Climate Comparison Between Connecticut and Southern Wisconsin

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By Chris Stiles on July 8, 2012, 3:42pm

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Connecticut’s weather has been anything but “normal” in the past couple years. Ranging from crippling snowstorms before Halloween, to high temperatures in the 80s before the first day of spring, New England takes the word normal and puts a spin on it. So, is the weather being anomalous anywhere else in the U.S? The answer is…of course!

Recently I just moved to Madison, WI. Part of the fun for me is learning how the climate is here and how it differentiates from living relatively near an ocean for most of my life. You can read about temperatures and precipitation patterns for an area, but it’s more exciting experiencing what the air feels like, what the sky looks like, and how the clouds change with different meteorological mechanisms in the atmosphere. I am an avid meteorologist for the extremes, and boy did I get my wish. I moved to Madison at quite an interesting time. The latitude may be higher than CT, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be cooler! Check out the past 6-7 weeks or so below between Madison (Dane County Airport) and CT (Observations taken from Bradley International Airport) If you have been complaining about the heat and humidity in CT from the past week or so…just be glad you were not here, it could be a lot worse.

JUNE 2012

--Madison,WI-- --Windsor Locks,CT—

Average High: 78.3 Average High: 79.7

Average High this June: 84.6 Average High this June: 79.3

Departure From Normal: +6.3 Departure From Normal: -0.3

Days at 90 degrees or Up: 9 Days at 90 degrees or Up: 5

Hottest Temperature: 97 Hottest Temperature: 97

Average Precipitation: 4.54” Average Precipitation: 4.32”

Total Precipitation in June: 0.31” Total Precipitation in June: 4.22”

Deficit/Surplus: -4.23” Deficit/Surplus: -0.10”

***Special notes for Madison, WI: May 31^st in Madison saw more rain that day versus the entire month of June plus the first 7 days of July so far.

-June is supposed to be on average Madison’s 2^nd wettest month of the year.

-June 2012 was the driest June ever recorded in Madison History.

***Special notes for Windsor Locks, CT: Connecticut came in exactly normal for average temperature in June. (Average taken from highs and lows together) The significance here is that makes this the 14^th month in a row for CT where the monthly average temperature was not below normal. The last time it was exactly normal was, exactly one year ago, June 2011.

JULY 2012 (through the 7^th)

--Madison,WI-- --Windsor Locks,CT--

Average High: 82.1 Average High: 84.5

Average High so far: 97.9 Average High So Far: 89.3

Departure From Normal So Far: +15.8 Departure From Normal So Far: +4.8

Days at 90 degrees or Up: 6 Days at 90 degrees or Up: 4

Days at 100 degrees or Up: 3 Days at 100 degrees or Up: 0

Average Precipitation: 3.93” Average Precipitation: 4.18”

Total Precipitation so far: Trace Total Precipitation So Far: 0.74”

Deficit/Surplus so far: -0.97” Deficit/Surplus So Far: -0.08”

***Special Notes for Madison, WI: July 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th set new high temperature records for those days at 102, 104, and 102 consecutively.

-From June 27^th to July 6^th, the high temperature was never below 92 degrees. That makes a 10 day heat wave with 3 of those days being over 100 degrees.

-On July 4^th, the lowest temperature only reached 81 degrees.

-Heat Index values went as high as 107. (Heat index is what the temperature feels like outside when combined with humidity values)

-Current Forecast (As of July 8^th) Continues to have no precipitation in the extended.

****Special Notes for Windsor Locks, CT: Although 4 out of the first 7 days in July were above 90, there is no “official” heat wave, as the definition states 3 consecutive days or more. Temperatures of 92,91,90, and 92 were recorded consecutively on 1^st, 4^th, 6^th, and 7^th.

-The warmest low temperature recorded so far was 71 degrees on July 7^th.

-Precipitation so far is at 0.74”, which is very close to normal for the month of July so far.

-July averages 7 days at 90 degrees or above, already at 4.

- Forecast for high temperatures is right around average, possibly warming up above average towards the end of the week.

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