By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Feb 28, 2005 at 5:07 AM

{image1} Last week in OMC's exclusive "Sunday Sound-off" column we asked if you thought Wisco winters had changed over the decades. Your responses were unanimously "yes" but Fox 6's Vince Condella says yes and no.

"The number of winter storms to affect Wisconsin each year has actually increased over the years," says chief meteorologist Vince Condella.

According to Condella, there were a total of 274 winter storms between 1975 and 2004 in Wisconsin. The annual average was 9.1 storms per year, however, between 1990 and 2004 the annual average number increased to 12.4.

"So we have averaged more winter storms during the past 15 years than in the past 30 years," he says.

Even though there are more storms then there were decades ago, we also have warmer temperatures which means less snowfall.

Average temperature has also increased, consistent with the entire United States. Data from 1,200 weather stations across the United States indicate about a 1 degree increase in temperature over the past 100 years. The upper Midwest has seen an increase of nearly 4 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years.

"The largest observed warming across the country has occurred during the winter months," says Condella. "Global warming? Yep, it's happening. Global temperature has increased approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1880. That may not sound like much, but when averaged over the entire globe, it is significant."


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.