What’s the most important quality a person needs to achieve success? Our guest makes the case that perseverance is more important than any other attribute like talent or know-how. We’ll talk to a meterologist about the magnitude of the wildfires devastating Alberta, Canada and our own risks of wildfire here in Wisconins. We also recap the biggest headlines from around the state this week,
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Wisconsin Meteorologist Tracks Alberta Wildfire From Space
Winds and dry conditions are causing a Canadian wildfire to intensify. The fires in the province of Alberta have forced the evacuation of 88,000 people from the city of Fort McMurray Alberta.
University of Wisconsin meteorologist Scott Bachmeier said the size of this fire isn’t exceptional, but the proximity and timing is.
“It is kind of unusual to have this begin as early as it happened. In early May, we don’t expect to see a lot of these happen in Canada, but it’s been extremely hot and dry in those provinces and so it looks like things are off to an early start,” he said.
According to Bachmeier, the heat from this wildfire has created smoke plumes known as pyrocumulonimbus clouds that can be seen from space. These clouds have traveled over Wisconsin on Wednesday afternoon and by the evening, had made their way to the southern coast of Georgia and Florida.
Bachmeier is tracking the fire via satellite at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies/Space Science and Engineering Center. He said as satellite technology has improved, it makes it much easier for meteorologist to spot and track the progress of large wildfires.
“If it happens to be by a major urban area, we can give a heads-up,” he said.
Additionally, the technology also helps to identify the hotspots earlier and to accurately identify how hot they are.
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State News Roundup For May 6, 2016
A news editor joins us to talk about state GOP members’ reactions to Donald Trump’s presumptive nomination and other big stories from around Wisconsin this week.
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Canadian Wildfires And Wisconsin Risk
The Canadian province of Alberta is under a state of emergency because of raging wildfires. We’ll speak with a wildfire expert about the disaster. We’ll also talk about the risk of wildfire in Northern Wisconsin.
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Resilience, gumption, and perseverance, commonly known as “grit,” may be the key to success in school and in life. A pioneering researcher shares the benefits of grit–and how we can cultivate it in ourselves and in the next generation.
Episode Credits
- Rob Ferrett Host
- Veronica Rueckert Host
- KP Whaley Producer
- Matt Oleson Producer
- Rob Ferrett Producer
- Scott Bachmeier Guest
- Rob Mentzer Guest
- Rich Kremer Guest
- Angela Duckworth Guest
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