Wisconsin, 2003

Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 2 to 3, 2003

February 2 to 3, 2003 · NWS MPX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

The first significant snowfall of the season arrived very late in the season, waiting until late in the day on Groundhog Day. An 80 mile wide swath of heavy snow fell from west central Minnesota (see corresponding entry) into west central and northwest Wisconsin.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
6

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.

The first significant snowfall of the season arrived very late in the season, waiting until late in the day on Groundhog Day. An 80 mile wide swath of heavy snow fell from west central Minnesota (see corresponding entry) into west central and northwest Wisconsin. Six to ten inches were common due to low pressure moving from Kansas to northern Illinois. The top snowfall total that was reported was 10 inches at Rice Lake. Some other notable totals include 9 inches at Osceola and 7 inches in Bloomer. Winds were typically 20 to 25 mph, and though there was some blowing snow, it was not a major problem.

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 Feb 2, 3:42 PM CST, 4 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 3:42 PM CST, 4 hours 18 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
342 PM CST SUN FEB 2 2003

MODELED THE FORECAST AROUND THE 12Z ETA. AREA OF MODERATE SNOW
EXTENDING FROM AROUND WILLMAR THROUGH HUTCHINSON TO THE TWIN CITIES
AT MID AFTERNOON LINES UP WELL WITH THE AXIS OF H6 FWF. EXPECT THIS
AXIS TO LIFT SLOWLY NE THIS EVENING WHILE A NEW AREA OF FWF IS
PROGGED IN FROM SD AFTER MIDNIGHT. WHILE THIS OCCURS OVERNIGHT..AN
H7 LOW IS PROGGED TO MOVE FROM NE NEBRASKA TO N CENTRAL IA. AVN
FORECAST IS EVEN FURTHER N WITH THE H7 LOW THAN THE ETA. THE AXIS OF
DEFORMATION WITH THE H7 LOW ON THE ETA EXTENDS FROM NE NEBRASKA
THROUGH THE TWIN CITIES AND THEN SHIFTS EASTWARD INTO WEST CENTRAL
WI MONDAY MORNING. STILL FEEL THAT THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL ALONG
AND SLIGHTLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM REDWOOD FALLS THROUGH THE NORTHERN
SUBURBS OF THE TWIN CITIES TO LADYSMITH. 18Z ETA SEEMS TO CONFIRM
THIS SAME IDEA. WARNINGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ISSUED. LET THE WARNING
GO THROUGH MONDAY OVER WI WITH THE POTENTIAL OF A SLOWER MOVING LOW
AND STRONGER FWF. INDICATED AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW
MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED BY LATER CREWS
AS THIS COULD POSE A MAJOR PROBLEM IF THE LOW DEEPENS MORE THAN
EXPECTED AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES. SOME RATHER STRONG
WINDS INDICATED IN THE FWC GUIDANCE. BROUGHT THINGS TO AN END MONDAY
NIGHT WITH LOW TEMPERATURES MIDWAY BETWEEN THE FWC AND THE MAV.
STILL EXPECT A LITTLE LIGHT SNOW ON WEDNESDAY AND THEN AGAIN DURING
NEXT WEEKEND. OZFMPX SENT.

.MSP...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT MNZ054>057-064-065-067-073>075
       WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING MNZ051>053-
       058>063-066-068>070-076>078
       WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND MONDAY WIZ014>016-023>028
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT MNZ047>049
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING
       MNZ043>045-050-082>085-091>093

RAH
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 2, 5:40 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-031200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
540 PM CST SUN FEB 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A BAND OF SNOW OVER CENTRAL MINNESOTA HAS DROPPED BETWEEN 1 AND 4
INCHES OF SNOW FROM MONTEVIDEO...THROUGH THE TWIN CITIES TO EAU
CLAIRE. THIS BAND OF SNOW WILL MOVE NORTH THIS EVENING...AND BECOME
STATIONARY...BEFORE SLIDING BACK TO THE SOUTH ACROSS CENTRAL
MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN OVERNIGHT. MORE SNOW MOVING OUT OF
EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA WILL ENHANCE THIS SNOW...LEADING TO WIDESPREAD
HEAVY SNOW OVER MUCH OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA. ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE
FROM 5 TO 10 INCHES ALONG A LINE FROM REDWOOD FALLS...TO THE TWIN
CITIES...TO RICE LAKE AND LADYSMITH WISCONSIN. LIGHTER SNOWS...FROM
3 TO 5 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH OF THIS LINE. SEE
WINTER WEATHER MESSAGES ISSUED BY THIS OFFICE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

LIGHT SNOW WILL END OVER EASTERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND
WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN DURING THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON AS THE
WINTER STORM PULLS OFF TO THE EAST. BRISK NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CAUSE
BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. MUCH COLDER AIR
WILL RETURN BY TUESDAY MORNING ON A BRISK NORTHWEST WIND. SEE WINTER
WEATHER MESSAGES ISSUED BY THIS OFFICE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

BINAU

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Barron

When
February 2, 8:00 PM CST to February 3, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Barron forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.424, -91.848 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Chippewa

When
February 2, 8:00 PM CST to February 3, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Chippewa forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.069, -91.280 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dunn

When
February 2, 8:00 PM CST to February 3, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Dunn forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.947, -91.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Polk

When
February 2, 8:00 PM CST to February 3, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Polk forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rusk

When
February 2, 8:00 PM CST to February 3, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Rusk forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.475, -91.133 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Croix

When
February 2, 8:00 PM CST to February 3, 10:00 AM CST
Where
St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.034, -92.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, February 2003

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: 5342076, 5342077, 5342078, 5342079, 5342080, 5342081.