Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Yeah, we know it's been cold and rainy in Wisconsin. Blame the jet stream.

Before Wisconsinites start griping about this spring's unusually cold, wet weather – What? Too late? – know this: 
The reason why Wisconsin hasn't been hit with tornadoes, thunderstorms and floods plaguing other parts of middle America  is because of our cold, wet spring.
Sure, folks have had to wear winter coats to Little League games and polka dancers at Polish Fest bundled up last weekend. Youth soccer leagues have been rained out and farmers' crops are way behind.
It seems like spring never arrived and summer has so far been mostly a no-show. Aside from slugs, few Wisconsin inhabitants are happy about this.
It has been relatively cold and crummy this spring because of the jet stream flowing consistently out of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, which has created a trough of cold air over the Great Lakes, said Andy Boxell, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Sullivan.
That has kept humid, warm air well south of Wisconsin.
"We've really just been on the persistently cool side of all the systems coming through," Boxell said. "All the storms coming through the Plains have gone to our south."

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