Hot temperatures in Wisconsin used to be quite common, but have plummeted over the past century. Almost 5% of days in Wisconsin were over 90 degrees in the 1890’s.
Long heatwaves used to be common in Wisconsin, but they almost never happen any more.
It is difficult to imagine now, but Wisconsin used to be ravaged by massive forest fires, like the 1871 fire which was one of the largest, and the deadliest in US history.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wioconto/PeshtigoFullFireMapOnly.jpg
We think of Wisconsin as being a cold, snowy state. But it wasn’t always like that. Afternoon temperatures in Wisconsin peaked in 1931, and last year had their coldest afternoons on record.
The Great Lakes had all-time record spring and summer ice last year. The climate is changing in Wisconsin. It is getting much colder.
Steven, might be interesting if you could do a “number of days below a particular temperature” at the same time. Hot days look like they are becoming less prevalent, what about cold days ?
Is everything just becoming more benign in general ?
One night out of eight was below 0F in Wisconsin last year, Third highest percentage after 1917 and 1963.
Melbourne’s mean maximum temperatures shows a jump around 2000, otherwise there is not much change over a century. Still we get bombarded with ‘hottest ever’ and ‘Australia’s Angry Summer.
http://s5.postimg.org/syake9vc7/melbourne_mean.jpg
With a real global warming or just fudging, days over 40 should increase as more days in the high above 39 sneak over 40. I subtracted 0.01°C/year from the maximum temperatures since 1920 and counted the number of days above 40 for the summer.
http://s5.postimg.org/bjqc5zy7b/Over_40.jpg
No evidence that global warming makes heat waves more common, just slightly warmer than would otherwise occur.
Wisconsin used to be ravaged by massive forest fires
That was in the days before the old white men cut down all the forests and destroyed the balance.
For a state that shares a name with our last glacial episode, warm days are the last thing to worry about.
On the other end of it, we here in Milwaukee are enjoying a very long stretch of mild winters. Last Winter was an anomaly in that long stretch. This year so far seems has been a return to mild conditions.
Summers too have been mild, and last year was a really crap year for tomatoes.
2013 and 2014 both had above average number of nights below 0F in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee has averaged a tenth of a degree above normal for this January. A shockingly average January.
It is much colder than normal upstate NY last winter and this winter. If anything, this winter is colder than last winter. Our highs next week are going to be around 15-5 degrees F! The lows, -10 degrees or worse.
Summers in Wisconsin are amazing but if you visit us bring a coat especially early to mid June + mid to late August. My poor grand kids from Arizona almost froze their you-know-whats off when they visited in June a few years back.