Wisconsin, 2001

Heat in Wisconsin, August 1 to 8, 2001

August 1 to 8, 2001 · NWS ARX · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Excessive heat and humidity, which began in July, continued through the early part of August. Afternoon temperatures reaching the middle to upper 90s, combined with high humidity, produced dangerous heat indices of 110 to 120.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 ARX wrote it up.

Excessive heat and humidity, which began in July, continued through the early part of August. Afternoon temperatures reaching the middle to upper 90s, combined with high humidity, produced dangerous heat indices of 110 to 120. The high temperature at La Crosse (La Crosse County) reached 100 on August 6, establishing a new record for the date.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 8:41 PM CST, 3 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:41 PM CST, 3 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
941 PM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

BIGGEST CONCERN FOR THE OVERNIGHT IS THE HEAT INDICES. CURRENT
ADVISORY EXPIRES THIS EVENING FOR SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND IN CLARK
AND TAYLOR COUNTIES IN WISCONSIN. DEW POINTS IN THESE LOCATIONS ARE
WELL ABOVE 12Z GUIDANCE NUMBERS AND REMAIN IN THE UPPER 70S. HEAT
INDEX VALUES MAY GET BELOW 80 BY MORNING...BUT WILL NOT BE FOR AN
EXTENDED PERIOD SO WILL EXTEND THE ADVISORY THROUGH THE NIGHT FOR
THESE LOCATIONS. OTHER CONCERN IS WITH THE RAIN CHANCES FOR LATE
TONIGHT. NEW MESO ETA IS MATCHING UP WELL WITH PRESENT SITUATION
AND CONTINUES MOVING THE ACTIVITY ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA AND NEBRASKA
EAST OVERNIGHT. IF IT HOLDS TOGETHER IS SHOULD MOVE INTO WESTERN
AREAS AROUND 12Z. WILL LEAVE THE POPS AS IS.

.LSE...HEAT ADVISORY TONIGHT MNZ079-086>088-094>096-IAZ010-011-029-
       030-WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044-053>055-061.

IRELAND

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Adams

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Adams forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.970, -89.771 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Buffalo

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
44.380, -91.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Clark

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Clark forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
44.735, -90.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Crawford

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Crawford forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.240, -90.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Grant

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
42.868, -90.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Jackson

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
44.319, -90.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Juneau

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Juneau forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.924, -90.114 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, La Crosse

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
La Crosse forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.907, -91.115 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Monroe

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.946, -90.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Richland

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Richland forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.376, -90.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Taylor

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Taylor forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
45.212, -90.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Trempealeau

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Trempealeau forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
44.304, -91.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Vernon

When
August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 8, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Vernon forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.594, -90.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heat
Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

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, August 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: 5263623, 5263624, 5263625, 5263626, 5263627, 5263628, 5263629, 5263630, 5263631, 5263632, 5263633, 5263634, 5263635.