Ice Storm in Wisconsin, December 23, 1996

Name: Ice Storm in Wisconsin, December 23, 1996
Start: 1996-12-23T00:00
End: 1996-12-23T22:00
Location: Wisconsin

December 23, 1996 · NWS MKX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $300,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MKX wrote it up.

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle left a deposit of ice up 3/8 thick in a swath from Iowa and Lafayette counties northwest to the southern part of Fond du Lac county. The worst ice accumulations occurred around Madison to around Baraboo. There were at least 100 vehicle accidents reported. The West Beltline around Madison was closed for almost two hours prior to daybreak due to a major multi-vehicle accident. Madison area hospitals reported that 8 people were briefly hospitalized due to falling on icy pavements (these are indirectly-related injuries), and an additional 9 people were treated for injuries in vehicle accidents. The ice accumulation during this storm on a radio tower on top of the Baraboo Hills started a chain of events that ultimately lead to this tower collapsing at 1830 CST on December 31st. Local technicians noted that the tower was shrouded in fog and/or low clouds from the 23rd through the 31st. Shattered pieces of the ice had a thickness up to 1.25 inches! An "off the cuff" estimate pegged the tower ice load at 35 tons!

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Fond du Lac

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.754, -88.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Columbia

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Columbia forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Dodge

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Dodge forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.416, -88.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Iowa

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Iowa forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.001, -90.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Dane

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Dane forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Jefferson

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.021, -88.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Lafayette

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Lafayette forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.661, -90.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Green

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Green forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Sauk

When: December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Sauk forecast zone
Property damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, December 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5581788, 5581789, 5581790, 5581791, 5581792, 5581793, 5581794, 5581795, 5581796.