Chad Franzen
Meteorologist/Web Director
Wausau, WI
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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
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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.
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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.
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Additional snow is on tap Sunday night into Monday with some locations picking up more accumulation.
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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.
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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.
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The next weather maker arrives Monday night with snow showers north, while a mix of rain/snow showers in Central Wisconsin.
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Some sun & still cold Monday, while snow showers are possible Tuesday, followed by a storm producing a mixed bag of precipitation late week.
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Turkey Day to start off with icy roadways, but thaw in time before the afternoon. Light rain or drizzle possible during the afternoon.
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The mild weather will continue.
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The forecast is all treats without tricks for Halloween.
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Sunny and mild for Halloween Monday. Next weather maker arrives at the end of the work week.
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A killing freeze is likely tonight for many areas of central Wisconsin as temperatures drop to the 20s and 30s overnight.
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Clouds will be the theme for the rest of Friday into the start of the weekend with some showers expected.
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Thunderstorms possible Tuesday. Jumping into the Fall Season with a big cool down.
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Expect a quick warm up throughout the beginning of this last week of summer, with temperatures dropping quickly as fall arrives later this week.
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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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Share your back to school pictures with NewsChannel 7
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Occasional showers and storms will continue at times, in central Wisconsin throughout Saturday night, Sunday and into Monday morning.
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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.
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Showers and a few thundershowers will initially fire up in the Northwoods and then drop southward for the drive home time this evening
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A bit of clearing Sunday night with some patchy fog late. Pop up showers are possible Monday afternoon.
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The arrival of the Sturgeon supermoon will greatly hamper your ability to see the Perseid meteor shower the next several nights and mornings.
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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.
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An additional tornado was confirmed by the National Weather Service Office Monday, just about two weeks after the June 15, 2022 outbreak across Wisconsin.
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For the first time in 18 years, 5 planets will align in the early morning sky for the rest of June and continue into July.
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Gusty winds will taper after sunset this evening. Sunshine will be on tap leading into the weekend.
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Chilly temps will continue for the start of June across central Wisconsin
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On Sunday night May 15 2022, the Moon will begin a total lunar eclipse across North America, the first since May of 2021.A lunar eclipse occurs during a full moon phase, when Earth aligns directly in between the Moon and Sun.The shadow of Earth then falls upon the Moon, dimming its brightness as it passes through.
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You may have already seen a shooting star dart across the night sky, as the Lyrid meteor shower began on April 15 and will continue through April 29. The Lyrid meteor shower will peak Thursday night (April 21) and last into the early morning hours of Friday (April 22).
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Snow blanked most of central Wisconsin Thursday morning as a strong cold front races through the Great Lakes Region. However, the snow totals were tiny compared to a three-day snow event that happened at this time in 2018.
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Severe storms produced numerous reports of wind damage, including down trees and power outages.
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Wind chill values as low as -30° could return early Tuesday morning as the First Alert Weather Day continues.
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Expect the frigid start to the new year to continue into early next week, with daytime highs struggling to return to 10°.
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Light snow showers end Monday morning with patchy freezing drizzle possible into Monday afternoon
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The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office is warning drivers to watch out for slick road conditions, including black ice.
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KidneyShare: The Gift of Life, is a free community event that will take place Saturday October 30, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at O'so Brewing in Plover.
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A risk of strong storms with heavy rainfall and hail in parts of the region tomorrow night.
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Come play this year's Newschannel 7 NFL UPick'EM Pro Football Contest
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Sunshine will continue to be around in the next few days. Gradually turning humid.
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Showers and thunderstorms will continue to push through central Wisconsin Tuesday morning, with another round of showers and thunderstorms arriving for the afternoon. While there will not be a lot of sunshine today, areas that end up with a few hours of the sun, will have the possibility for some stronger thunderstorms later this afternoon. The strongest storms may contain brief, wind gusts over 40 mph as well as some brief downpours as the storms wind down this evening.
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Another round of showers and thunderstorms will be possible Monday as another slow moving storm system pushes through Wisconsin for the beginning of the work week. While most of the thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday will be more of the “garden variety”, a few storms may pack a little bit of a stronger punch Monday and Tuesday with gusty winds over 40 mph within the stronger storms.
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Summer started Sunday night at 10:32 p.m. and now anything but summer like temperatures will return for the first full day of summer Monday. Expect daytime highs to slowly climb back into the lower 60s for most locations, which will remain around 15° below average for this time of year and will be more like the first day of May, instead of the first day of summer.As skies clear out for Monday, windy and cooler conditions will move into central Wisconsin with a small chance for brief, light showers in the Northwoods by the late afternoon hours.
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Times of showers and storms, especially during the afternoon and evening. Monday will be the coolest day of the Monday.
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While temperatures remain above average for the next several days, the lows and highs from this week are running about 15° so far, compared to the lows and highs from last week. While temperatures have cooled off a bit, the less humid air is more noticeable and continues to remain in place for Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Plenty of sunshine returns Tuesday as temperatures still remain a few degrees above normal for this time of year. Expect some afternoon cloud cover to return, with another seasonal day coming up Wednesday.
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Sunshine mixing with clouds tomorrow and a risk of scattered storms later in the day.
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