

SEARCHING FOR WINTER...
When temperatures are in the 60s like they were Monday, what do you do? I for one grab my fishing pole and hit the Swiss Valley trout stream outside of Dubuque. I fished the entire afternoon in a light sweatshirt without seeing a cloud in the sky. On top of that I caught my limit! It was just me, nature, and a 62 degree temperature, not bad considering a normal high is 48. As has been the case all fall, we're living on borrowed time with regular rounds of Indian Summer weathe


A LITTLE UP, A LITTLE DOWN, A BIGGER UP
We are in the midst of quite a mild period for this time of year with temperature anomalies 5-10 degrees above normal. These mild temperatures will continue through Tuesday before a cold front midweek send temperatures down a little but, back to normal levels. With this drop comes a light chance for rain as well but the overall risk is quite low. The European Ensemble has about a tenth of an inch late Wednesday into early Thursday, but notice many members have little if any a


JACK FROST IS IN THE HOUSE...
We haven't had to deal with Jack Frost and his icy touch more than a handful of times this year. However, Friday night the situation was prime for frost. In fact, it was one of those situations where old Jack could end up tossing in a freeze for good measure. A freeze occurs when surface air temperatures drop to 32°F (0°C). North of I-80 that benchmark has been achieved. South of I-80, it's been a different story where lows have been no colder than 33-37. Even where readings


STILL GREEN & GROWING...
Here we are November 6th and so far, no killing freeze. Flowers are blooming, the grass is green, and like it or not El Nino is largely to blame. El Niño by the way, is a natural climate oscillation characterized by the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. It alters the path of the Pacific jet stream, often producing a split flow with minimal interaction from the northern branch here in the Midwest. That restricts cold air intrusi


A NEWFOUND NIP....
That storm that rolled through the Midwest Tuesday has today found a new home in Canada. That's allowed a cold front to sweep through the region, kicking up brisk westerly winds that have gradually been driving temperatures down. Wednesday evening readings were only in the 40s in many spots with wind chills approaching the upper 30s. Actual temperatures were 12 to 16 degrees colder than 24 hours earlier, mind you a noticeable change! Despite the initial energy having passed w








