Winter Storm, Columbia
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Columbia forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 8 to 9, 1998
A powerful winter storm, possessing near blizzard conditions, brought parts of southcentral and southeast Wisconsin to a standstill. ).
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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.
A powerful winter storm, possessing near blizzard conditions, brought parts of southcentral and southeast Wisconsin to a standstill. The combination of heavy, wet snow, and northeast winds gusting to 40 to 50 mph, reduced visibilities occasionally to below 1/4 mile and created huge drifts of 8 to 15 feet in areas west and southwest of Madison (Dane Co.). Based on newspaper accounts, there were probably 800 motor vehicle accidents, dozens of toppled power lines, many school closings, and many road closures. Interstate 90/94 and State Highway 51 north of Madison were closed at the height of the storm during the afternoon and evening hours on the 30th. In addition, there were many airline flights and other commercial activities postponed or cancelled.Specific snowfall totals include: 10.5 inches in northeast Iowa county and northcentral Dane Co.; 10.2 inches at Middleton (Dane Co.); 10 inches in northwest Lafayette, southern Sauk, and southern Columbia counties; 9 to 10 inches in the northern portions of Marquette and Green Lake counties; 7 to 8 inches in westcentral Dodge and northwest Green counties; and 7.3 inches at the Madison/Dane County Regional Airport. The storm was the result of a "pan-handle hook" low pressure which traveled from southeast Colorado to northeast Texas and then recurved back through northwest Ohio. Copious amounts of Gulf of Mexico moisture were available for the storm (dewpoints in the middle 50s into southern Indiana).
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
9 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Dane
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Dane forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Dodge
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Dodge forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.416, -88.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Green
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Green forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Green Lake
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Green Lake forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.800, -89.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Iowa
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Iowa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.001, -90.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Lafayette
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lafayette forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.661, -90.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Marquette
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Marquette forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.820, -89.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Sauk
- When
- March 8, 4:00 AM CST to March 9, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Sauk forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in Alabama, March 8, 1998
- Flooding in Georgia, March 8 to 21, 1998
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 8 to 9, 1998
- Flooding in Alabama, March 8 to 17, 1998
- Tornadoes in South Carolina, March 8, 1998
- Avalanche in Colorado, March 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Alabama, March 8, 1998
- Tornado in North Carolina, March 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Massachusetts, March 8 to 13, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Florida, March 8, 1998
- Flooding in Georgia, March 8 to 14, 1998
- Tornado in North Carolina, March 8, 1998
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, March 1998
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: 5633156, 5633157, 5633158, 5633159, 5633160, 5633161, 5633162, 5633163, 5633164.