Heavy Snow, Green Lake
- When
- February 21, 12:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Green Lake forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.800, -89.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 21, 1997
A narrow band of heavy snow fell from west of Madison to west of Fond du Lac. Twelve inches were measured at Blue Mounds State Park (1716 feet msl, Iowa county), 8 to 12 inches on top of the Baraboo Bluffs, and 8 inches in extreme western Dane county on the Military Ridge near Blue Mound.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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.
A narrow band of heavy snow fell from west of Madison to west of Fond du Lac. Twelve inches were measured at Blue Mounds State Park (1716 feet msl, Iowa county), 8 to 12 inches on top of the Baraboo Bluffs, and 8 inches in extreme western Dane county on the Military Ridge near Blue Mound. Slightly cooler temperatures at these higher elevations may have contributed to the higher snow amounts since temperatures were in the lower 30s. Six inches fell in southwest Columbia county, in Green Lake (Green Lake county), and in Ripon (Fond du Lac county). Some freezing rain was mixed in with the snow over Fond du Lac county, resulting in some vehicle accidents.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Fond du Lac
- When
- February 21, 12:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Fond du Lac forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.754, -88.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Sauk
- When
- February 21, 12:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sauk forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Columbia
- When
- February 21, 12:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Columbia forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Iowa
- When
- February 21, 12:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Iowa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.001, -90.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Dane
- When
- February 21, 12:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dane forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, February 21, 1997
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, February 21, 1997
- Tornado in South Carolina, February 21, 1997
- Rip Current in Florida, February 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, February 21, 1997
- Tornado in North Carolina, February 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, February 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, February 21, 1997
- Tornado in Georgia, February 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, February 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, February 21, 1997
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, February 1997
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5590903, 5590904, 5590905, 5590906, 5590907, 5590908.