Wisconsin, 2001

Heat in Wisconsin, July 31, 2001

July 31, 2001 · NWS MPX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

High heat and humidity moved into West Central Wisconsin on the 31st and persisted until August 1 (see August Storm Data for information regarding August 1). Temperatures soared into the middle and upper 90s.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 MPX wrote it up.

High heat and humidity moved into West Central Wisconsin on the 31st and persisted until August 1 (see August Storm Data for information regarding August 1). Temperatures soared into the middle and upper 90s. With dewpoints in the middle and upper 70s, heat indexes reached well over 100 during the afternoon and evening. Some noteworthy index values include 115 at Eau Claire (Eau Claire County) and 109 at Hager City (Pierce County).

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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 3:00 AM CST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 3:00 AM CST, 6 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
400 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

STRONG CONVECTION ON NOSE OF 50KT LOW LEVEL JET PUSHING RAPIDLY N TO
NEWD INTO NWRN MN...NOT YET SHOWING ANY SIGNS OF TURNING EAST OR
SOUTHEAST ALONG THICKNESS LINES.  LOW LEVEL JET CONTINUES TO POINT
INTO ERN DAKOTAS THIS MORNING...BUT PIVOTS SLIGHTLY EWD INTO NRN MN
THIS AFTERNOON.  EXPC SEVERAL ROUNDS OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY
NORTH OF CWA TODAY DUE TO LINGERING OUTFLOW OR CONVECTIVELY INDUCED
EDDY.  USED BLEND OF AVN/ETA FOR THIS FORECAST.  ETA STILL APPERS TO
BE HAVING TROUBLE WITH MID LEVEL CAPPING AND WAS SHOWING MCS OVR SRN
MN THIS MRNG.  AVN FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW STG CAP IN PLACE THIS
AFTN OVR MOST OF AREA...HOWEVER SCOUT CELLS MAY BRUSH ACRS NRN AND
ERN AREAS.  AXIS OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE AND SLIGHT
COOLING IN MID LEVELS THIS AFTN IN WRN AREAS AS S/W TROUGH IN MT/WY
EJECTS ACRS DAKOTAS TWD NRN MN.  BOTH ETA AND AVN SHOW INCREASING
THETA E ADVECTION AHEAD OF APPROACHING COOL FRONT TNGT ACRS MOST OF
AREA WITH LOBE OF S/W SPREADING EAST ACRS AREA.  HENCE WL CONT WITH
LKLY POPS ACRS BULK OF MN CWA...HOWEVER PRECIP MAY HOLD OFF FM SERN
AREAS UNTIL LATE TNGT.

SOUTHERLY FETCH AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION PUSHED DEWPTS INTO THE 70S
ACRS AREA ON MON.  DEWPTS WL RMN IN 70S TDY WITH WARMER START TO
DAY...LKLY TEMPS TO REACH AT LEAST LOWER 90S.  HEAT INDICES LKLY TO
FLIRT WITH OR BREAK INTO ADVY CRITERIA ACRS MOST OF MN CWA.  ONLY
SNAG IS AMOUNT OF CS BLOW OVER FM WRN CONVECTION.  ALSO...WINDS OF
30 TO 40 KTS EXPCD SEVERAL THOUSAND FEET OFF GROUND...LKLY TO MIX
DOWN TO SURFACE...ESPECIALLY IN MORE SUSCEPTIBLE AREAS OF WEST AND
SOUTH.  HENCE WL ALSO ISSUE WND ADVY FOR SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 KTS
IN THIS AREA THIS AFTN.

LINGERING INSTABILITY AXIS OVER SRN AND ERN CWA ON WED WITH
REINFORCING COOL FRONT PUSHING INTO AREA...MAY SET OFF& MORE AFTN
CONVECTION FROM AEL TO EAU.  COORD WITH FGF...ARX...FSD...DLH...DMX.

.MSP...WIND ADVY THIS AFTN WEST CENTRAL INTO SOUTH CENTRAL.
       HEAT ADVY THIS AFTN AND EVE MN CWA AND WI ZNS 23>26.
KAVINSKY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Pierce

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Pierce forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
44.720, -92.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Polk

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Polk forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Rusk

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Rusk forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.475, -91.133 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, St. Croix

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.034, -92.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Barron

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Barron forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.424, -91.848 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Chippewa

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Chippewa forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.069, -91.280 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Dunn

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Dunn forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
44.947, -91.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Eau Claire

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Eau Claire forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
44.727, -91.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Pepin

When
July 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Pepin forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
44.483, -92.150 (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, July 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: 5260418, 5260419, 5260420, 5260421, 5262308, 5262309, 5262310, 5262311, 5262312.