Wisconsin, 2003

Winter Weather in Wisconsin, February 3, 2003

February 3, 2003 · NWS MKX · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

Periodic light freezing drizzle or light freezing rain glazed roads and sidewalks across south-central and southeast Wisconsin, resulting in an estimated 150 to 200 vehicle accidents, ranging from simple collisions to slide-offs into ditches or collisions with large objects. Most accidents occurred during the morning rush hour.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 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
20

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.

Periodic light freezing drizzle or light freezing rain glazed roads and sidewalks across south-central and southeast Wisconsin, resulting in an estimated 150 to 200 vehicle accidents, ranging from simple collisions to slide-offs into ditches or collisions with large objects. Most accidents occurred during the morning rush hour. Dozens of schools started late or cancelled classes for the day. In addition, some taxi-cab businesses closed due to the icy roads and numerous accidents. During the afternoon hours, the freezing precipitation changed over to snow which accumulated to 1/2 to 2 inches, although isolated 3 to 4 inch amounts were measured around La Valle (northwest corner of Sauk Co.), and in Marquette 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 Milwaukee, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 2, 3:00 PM CST, 9 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 3:00 PM CST, 9 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
300 PM CST SUN FEB 2 2003

FCST FOCUS ON MIXED PCPN EVENT FOR TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.

IT LOOKS LIKE THIS SYSTEM HAS SHOWN ITS HAND.  PCPN FOCUSED MORE
ALONG THE H7 LOW AND ASSOCIATED OMEGA AND MOISTURE FIELDS...NORTH OF
OUR CWA. FRONTOGENETIC FORCING IS STRONG THRU THE H8 AND H7 LEVELS...
BUT AGAIN THE SRN EDGE OF THE PCPN TIED CLOSELY TO THE H7
FRONTOGENTIC FORCING. EXTRAPOLATING THE SRN EDGE NOW SET UP ACROSS
SRN MN INTO WI WOULD PUT THE PCPN DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO OUR NRN TIER
OF COUNTIES...BUT AM REASONABLY CONFIDENT IT WILL STAY JUST NORTH.
IN THIS SITUATION...THE SNOW BAND WILL BE NARROW WITH A SHARP
GRADIENT BETWEEN SNOW AND NO SNOW ON THAT SOUTHERN PERIPHERY.

PCPN THIS AFTN WAS NOT HANDLED THAT GREAT BY EITHER THE ETA OR THE
GFS...BUT A COMPROMISE BTWN THE TWO FITS WELL. AND THE TREND
TOWARD LIFTING NORTH IS STEADILY OCCURING. NEW META COMING IN NOW
SHOWS THE CWA POTENTIALLY GOING DRY FOR TONIGHT. WL NOT MAKE THAT
DRASTIC A SHIFT...BUT THE ADJUSTMENT WE MADE EARLIER THIS MORNING TO
PULL ALL WINTER HEADLINES IN THE SOUTH AND CUT BACK ON PCPN
VERBIAGE AND INTENSITIES APPEARS TO BE WORKING OUT. ALL THERMAL
PROFILES SHOW ATMOSPHERE TOO WARM FOR PROBLEMATIC SNOW UNTIL WE GET
INTO LTR MON MORNING/AFTN. BY THEN...HOWEVER...THE SFC-H7 LOWS ARE
PULLING EAST AND WE ARE HIT BY SOME WRAP-AROUND SNOWFALL. TYPICALLY
THAT ISN/T TOO BIG A DEAL.  COULD HAVE SOME REDUCED VSBYS IN STRONG
NW WINDS.

NORTHWEST WINDS ARRIVING IN WAKE OF SYSTEM WILL ALLOW AN ARCTIC
BLAST TO HIT THE AREA BEGINNING LATE MONDAY NIGHT...WITH STEADY
FALLING TEMPS ON TUESDAY.  BIG CHILL LASTS INTO NEXT WEEKEND.

.MKX...NONE

DAVIS
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 2, 12:10 PM CST, 11 hours 50 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-031200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1210 PM CST SUN FEB 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

AREAS OF FOG ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. SOME VISIBILITIES WILL BE
REDUCED TO A 1/4 MILE OR LESS AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY DURING THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS. SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN IS EXPECTED TODAY AND TONIGHT.
A LITTLE LIGHT SNOW MAY ALSO OCCUR ACROSS SOME OF THE NORTHERN
COUNTIES FROM THE DELLS EASTWARD TO SHEBOYGAN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW AND RAIN IN THE MORNING WILL GRADUALLY
CHANGEOVER TO ALL SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS ON MONDAY.
TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN LOOK TO BE IN THE 1 TO
4 INCH RANGE...WITH THE HIGHER END TOTALS FROM THE DELLS EAST TO
SHEBOYGAN...WITH LESSER AMOUNTS TO THE SOUTH. A SURGE OF ARCTIC AIR
IS THEN FORECAST FOR SOUTHERN WISCONSIN TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANGAGEMENT ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE
NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

COLLAR

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Marquette

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Marquette forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.820, -89.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Green Lake

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Green Lake forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.800, -89.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Fond du Lac

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Fond du Lac forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.754, -88.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Sheboygan

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM 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)

Winter Weather, Sauk

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Sauk forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Columbia

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Columbia forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Dodge

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.416, -88.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Washington

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM 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)

Winter Weather, Ozaukee

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM 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)

Winter Weather, Iowa

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Iowa forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.001, -90.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Dane

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Dane forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Jefferson

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.021, -88.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Waukesha

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Waukesha forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Milwaukee

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Milwaukee forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Lafayette

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Lafayette forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.661, -90.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Green

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Green forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Rock

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Rock forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.671, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Walworth

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Racine

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Racine forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.730, -87.812 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Kenosha

When
February 3, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Kenosha forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.573, -87.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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: 5342731, 5342732, 5342733, 5342734, 5342735, 5343074, 5343075, 5343076, 5343077, 5343078, 5343079, 5343080, 5343081, 5343082, 5343083, 5343084, 5343085, 5343086, 5343087, 5343088.