Clippers, then Very Cold next week!

Weather Map for Tonight, Sunday and Sunday Night.

Tonight we will have the biggest moon of 2009! so get out there just after sunset to see it! I am hoping it stays clear just long enough, I think it will especially in the east Skies. late tonight there may be some light snow moving in the areas Northwest. but I think it may hold off until later. what will cause the snow is a weak clipper system moving southeast. Snow accumulations will range from a Trace to maybe up to 1 Inch. Sunday will have the best chance of snow, mostly light snow. Highs on Sunday will be in the teens to low 20s, it will be the Last "warm" day for awhile. before Cold Arctic air moves in. Sunday Night snow chances continue, with only light accumulations lows will fall into the Single digits.

Monday is the first day where Arctic Air will begin to move in. most likely what looks like right after a Stronger clipper moves though, Maybe 1 or 2 inches?. after this Clipper we will begin to get into a Cold Arctic Outbreak, Temperatures will be at there coldest levels this season so far. highs will only be around 0.F starting Tuesday, and lasting though the week, Lows may fall Below -20 below zero.

People in the area Need to prepare for a long Arctic outbreak, do anything last minute preparing on Sunday and early Monday, then Stay Warm, and keep heat on, stalk wood stoves. This cold be a Dangerous Cold Outbreak! I will do a Forecast on the arctic air Tomorrow or Monday. Dirk of Rice Lake has been forecasting this Arctic Outbreak for the past 2 weeks, please visit Dirks Forecasting Center to see all of his details!

Snow for southern areas.

System was farther Southwest then forecasted Expect only a Trace to 0.50" for all areas Today.

Then much colder weather by early next week more on this later

Don't foreget about my Special Post coming up by Saturday or Sunday!

Rabbits are becoming a problem!

Arborvitae (Cedar) bush next to our house. 

This is a post warning for anyone who has wild rabbits in your area, Hungry Rabbits are becoming a problem across Clayton and other communities in the area, and small trees and shrubs are at risk of being killed. if you have newly planted trees or shrubs in your yard, and you know you have wild rabbits around I highly recommend that you cover your new plantings with fencing with holes small enough to where they cannot get though. I was looking out the window this morning and I saw two rabbits eating the bark off of a Plum tree I had planted last spring, unfortunately they have stripped the entire small trunk bare, which means the tree will likely not live. When I was walking around our yard, I noticed that they have been to every bush and tree in our yard. so I immediately fenced off the most important trees most trees only had little branches eaten off. you can tell if you have rabbits by the tracks they make in the snow, they also leave many little "gifts" in the lawn, so if you have seen Rabbits in your area, be very watchful of your new trees and shrubs!

Hemlock fenced during Winter to keep rabbits and our dog away. 

Also while your watching for rabbits don't forget to keep snow from totally covering your bushes. when young bushes are totally cover by snow it can become heavy and flatten your bush out. ALSO Remember to leave some snow cover the ground next to the plant, snow is an insulator which protects the roots from extreme cold temps. just brush off enough to keep the snow from breaking the branches, When removing snow off Bushes remember to do it carefully, Evergreen bushes become brittle in temps under 28.F and the branches and break very easily. Also watch our for snowplows, that may have pushed snow over plants makes sure to uncover. hope this post was helpful!, in other subject the weather was actually nice today, we had sunshine and temps nearing 30! 

Warmer For Tuesday

Weather map for Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday

weather will get a bit warmer for Tuesday, as a system passes to the north and drags a warm font though the area, highs will warm into the upper 20s! there will be a chance of light snow or flurries. Tuesday night it will likely remain cloudy with lows still warmish, lows will be in the teens. Wednesday there will be a better chance of light snow, but accumulations should be light. highs Wednesday will be in the teens and 20s. Wednesday night a High pressure moves in behind the system, and with that we should have clearing skies later, and temps will like drop below zero or stay just above zero if clouds hold. Thursday we should have Sunshine, but it will be a bit cool with highs staying in the teens there might be some high clouds moving in by the end of the day due to an approaching system.

