Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1924-05-29
FREAKISHIS
Wis. CLIMATE
Lakes Act as Both Refrigerator
And Heating Plant, Observer
Says


conditions covering it's entire area.
W. p Stewart head of the Milwau-
kee weather bureau. points out that
has almost as cold weather as
the worst of them, and as warm
weather as the most of them; it
has some of the heaviest snowfall
recorded in the country, likewise
an exceedingly damp section.
Under the influence of Lake SUI
perior and Michigan, which act as
X. rigerators in summer and heat
ing plants in winter. it has the
most equabie weather to be found
along the northern tier of states.
On the whole, however, it has just
good, average weather." he says.
The heaviest annual precipitation
is found in the north central por-
ton of the state on high, rolling
plateau with an altitude ranging
from 1900 to 1900 feet. Wausau,
Prentice, Tomahawk, Merrill and
Medford and many smaller places
thrive in spite of the average of 81
inches of rainfall.
Once SO Below Zero
The oldest section of the state is
also on an Gndulating plateau
,,tI,;1l r.rrroc f,.o,,, I nan - con
feet above sea level This topogra-
phic feature influences to a mark
ed extent the climate of that por
ton of the state, The elevation
does not prevent high day temper
atures during the clear weather in
summer, however. Consequently,
although the lowest winter temper
atures for the state nearly always
are found there. as at Winter, Wis.
with SO degrees below-the all
time low record in the history of the
weather buTeau-it is not unusual
for the highest summer tempera-
lures also to occur upon this plat
eau.
AT the other end of the thermo-
meter is the little city of Brod-
head. which has the distinction of
setting up the high record of Ill
degrees in the shade. Prairie du
Chen on the Mississippi is next
with 10. The southeastern sec
ton of the state is the hottest.
Superior is the windiest city. The
average velocity is 13 miles an
hour throughout the year The
proximity of Lake Superior has a
marked effect upon its climate, but
in the main the temperature is
controlled by the direction of the
wind During summer, with the
wind from the southwest, maxi
mum temperatures sometimes
reach 100, but in such cases if the
the wind shifts to the northeast
the temperature soon falls to 60
degrees or lower
Blames Lake Superior
The temperature fall is caused
ythe cold waters of Lake Super
Tor. The effect, of course, is great
est on the immediate lake shore,
and is not felt 80 miles inland.
During the early part of the win
ter, when the lake is warmer than
the land these conditions are re-
versed, but the temperature change
which results fS2m shift of the
wind is not so great as in the SUM
mer
The driest section is along its
northern line. This extends east
ward, oddly enough, to include the
northern tip of the Green Bay pen
lnsula and Plum island.
The area of greatest snowfall
paradoxically, is part of this
strip. extending from a point east
of Superior to DeerSkin Dam, and
dipping down into the state about
SO miles south of Ashland. Vude-
sare recorded the greatest snowfall,
"a inches. in one winter. This sec
ton, with northern Michigan has
the heaviest snowfall in the United
States outside of the Sierra Neva-
da and Cascade ranges along the
California border
Records of the weather bureau
show that two tornadoes which de-
yeloped in the eastern part of the
state caused extensive damage to
property or loss of life, however.
One was at Racine May Is, 1888,
when 25 persons were killed and
many injured The other was at
Pemsaukee in Oconto county, on
July Z, 1877, when eight persons
lost their lives and considerable
property was destroyed.
WEEKS HAPPENINGS