Wisconsin, 1997

Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, January 15, 1997

January 15, 1997 · NWS MKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Two upper-level weather disturbances swept across southeast Wisconsin and produced two separate periods of snow. Eventually 8 inches was recorded in the city of Racine.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

Two upper-level weather disturbances swept across southeast Wisconsin and produced two separate periods of snow. Eventually 8 inches was recorded in the city of Racine. There was no snowfall in the 3 hour period of 1200-1500 CST. Outside of Racine county snow amounts of 4 to 7 inches were noted southeast of a line from Janesville to Sheboygan.

The radar

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

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Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Racine

When
January 15, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Racine forecast zone
Coordinates
42.730, -87.812 (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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, January 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: 5586768.