Wisconsin, 2001

Dense Fog in Wisconsin, May 24 to 25, 2001

May 24 to 25, 2001 · NWS MKX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Dense fog developed over southeast Wisconsin after light winds off Lake Michigan pulled moist air into the region. Clear skies aided in the nighttime radiational cooling.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Dense fog developed over southeast Wisconsin after light winds off Lake Michigan pulled moist air into the region. Clear skies aided in the nighttime radiational cooling. Visibilities were reduced to 1/8 to 1/4 mile. About a dozen vehicle accidents were noted and local airport traffic was delayed.

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 May 24, 1:30 PM CST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 1:30 PM CST, 6 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
230 PM CDT THU MAY 24 2001

FORECAST FOCUS REMAINS ON COOL SHOWERY WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH OUR
RESIDENT UPPER LOW.

CONTINUED BLOCKING PAT OFFERS LTL HOPE OF MUCH OVERALL CHANGE DURG
THIS FCST PD. SFC/UPR LOW MEANDERS ARND OVR SAME GNRL VCNTY THRU SAT.
CLD CRCLN CNTR APPRS TO BE OVR ERN IA ATTM...TURNING EWD TWD NRN IL.
BUT IT WL LIKELY LOOP BACK WWD AGN THRU SRN WI TO IA AND IL AGN NXT
CPL OF DAYS. LOTS OF CLDS...COOL TMPS...AND DIURNALLY INFLUENCED
TREND IN SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO PERSIST.

WL STAY WITH COOLER AVN TEMP GUID ESPCLY SATURDAY SINCE ABV FEATURE
WL STILL BE ARND AND LTL POTENTIAL FOR SGFNT WRMG SEEN AS YET.

.MKX...NONE.

NJ

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Sheboygan

When
May 24, 7:30 PM CST to May 25, 6:30 AM CST
Where
Sheboygan forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.756, -87.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Washington

When
May 24, 7:30 PM CST to May 25, 6:30 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.369, -88.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dense Fog, Ozaukee

When
May 24, 7:30 PM CST to May 25, 6:30 AM CST
Where
Ozaukee forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.403, -87.891 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Dense Fog
Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

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, May 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: 5248219, 5248220, 5248221.