Wisconsin, 2001

Winter Weather in Wisconsin, April 16, 2001

April 16, 2001 · NWS MKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Numerous vehicle accidents were noted across Dane County, including several large multiple-vehicle pile-ups. A half-inch of snow fell with temperatures just below freezing.

Where it happened

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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.

Numerous vehicle accidents were noted across Dane County, including several large multiple-vehicle pile-ups. A half-inch of snow fell with temperatures just below freezing. The snow then melted and froze into clear ice on bridges. At least 50 accidents were reported, with a 24-vehicle pile-up occurring on Stoughton Road in Madison, and a 10-car pile-up near the intersection of Stoughton and Cottage Grove Road. Stoughton Road was closed 2.5 hours. At least three people were hospitalized for injuries sustained in the accidents (indirectly-related).

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Milwaukee, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 16, 1:39 PM CST, 5 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 1:39 PM CST, 5 hours 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
239 PM CDT MON APR 16 2001

FCST FOCUS TNGT ON INSTBLTY SHSN AND TMPS.

UPR TROF AND COLD POOL FCST TO MOVE SEWD OF CWA OVRNGT WITH SFC
TROF. ALL MODELS INDCT SCT SHSN WL CONT UNTIL WELL AFT SUNSET. THIS
SEEM RSNBL SINCE AMS RMNS VRY UNSTBL. GRAD IS BAGGY ATTM...BUT SHLD
TITN UP AS SFC TROF SAGS SWD AND WNDS TURN NLY. WL STAY CLOSE TO
MOS TEMPS OVRNGT.

NOT MUCH CAA TUE WITH H8 FLOW BCMG PARA TO GRAD DURING AFTN. VRY DRY
AIR AT H8 AND H7 IN PLACE BY 12Z. AIR ALOFT STILL UNSTBL...BUT
SLOLY WMG. XPCT CU TO DVLP...BUT NEG VVEL AND DRY AMS SHLD PREVENT
SHSN FM DVLPG. XPCT 15-20 DEGR RCVRY TUE WITH SOME SUNSHINE.

AMS RMNS VRY DRY INTO THUR WITH GRAD WMG TREND. SFC RDG DRIFTS ACRS
CWA.

.MKX...NONE.

MK

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Dane

When
April 16, 7:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Dane forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 2001

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: 5240416.