The land that is now called Wisconsin has a place in weather history.
Its climate has ranged from tropical to polar over hundreds of millions
of years and even today, that s the seeming difference between July and
January here. And Wisconsinites have played key roles in advancing the
science of meterology and climatology: Increase Lapham helped found the
National Weather Service in the nineteenth century; Eric Miller was the
first to broadcast regular weather reports on the radio in the 1920s;
Verner Suomi pioneered tracking weather by satellite; and Reid Bryson
has been a leader in studying global climate change.
Wisconsin's Weather and Climate is written for weather buffs,
teachers, students, outdoor enthusiasts, and those working in fields,
lakes, and forests for whom the weather is a daily force to be reckoned
with. It examines the physical features of Wisconsin that shape the
state s climate topography, mid-latitude location, and proximity to
Lakes Superior and Michigan and meteorological phenomena that affect
climate, such as atmospheric circulation and air mass frequency. Authors
Joseph M. Moran and Edward J. Hopkins trace the evolution of methods of
weather observation and forecasting that are so important for
agriculture and Great Lakes commerce, and they explain how Wisconsin
scientists use weather balloons, radar, and satellites to improve
forecasting and track climate changes. They take readers through the
seasonal changes in weather in Wisconsin and give an overview of what
past climate changes might tell us about the future.
Appendices provide climatic data for Wisconsin, including extremes of
temperature, snowfall, and precipitation at selected stations in the
state. The authors also list sources for further information.
Vignettes throughout the book provide fascinating weather lore:
o Why there are cacti in Wisconsin
o The famous Green Bay Packers Dallas Cowboys "Ice Bowl" game of 1967
o The Army Signal Corps ban on the word tornado
o Advances in snow-making technology
o The decline of the Great Lakes ice industry
"
