Climate Of Wisconsin

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

The immensely varied topography of Wisconsin provides examples of nearly every important physiographic process and topographic form. In the Driftless Area to the southwest, wind and water have weathered and carved away the countryside; along the Mississippi and other rivers are found most of the essential features of stream erosion and deposition; in the north and east glaciers have ground away the hills and left their mark on the plains and swamps. The Physical Geography of Wisconsin, reprinted from the second edition, 1932, of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Bulletin No. XXXVI (1916), offers a clear explanation of these and many other physiographical processes to the student and amateur geographer alike. The topography of the state is discussed in detail and, where necessary, related to its human geography; and the author has carefully explained and indexed all unfamiliar terms. The book is well supplied with maps, charts, and illustrations, and will be an excellent supplementary reader or guide in field trips for geography courses at all levels.