The next time you don't want to talk about politics, religion or the Vikings, consider sharing a few weather nuggets instead.
1. Earth is closer to the sun during our winter. The cooling effect is a result of Earth being tilted on its axis by 23 ½ degrees.
2. Do cars feel windchill? No. The wind chill formula calculates how fast wind will push warm air away from your skin. A strong wind will cool your engine block to the current air temperature faster, mind you. And most pets, including horses, feel windchill.
Did I mention we may enjoy three or four days of 30s the last week of February? A splash of milder, Pacific air is coming after a long spell of colder-than-normal weather. We may see five or six more subzero nights next week before the pattern mellows a notch or two.
We'll see blue sky today, but models look a little more impressive for snow Friday, potentially plowable (3 inches or more), but the heaviest snow bands stay south and east over Wisconsin and Iowa, where another 8-12 inches snow may fall by Sunday. A very close call. But that doesn't count, right?
