With all the technology weather forecasters have at their disposal, I would not have thought that they could be off as much as they were during our 4 night camping trip in northeast Wisconsin from August 20 to 24. Even a day ahead of time the forecast was remarkably wrong.
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| About 1:30 pm Sunday |
On Sunday morning we departed for a camping trip to our favorite campground in northeast Wisconsin. We arrived at the campground at about 12:30 pm, and selected a site we had never been in before. Prior to leaving on Sunday morning, I used my Weather Channel app to check the weather for the nearest community, Armstrong Creek. This is what the Sunday (8/20) forecast predicted:
Sunday- 82-53 mstly sunny; Monday-77-55 ptly to mstly cloudy; Tuesday-71-57 AM rain, then clearing with sun in the afternoon; Wednesday-94-61, sunny; Thursday 85-58 sunny; Fri 74-49 rain in AM and mstly cloudy.
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| Loons |
This is what he weather turned out to be: Sun-72 Ptly to cloudy; Mon-abt 67-52 Cloudy and cool; Tues-AM rain (1:30 am to 9:30 am), 62 high; fog over the lake; Wed abt 67 cloudy low abt 62; Thurs drizzle and cloudy, returned home due to rain in forecast for Thursday.
On Tuesday we went to town to get more ice for the cooler and sad to say, the sorry weather was present for the Laona State Bank customer appreciation day. I am not sure what food they cooked up, but it sure smelled good. I almost want to open an account so if we are up there next time for the appreciation day we an partake. Anyway, we checked our phones for the forecast, that is when we found rain on Thursday. However, Wednesday was now predicted to be 84 and sunny. Much better temperature than the Sunday forecast of 94 on Wednesday. The weather was so cool on Tuesday, that upon our return from town we started a campfire that we kept going all day until we went into the camper sometime after 8:30 pm. We also had a campfire Wednesday morning due to the cool weather.
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| Tuesday early afternoon temperature |
With the rain we adjusted our meal plan. When the rain intensity decreased for a few minutes Tuesday morning, my wife went to our chuck box and got the coffee pot, tea cups/tea bags, and the oatmeal. She turned on the propane and we heated the water and drank our tea and I ate my oatmeal while it started to again pour cats and dogs. We usually cook and eat outside, but this event is why we bought a camper with an indoor stove, to cook inside in rain. On two camping trips last year or the year before knowing rain was forecasted in late afternoon, we had our main meal during lunch in non-rain, and then made sandwiches when the rain started to come so we could then eat in the camper for our dinner.
On Wednesday we were at the beach and a forest service worker showed up. She commented how the forecast Monday had Wednesday having a high of 94 Wed and sunny, while the Tuesday forecast changed that to a a high of 84 and sunny. She then said the Wednesday morning forecast changed the high Wednesday to 73 and mostly cloudy but with periods of sun. we had the sun shine a few brief moments, emphasis on brief, on Wednesday early afternoon. Hence, the forecast, even two days earlier was over 20 degrees off from the temperature experienced.
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| Campfire |
We made do with the weather, playing Yahtzee, cribbage and solitaire on each other's aces. Cribbage is somewhat new to us, and I am not sure if we were playing and counting correctly, but the wife was happy because over two days we played six games of which she won five. I have not figured out the knack for what cards to keep and what to put in the crib. She always seemed to have the right card at the right moment.
Even with all the cool weather I did swim a few times, but no early morning swims. The weather and water were just to cool. I was looking forward to a sunny 84 degree day Wednesday to be in the water more often, but that was not to be. I did kayak everyday. Tuesday I kayaked when the fog was most dense over the lake where it was difficult to see less than a 100' in front of you. My wife thought I might get lost. Prudence suggested keeping the shore line in sight. The moisture created by the fog enveloped our campsite and made everything damp. We did notice that the eagles and loons were much more quiet when the fog was over the lake than they otherwise were.
Maybe we jinked ourselves signing up for four nights, and leaving a fifth night open as an option. With rain predicted Thursday morning, we packed the car the night before to keep the gear dry. Part of me hoped the day would arise bright and sunny, but that was not to be. We had drizzle, and it was heavily overcast, so we decided to depart. I think we reached west of Fond du Lac before we really saw the sun. Meaning much of the eastern part of the state was under heavy cloud cover.
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| Fog enveloping the lake Tuesday |
While Madison, and even Minneapolis, were experiencing record highs or near record highs on Tuesday and Wednesday, the campground we were located never really succeeded in getting to 65 and 70 respectively. It fell a few degrees short. Temperatures never came close to forecasted highs. I am not sure what was occurring, but the wind at the campground was always from the north or northeast for our stay, not a direction to bring in warm temperatures. Minneapolis is about 44.97 degrees north latitude and our campground was about 45.70 degrees north. Each degree of latitude is equal to about 70 miles, but one is much further east (campground) but is less than 70 miles more north of the Twin Cities.
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| Fog taken over the lake |
On Thursday when we departed in a drizzle, the temperature was about 60 and arrived home to a temperature that would be 95 and over 70% humidity. We generally expect warmer weather when we arrive home, but this was a system shock. We unpacked, put up the screen tent to complete its drying, and did laundry. I always wish I had a lake to jump into when we get home in hot weather.
Fall comes early to the Northwoods. When we camped here two weeks ago a few maples were turning, but this trip, looking at the woods across the lake, hints of yellows were already in the trees. As usual, the loons and eagles were present, which kept our attention to the lake. The fog on Tuesday seemed to keep them quiet most of the day. As the trees now start to turn as the days grow shorter, and the weather cooler, fall will arrive soon. I was respecting more and more the forecasts, as prior camping trips showed a fair amount of accuracy, although timing may have been off. It is now time to question that respect.
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