Although I grew up in northern Illinois, Wisconsin was my favourite state, and I hoped at one time to make it my permanent home. I had even applied and been accepted to the meteorology program at the University of Wisconsin. Fate took me in other directions, however, and I have lived my life elsewhere although I still have an affinity to the Dairy State.
When I saw that a book on Wisconsin's weather and climate was to be published, I made sure I would obtain a copy. That book is Wisconsin's Weather and Climate by Joseph M. Moran and Edward J. Hopkins.
Wisconsin's Weather and Climate is written for weather enthusiasts, teachers, students and those working and playing in the fields, lakes, and forests of the State. The book ably places the region's weather and climate within the interaction of those large-scale atmospheric circulations and weather patterns and mid-latitude location that combine with Wisconsin's topographic features and proximity to Lakes Superior and Michigan that shape the state's weather and climate. In turn, the authors show how the State's weather and climate have shaped the social structure of its residents. In one of the book's many interesting vignettes they even discuss the legend behind the infamous "Frozen Tundra" of Green Bay's Lambeau Field, home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers.
What sets apart this book from others of its genre is the in-depth look at the State's place in the history of the atmospheric sciences and weather services. Several Wisconsinites have played key roles in advancing the science in both theory and application. For example, Increase Lapham helped establish the National Weather Service in the nineteenth century that brought weather forecasts and warnings to Great Lake mariners and local farmers. Eric Miller was the first to broadcast regular weather reports on the radio in the 1920s. At the University of Wisconsin, the late Verner Suomi pioneered tracking weather by satellite including the first computer station to combine the many elements then available for the weather analyst/forecaster, and Professor Reid Bryson has been a leader in studying global climate change and its impact on society.
What this book lacks are the detailed discussions of the State's worst or most infamous weather events which many other local climate books focus on. As a result, I place this volume just above the middle of local climate/weather books.
If you have and interest in this beautiful state or are a collector of locally focused weather/climate books, Wisconsin's Weather and Climate by Joseph M. Moran and Edward J. Hopkins should be on your bookshelf.
Weather Doctor's Book Review: Wisconsin's Weather and Climate ©2003, Keith C. Heidorn, PhD. All Rights Reserved.
Correspondence may be sent to: Email: see@islandnet.com.