Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Western Uplands
TheWesternUplandsregionsubsumestheradicalDriftlessArea.Geologicallytheroughest
and wildest sector of Wisconsin, it contains rises up to 400 feet higher than the contiguous
Central Plain. The unglaciated plateau experienced much stream erosion, and the result is
an amazing chocolate-drop topography of rolling hillock and valley—with the odd plateau
and ridges not unlike West Virginia—capped by hard rock and sluiced by the lower Wis-
consin and Mississippi Rivers.
Contrary to what you may have heard, Wisconsin weather ain't all that bad. Sure, temper-
atures varying from 105°F to -30°F degrees spice things up a bit and, come late February,
most people are psychotically ready for the snow to go, but overall it isn't terrible.
Wisconsinisnearthepathofthejetstream,anditlacksanydeclivitylargeenoughtoim-
pede precipitation or climatic patterns. Its northerly latitude produces seasonal shifts in the
zenith angle, which result in drastic temperature fluctuations. It's not unusual for farmers
near Lake Geneva to be plowing while ice fishers near the Apostle Islands are still drilling
holes in the ice.
Temperatures and Precipitation
The state's mean temperature is 43°F, though this is not a terribly useful statistic. You'll
find 100°F in the shade come August, 40°F or more below with wind chill in winter, and
everything in between.
The average precipitation amount is 38.6 inches annually. Northern counties experience
more snowfall than southern ones, and anyplace near the Great Lakes can see some sort of
precipitation when the rest of the state is dry. Snow cover ranges from 140 days per annum
in the north to 85 days in the south. Snowfall ranges from 30 inches in the extreme south to
120 inches or more in Bayfield County and the Lake Superior cap.
“Cooler Near the Lake”
Wisconsin has two contiguous sea-size bodies of water, which give rise to their own littoral
microclimates. Get used to hearing “cooler near the lake” in summer and “warmer near the
lake” in winter. This moderating influence is particularly helpful for the orchards and gar-
densinDoorCountyonLakeMichiganandBayfieldCountyonLakeSuperior.Ontheoth-
er hand, it also means more precipitation: One freaky day in 2009, Milwaukee's south side
had 14.8 inches of snow, while 30 miles to the west it was sunny all day.
