Wisconsin, 2001

Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 12, 2001

March 12, 2001 · NWS GRB · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

The combination of a warm front across Illinois and a strong flow of warm and moist air above it resulted in heavy snow across parts of central and north central Wisconsin. ).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
8

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 GRB wrote it up.

The combination of a warm front across Illinois and a strong flow of warm and moist air above it resulted in heavy snow across parts of central and north central Wisconsin. The highest snowfall totals from this system included 8.0 inches 3 miles southeast of Marshfield (Wood co.), 7.5 inches at Phelps (Vilas co.) and Hiles (Forest co.), and 6.5 inches at Lake Thompson (Oneida co.).

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 Green Bay, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 12, 3:00 AM CST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 3:00 AM CST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI
300 AM CST MON MAR 12 2001

CURRENT FCST LOOKS PRETTY GOOD FOR THE MOST PART. WILL PROBABLY LOWER
SNOW ACCUMULATIONS A BIT...AS SYSTEM IS MOVING FAST AND SOME OF THE GULF
MOISTURE MAY HAVE BEEN INTERCEPTED BY CONVECTION TO THE SOUTH. WILL TAKE
OUT MENTION OF SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES AS IT
APPEARS THERE MAY BE MORE FREEZING RAIN THAN SNOW THERE. AS SYSTEM LIFTS
TO THE NORTH THIS EVENING MODELS FCST MID LEVELS DRYING RAPIDLY...SO
THINK THAT WE WILL NOT NEED THE ADVISORIES AND WARNINGS TONIGHT.

.GRB...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY
       WIZ005-010>013-018>021-030-031-035>037
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY
       WIZ022-038>040-045-048>050

RDM
WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/GRB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Vilas

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Vilas forecast zone
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
46.053, -89.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Oneida

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Oneida forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.706, -89.522 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Forest

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Forest forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
45.667, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Florence

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Florence forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
45.848, -88.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lincoln

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.338, -89.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Langlade

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Langlade forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.262, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Marathon

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Marathon forecast zone
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
44.898, -89.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wood

When
March 12, 4:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Wood forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.455, -90.042 (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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, March 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: 5237172, 5237173, 5237174, 5237175, 5237176, 5237177, 5237178, 5237179.