Chad Franzen
Meteorologist/Web Director
Wausau, WI
Chad Franzen returns to central Wisconsin for another stint at forecasting the quickly changing weather of Wisconsin. Chad worked in Wausau at another station from 1998 until 2004 and then spent another 2 years working at WREX in Rockford, Illinois.
Chad comes to Newschannel 7 after living in Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Mississippi, Arizona and Illinois. He attended South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City, S.D., where he received his B.S. in Meteorology. He also played football for four years and coached one year for the South Dakota Tech Hardrockers. He then attended Mississippi State University and received his M.S. in Meteorology while teaching students in their off campus meteorology program.
Chad received his American Meteorological Society Seal (AMS) of approval in 1999 and also received his Doppler Radar Certification later that year. He loves storm chasing, watching sports and playing many sports, especially football and racquetball! His hobbies include computers, cooking, fishing, hiking and reading. While Chad has "retired" from full-time weather duties, he continues to do the weather for NewsChannel 7 at Noon and fill-in on the various shifts for the other StormTeam 7 Meteorologists.
Chad Franzen has earned the American Meteorological Society’s Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) designation, a professional recognition of the quality of his weather broadcasts. He was awarded his newer Seal of Approval in 2010.
If you have any weather or web related questions, Chad would be more than happy to answer them for you. Just drop him an e-mail to cfranzen@wsaw.com
Please send us your pictures of your holiday lights displays from around central Wisconsin.
A chilly Friday with a good amount of sun. The busy travel weekend could be impacted by snow showers Saturday night into Sunday.
Seasonably cool for the next few days, with a chance of flurries or snow showers early Tuesday. No travel impacts due to weather expected.
The month of October has come and gone and if you thinking there was not a lot of sunshine throughout the month, you are definitely not alone.While the beginning of October was sunny and warm with highs in the 70s, cloud cover and much cooler temperatures arrived toward the end of the month, which kept the average temperature almost 4° below average in Wausau.
Cooler weather pushes back into Wisconsin for the week as temps remain a bit below average the next several days
Clearing skies Tuesday night will help temperatures tumble quickly into early Wednesday morning, with a very chilly start to November on the way.
Sunday morning flurries will end over southern Wisconsin as temperatures remain below normal throughout the next 7 to 10 days.
Widespread soaking rain in combination with high wind gusts expected Thursday night lasting through portions of Saturday.
Some clearing & chilly Sunday night into Monday with the potential of widespread frost. Remaining cool in the days ahead.
Dozens of furry friends and their families met at Oak Island Park to support the non-profit organization that helps victims of domestic violence.
According to the American Meteor Society, there were 80 sightings of a fireball in the sky across several states Thursday night, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.
Patchy frost returns to the Northwoods by early Wednesday morning with another round of frost (area-wide) may return by Thursday morning.
On & off rain chances through Tuesday. Cool weather continues through mid-week. Early season frost possible Wednesday & Thursday
Breezy and cooler weather quickly returns Tuesday, followed by a substantial warming trend for the end of the week and especially for the upcoming Labor Day Holiday Weekend.
NewsChannel 7 wants to see your back to school pictures! Please click here to submit your pictures and you may see yours air during our newscasts on NewsChannel 7!
Suntabulous weather returns Tuesday and Wednesday with our next chances for storms Wednesday night into Thursday.
Expect areas of fog and clouds for the early part of Thursday, with sunshine developing as temperatures heat up quickly for the afternoon with seasonal high temps approaching 80°.
Seasonably cool temperatures throughout the middle of the week with small shower chances returning.
Skies clearing out for Tuesday as beautiful weather returns
Stronger storms are possible Monday evening, with strong to severe storms becoming likely by Tuesday night, especially for western Wisconsin.
The umbrella will be need Sunday night and on Monday with more chances of wet weather. Additional risks of showers/storms later in the week.
Summer like temps continue to push back into Wisconsin for the rest of this week, as summer officially began at 9:58 a.m. local time. Overall, the humidity will be kept "at bay" throughout most of this week, as heat index values approach 90° this afternoon and especially for the rest of the work week. Areas of wildfire smoke & haze will continue to creep up at times, especially the next few afternoons, with a wind shift providing some relief from the smoky & hazy conditions Friday and the upcoming weekend.
Smoke and haze continues over central Wisconsin for the week of summer as temperatures begin to heat up across Wisconsin.
A cool down featuring slight rain chances mid-week. Warming back towards the 80s for the Holiday Weekend with an extended period of dry weather.
Plenty of sunshine will return Tuesday, along with the warmer temperatures as a weak cold front approaches Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Temps will cool off quickly for Wednesday with a chance for more frost later this week.
Additional snow is on tap Sunday night into Monday with some locations picking up more accumulation.
The statewide tornado drill planned for Thursday April 20, 2023, will be postponed a day, to Friday April 21, 2023. The date change is due to the potential for severe weather in southern Wisconsin Thursday morning throughout Thursday afternoon.
Calmer conditions return Friday with another strong warm front arriving Friday night into the start of the upcoming weekend. This storm system will have the potential for heavy snowfall in parts of east-central Wisconsin falling before daybreak, with temperatures quickly warming up for Saturday afternoon.
The next weather maker arrives Monday night with snow showers north, while a mix of rain/snow showers in Central Wisconsin.
Some sun & still cold Monday, while snow showers are possible Tuesday, followed by a storm producing a mixed bag of precipitation late week.
Turkey Day to start off with icy roadways, but thaw in time before the afternoon. Light rain or drizzle possible during the afternoon.
The mild weather will continue.
The forecast is all treats without tricks for Halloween.
Sunny and mild for Halloween Monday. Next weather maker arrives at the end of the work week.
A killing freeze is likely tonight for many areas of central Wisconsin as temperatures drop to the 20s and 30s overnight.
Clouds will be the theme for the rest of Friday into the start of the weekend with some showers expected.
Thunderstorms possible Tuesday. Jumping into the Fall Season with a big cool down.
Expect a quick warm up throughout the beginning of this last week of summer, with temperatures dropping quickly as fall arrives later this week.
Sunshine will be more common than clouds for the rest of the Labor Day weekend. Highs return to the 80s in the days ahead.
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Occasional showers and storms will continue at times, in central Wisconsin throughout Saturday night, Sunday and into Monday morning.
Picture perfect day in store Friday to kick off the weekend. Chance for showers to occur over the weekend, but the forecast won’t feature a washout. In fact, majority of the weekend should remain dry.
Showers and a few thundershowers will initially fire up in the Northwoods and then drop southward for the drive home time this evening
A bit of clearing Sunday night with some patchy fog late. Pop up showers are possible Monday afternoon.
The arrival of the Sturgeon supermoon will greatly hamper your ability to see the Perseid meteor shower the next several nights and mornings.
The National Weather Service confirmed another tornado touchdown from the June 15 storms across Wisconsin. The NWS says an EF-1 tornado touched down just north of Bowler around 5:30 p.m. that evening.