Thursday Night a system will be close enough by to bring the chance of snow. after this system it will be very cold for the weekend more of this later.

One Of The Snowiest Decembers Remembered

Snow Which has continued to pile up along our stair way since the starting of the month. 

here in Clayton we had one of the top 10 Snowiest Decembers. the Beginning of the month was fairy quiet, then a parade of storms began on the 5th and lasted though the month. Many storms brought 2-4 inches at a time. We had at least one if not two Snow storms hit a week, sometimes with in days of each other! I will talk about a few of these storms, the 9th a large storm system brought Moderate rain, which is actually rare for December. We had a total of 0.68 of Rain, This melted much of snow that was on the ground, then later that day Colder air moved in and we got 3.0 inches of snow, on top of Ice. Between 9th and and the 31st we got 2 winter storms and one system with freezing drizzle. which brought small ice accumulations, Before a Huge Snow storm hit after the 26th and brought 7 almost 8 inches of Snow to Clayton. the monthly total for December was 25.95 Inches of snow! the Average for Dec is 11.20" Inches we had over 14 inches above normal snowfall for Dec. Not all of this snow was on the ground by the end of the month because Almost all the snow melted in the middle of the month by Moderate rain and warm temps. 

The stormy weather continue into early January and we are currently at 32.20 inches of snow for the season. Last Winter we had 61 inches of Snow in total. We are not even half way though the winter and already we have over half of last years total snowfall! It will be a surprise to see how much we end out with this year, but if the storminess continues could go over 70 inches by spring! and all the melt water will really help area lakes and rivers from a dry summer.

Special Post

I will be making blog a post This Upcoming Weekend, about A Special Event that will be happening in Clayton this year!. Please be sure to check in This Weekend to find out! 

Snowstorm turns out to be more like snow showers.

the Snowstorm that was forecasted to hit with major amounts of snow, was MUCH Weaker then I forecasted. When I first looked at the models I saw heavy snow and major snow accumulations. There was some snow though, the highest snow totals fell in Burnett county where just 3 inches fell at Hertel and Grantsburg father south barely even seen any snow!. Ridgeland only got 1 Inch! here in Clayton we were expecting 4 to 7 inches but the total was a small 2 inches. What happened is, during the system most of the preip fell as freezing rain or sleet. then fine snow flakes. this help keep totals down. but the other thing is the system was weaker then the forecast models were saying. and most of the snow went north of the area. places like Douglas County seen the highest totals from this storm. but even there it seems like it was far less then forecasted. Check out Nathans weather blog to see totals up in that area. Looks like OWNS3 Picked up some Freezing rain in Oshkosh,WI check out his blog and his snow totals for December ! 

looks like the weather be begin to quit down. but it does look cold with some sunshine. I will have the forecast out later today. 

Another winter storm will impact the area

Weather map for Friday Saturday and Saturday Night

Another winter storm will have it's eyes set for Northwest Wisconsin. only this one may bring some sleet or freezing rain to some places. A warm from will drag some warmer air in, and places like Menomonie, Baldwin and Hammond will see the chance for sleet or freezing drizzle/rain. the sleet may fall as far north as Amery to Dallas. should stay all snow north of Highway 8 so Siren, Rice Lake and Spooner will see the heaviest snow and the most snow accumulation. Saturday may start off sunny then clouds move in. the best chance for snow and sleet. will be in the afternoon. there may also be some freezing drizzle south. Snow may become Moderate to Heavy later. Highs on Saturday will be in the upper 20s to 30 south. to the mid 20s north. Saturday Night it should be all snow for all areas. snow may be heavy, especially in the north. lows will dip into the teens. Blowing snow will also be a problem as colder air moves in, winds may gust to as high as 20 MPH in this storm. Snow accumulations will range from 5" to 8" inches in the north to 3" 5" in the south see map for details.

People in the area should prepare for a major Winter Storm with high snow accumulations, blowing snow, and very cold temps and wind chills