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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