Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 5, 1996

Name: Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 5, 1996
Start: 1996-02-01T00:00
End: 1996-02-05T10:00
Location: Wisconsin

February 1 to 5, 1996 · NWS GRB · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 22 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 22

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 GRB wrote it up.

At least 20 record low temperatures were set across Central and Northeast Wisconsin during the early part of February as a frigid arctic air mass remained entrenched across the area. The cold weather resulted in a hypothermia-related death in Green Bay on the first day of the month.Temperatures dropped to colder than 40 degrees below zero in parts of North Central Wisconsin. The coldest readings included: 43 below at Midget Lake (Oneida county), 44 below at Arbor Vitae (Vilas county), 45 below at Harrison (Lincoln county), and 48 below at Lake Thompson (Oneida county) and Mountain (Oconto county). Temperatures remained below zero for 132 hours straight in Chilton (Calumet county) and 137 hours straight in Green Bay (Brown county).The cold weather was responsible for numerous school closures, stalled vehicles, frozen pipes and broken water lines. Electrical and telephone outages occurred due to snapped wires and lines. All of the outdoor events of the Badger State games had to be cancelled and some local ski hills were forced to close for a brief period.Extreme cold temperatures combined with west winds 10 to 15 mph to produce wind chill readings in the 50 to 70 degree below zero range on February 2nd.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

22 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Vilas

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Vilas forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.053, -89.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Oneida

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Oneida forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.706, -89.522 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Forest

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Forest forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.667, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Florence

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Florence forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.848, -88.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Marinette

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Northern Marinette forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.351, -88.002 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Lincoln

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.338, -89.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Langlade

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Langlade forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.262, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Menominee

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Menominee forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.004, -88.710 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Oconto

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Northern Oconto forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.999, -88.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Door

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Door forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.838, -87.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Marathon

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Marathon forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.898, -89.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Shawano

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Shawano forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.789, -88.765 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Wood

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Wood forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.455, -90.042 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Portage

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Portage forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.476, -89.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Waupaca

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Waupaca forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.470, -88.965 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Outagamie

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Outagamie forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.416, -88.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Brown

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 44.474, -87.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Kewaunee

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Kewaunee forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.483, -87.514 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Waushara

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Waushara forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.113, -89.243 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Winnebago

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Winnebago forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.069, -88.645 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Calumet

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Calumet forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.082, -88.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Manitowoc

When: February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 5, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Manitowoc forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.091, -87.700 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Cold/Wind Chill, Brown	1996-02-01	54	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or 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, February 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: 5536159, 5536160, 5536161, 5536162, 5536163, 5536164, 5536165, 5536166, 5536167, 5536168, 5536169, 5536170, 5536171, 5536877, 5536878, 5536879, 5536880, 5536881, 5536882, 5536883, 5536884, 5536885.