...TEMPERATURES
        WOULD COOL DOWN TO AT OR BELOW SEASONABLE NORMALS FOR THE REST OF THE
        MONTH.

        APPARENTLY MOTHER NATURE WAS TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR A VERY WET
        FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR BY MAKING IT VERY DRY FOR THE LAST HALF. OCTOBER
        WAS THE THIRD MONTH IN A ROW WITH BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION...BUT ALSO
        SET ONE INTERESTING RECORD. THE EARLIEST FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL ON
        RECORD FOR LA CROSSE OCCURRED THIS PAST OCTOBER 1ST...WITH 0.3 INCHES
        FALLING. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS EARLIEST MARK SET ON OCTOBER 13TH
        1959. DAILY SNOWFALL RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1948. TEMPERATURES DROPPED TO
        FREEZING ON THE 3RD...WHICH WAS JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE AVERAGE
        FIRST FREEZE...WHICH IS OCTOBER 9TH.

        THE WARMTH RETURNED FOR NOVEMBER WITH A WEATHER PATTERN MORE TYPICAL OF
        EARLY FALL RATHER THEN THE TRANSITION INTO WINTER. NOVEMBER WAS ALSO
        VERY DRY...EVEN THOUGH IT DID FINISH ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH.
        MEASURABLE RAIN ONLY FELL ON 4 DAYS...BUT ONE OF THOSE EVENTS ACCOUNTED
        FOR 95% OF THE MONTHLY TOTAL. THAT WAS ON THE 23RD WHEN 1.42 INCHES OF
        RAIN FELL. BY MONTH/S END THE WEATHER PATTERN HAD SWITCHED TO A MORE
        SEASONABLE PATTERN...AND TEMPERATURES COOLED DOWN TO REFLECT THAT. THE
        MOST INTERESTING AND SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT OF NOVEMBER WASN/T WHAT
        HAPPENED...BUT WHAT DIDN/T HAPPEN. THIS PAST NOVEMBER MARKED THE FIRST
        TIME ON RECORD...WITH MONTHLY SNOWFALL RECORDS DATING BACK TO 1893...
        THAT THERE WAS NOT AT LEAST A TRACE OF SNOW FOR THE MONTH.

        DECEMBER ROUNDED OUT THE YEAR ON A RELATIVELY MILD NOTE...WITH THE ONLY
        BOUT OF COLD WEATHER COMING RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. IN FACT...HIGH
        TEMPERATURES STAYED ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK UNTIL 16TH. THERE WASN/T
        MUCH SNOW EITHER...BUT MUCH OF WHAT DID FALL CAME AROUND THE CHRISTMAS
        HOLIDAY.

        *****************************************************************

        HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR 1999.......  100 ON JULY 30TH
        LOWEST TEMPERATURE FOR 1999........  -17 ON JANUARY 9TH
        HIGHEST ONE-DAY PRECIPITATION......  2.26 INCHES O N JULY 8TH
        HIGHEST ONE-DAY SNOWFALL...........  8.0 INCHES ON JANUARY 24TH
        NUMBER OF DAYS WITH HIGHS AT OR ABOVE 90 DEGREES.... 19
        NUMBER OF DAYS WITH HIGHS AT OR BELOW 32 DEGREES.... 38
        NUMBER OF DAYS WITH ZERO OR BELOW TEMPERATURE....... 17
        NUMBER OF DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION........ 124
        PERCENTAGE OF DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION.... 34%
        NUMBER OF DAYS WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES....... 236
        PERCENTAGE OF DAYS WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES... 65%


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Last modified: January 5, 2000