Heavy Snow, Marquette
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Marquette forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.820, -89.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 18, 2000
Heavy snow fell across all of south-central and southeast Wisconsin, adding to what would become record total snowfall amounts for December. Luckily, wind speeds were only 5 to 15 mph, which minimized the blowing and drifting of the snow.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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
- 13
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.
Heavy snow fell across all of south-central and southeast Wisconsin, adding to what would become record total snowfall amounts for December. Luckily, wind speeds were only 5 to 15 mph, which minimized the blowing and drifting of the snow. Snowfall amounts were geneally 6 to 8 inches, although a band of 9 to 9.5 inches extended from near Lone Rock along the Wisconsin River east across the northern part of Dane County into west-central Dodge County. Middleton (Dane Co.) came in with 9.6 inches. Janesville (Rock Co.), and Wisconsin Dells (Columbia Co.) both measured 7.0 inches, while 8.2 inches was reported from Ft. Atkinson (Jefferson Co.). The 8.2 inches measured at Madison's (Dane Co.), was a new calendar day record for the 18th, breaking the old one of 3.5 inches set back in 1896.Synoptically, a surface low moved from northern Iowa across northern Illinois to northern Indiana, with an inverted trough of low pressure extending north of the low. Minor jet coupling was noted aloft. By the end of December, new snowfall or snowdepth records would be set across all of south-central and southeast Wisconsin.Madison registerd 35.0 inches for the month of December (old one was 32.8 inches in 1987), and on December 29th, tied the old snow depth record of 17 inches set back in 1990. The 35.0 inches was 287% of normal and 79% of the average winter snowfall! Other locations had montly totals of 30 to 43 inches (roughly 300 to over 500% of normal), or 80 to 133% of the average winter snowfall! Maximum snowdepths were measured on December 30th, generally ranging from 15 to 25 inches. Monroe (Green Co.) had 31 inches on the ground on the 30th, while Sun Praire (Dane Co.) and Argyle (Lafayette Co.) had 25 inches.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
13 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Green Lake
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Green Lake forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.800, -89.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Fond du Lac
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Fond du Lac forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.754, -88.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Sauk
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Sauk forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Columbia
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Columbia forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Dodge
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Dodge forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.416, -88.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Iowa
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Iowa forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.001, -90.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Dane
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Dane forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Jefferson
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.021, -88.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Lafayette
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Lafayette forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 42.661, -90.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Green
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Green forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Rock
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Rock forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 42.671, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Walworth
- When
- December 18, 2:00 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Walworth forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 42.669, -88.542 (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
- Blizzard in Iowa, December 18, 2000
- High Wind in California, December 18, 2000
- High Wind in Kansas, December 18, 2000
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 18, 2000
- Winter Storm in Tennessee, December 18 to 19, 2000
- Extreme Cold in Nebraska, December 18 to 19, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 18 to 19, 2000
- High Wind in Colorado, December 18, 2000
- High Wind in Vermont, December 18, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 18 to 19, 2000
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, December 18, 2000
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, December 18, 2000
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, December 2000
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: 5177414, 5177415, 5177416, 5177417, 5177418, 5177419, 5177420, 5177421, 5177422, 5177423, 5177424, 5177425, 5177426.