Ice Storm in Wisconsin, January 29 to 30, 2001

Name: Ice Storm in Wisconsin, January 29 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-01-29T16:00
End: 2001-01-30T03:30
Location: Wisconsin

January 29 to 30, 2001 · NWS ARX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Freezing rain created a glaze of ice 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, especially on sidewalks and secondary roads. Only a few automobile accidents were reported, none of which were serious.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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.

Freezing rain created a glaze of ice 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, especially on sidewalks and secondary roads. Only a few automobile accidents were reported, none of which were serious.

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 Jan 29, 3:40 PM CST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 3:40 PM CST, 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED TO ADD IAZ011 TO WINTER WX ADV
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
340 PM CST MON JAN 29 2001

PRIMARY CONCERNS...AREAS OF SIGNIFICANT ICING ASSOCIATED WITH
FREEZING RAIN TONIGHT.

RADAR COMPOSITE SHOWED PRECIPITATION CONTINUING TO LIFT NORTHWARD AND
COVERING ALL BUT OUR NORTH CENTRAL WI ZONES. FREEZING RAIN BEING
REPORTED FROM CENTRAL WI...THROUGH LA CROSSE AREA...WESTWARD INTO
ROCHESTER AND CHARLES CITY AREAS. FURTHER SOUTH...SURFACE REPORTS
OVER SOUTHWEST WI INDICATED MOSTLY RAIN FALLING WITH TEMPERATURES
JUST ABOVE FREEZING.

12Z MODELS INITIALIZED WELL AND IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON BRINGING UPPER
LEVEL AND SURFACE LOW INTO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. OVERALL...
PREFERRED THE ETA MODEL FOR DETAILS.

USING THE TOP DOWN APPROACH AND FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATES
FREEZING RAIN AND RAIN TO AFFECT MOST OF THE AREA...BEFORE DRY SLOT
PUSHES NORTHWARD LATE TONIGHT AND ENDS PRECIPITATION. UTILIZING
FORECAST SOUNDINGS AND TOP-DOWN APPROACH SUGGESTS ENOUGH WARM AIR TO
MOVE INTO NORTHEAST IOWA...AS WELL AS SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WI TO
CHANGE PRECIPITATION TO MORE RAIN AS SHOWN BY BUFKIT. THIS SHOULD
PRECLUDE HEAVY GLAZING. THEREFORE...HAVE DOWNGRADED THESE AREAS TO
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...WHILE NO HEADLINES FOR SOUTHWEST CORNER
OF WI AND ADJACENT ZONES IN NORTHEAST IOWA.

MOST SIGNIFICANT ICING WILL BE ACROSS ROCHESTER AREA AND NORTH
CENTRAL WI WHERE ICE STORM WARNINGS CONTINUED FOR TONIGHT. THIS
AGREES WITH CURRENT TEMPERATURE AND FORECAST SOUNDING PROFILES...
WHICH SUGGEST COLD AIR NEAR SURFACE WILL NOT BE SCOURED OUT.

ON TUESDAY...DRY SLOT REMAINS OVER THE AREA...SO ONLY FLURRIES
ANTICIPATED. TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY...WRAP AROUND MOISTURE
BEHIND SLOWLY DEPARTING LOW SHOULD RESULT IN SOME LIGHT SNOW...BUT
ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT.

THANKS FOR COORDINATION TODAY WITH DVN...DMX...MKX...MPX AND GRB.

.LSE...ICE STORM WARNING...TONIGHT...SOUTHEAST MN...
       MNZ079...086...087...094...095...NORTH CENTRAL WI
       WIZ017...029.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...TONIGHT...SOUTHEAST MN...
       MNZ088...096...NORTHEAST IOWA...IAZ008>011...018...019...
       SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN...WIZ032>034...041>044...053.

THOMPSON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Buffalo

When: January 29, 4:00 PM CST to January 30, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 44.380, -91.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Jackson

When: January 29, 4:00 PM CST to January 30, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 44.319, -90.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Trempealeau

When: January 29, 4:00 PM CST to January 30, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Trempealeau forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.304, -91.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Clark

When: January 29, 5:00 PM CST to January 30, 3:30 AM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.735, -90.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Taylor

When: January 29, 6:00 PM CST to January 30, 3:30 AM CST
Where: Taylor forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.212, -90.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, January 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: 5228153, 5228155, 5228157, 5228154, 5228156.