Drought in Wisconsin, November 1 to 30, 2003

Name: Drought in Wisconsin, November 1 to 30, 2003
Start: 2003-11-01T00:00
End: 2003-11-30T23:59
Location: Wisconsin

November 1 to 30, 2003 · NWS MKX · 20 events in 19 counties and zones

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Drought conditions, which started in August, 2003, continued through the month of November, 2003, across south-central and southeast Wisconsin. At the start of the month, the entire area was in a moderate (D1) to severe drought (D2), however, widespread moderate to heavy rains during the period of November 1-4, resulted in an improvement to an abnormally dry (D0) to moderate (D1) drought status. The D0 area at the end of November, 2003, stretched from Lafayette and Green County through Dane to Marquette and Green Lake County. The remainder of south-central and southeast Wisconsin was in moderate (D1) drought status at the end of the month. Monthly rainfall amounts ranged from 3 inches in a small area of northern Milwaukee County to over 8 inches in parts of Lafayette, Iowa, Dane, Coumbia, and Green Lake Counties. The bulk of the montly rains fell during the first four days of November, 2003.

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 Oct 31, 2:30 PM CST, 9 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 2:30 PM CST, 9 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
230 PM CST FRI OCT 31 2003

.DISCUSSION...FORECAST FOCUS IS ON CLOUDS AND TEMPS TONIGHT AND
SAT...PRECIPITATION CHANCES SAT NIGHT INTO SUN...AND WET EXTENDED
PERIOD.

VAST AREA OF IFR CLOUDS OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST REGION AT THIS TIME...
ASSOCIATED WITH TRAPPED LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BELOW TEMPERATURE
INVERSION. THIS DECK IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY BREAK UP AFTER
MIDNIGHT...AS COLD AIR ADVECTION UNDERWAY AT THIS TIME FINALLY HELPS
TO MIX OUT THIS CLOUD LAYER. HOWEVER...SWLY FLOW ABOVE 700MB IS
EXPECTED TO BRING IN MID TO UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS FROM THE CENTRAL
PLAINS LATER TONIGHT. RIGHT NOW...THESE CLOUDS SEEM TO HAVE SOME
BREAKS IN THEM. BUT...ANY BREAKS WOULD BE SHORT-LIVED...SO WILL GO
WITH MOSTLY CLOUDY WORDING TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

SURFACE AIR PARCEL TRAJECTORY FORECAST BRINGS IN AIRMASS FROM NORTH
CENTRAL MN...WHERE LOWS THIS MORNING WERE IN LOW TO MID 30S F. WITH
EXPECTED CLOUD COVER...WL GO WITH WARMER MID 30S INLAND...AND NEAR 40
ALONG SERN LAKE COUNTIES. ELY SFC WINDS OFF OF LAKE SAT SHOULD KEEP
TEMPS IN MID TO UPPER 40S F RANGE...PER FWC MOS GUIDANCE.

FOCUS SHIFTS TO PRECIPITATION CHANCES FOR SAT NIGHT AND SUN. SURFACE
WARM FRONT BEGINS TO DEVELOP OVER CENTRAL PLAINS...EWD INTO NRN IL
AND SRN WI SAT NIGHT. MODERATE FRONTOGENESIS IN THE SURFACE TO
850MB LAYER OVER SRN WI...COMBINED WITH THE NOSE OF A 45KT LOW LEVEL
JET...SHOULD RESULT IN MODERATE TO STRONG SYNOPTIC UPWARD VERTICAL
MOTION. CWA FORECAST SOUNDINGS ALSO SUGGEST SOME ELEVATED
INSTABILITY...WHICH WOULD BE REALIZED GIVEN THE STRONG SYNOPTIC
LIFT. SO...WL RAISE POPS TO LIKELY FOR SAT NIGHT THROUGH SUN NGT...
WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS SAT NIGHT. TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY ACROSS
THE CWA FOR THESE PERIODS...DEPENDING ON EXACTLY WHERE THE WARM FRONT
SETS UP. FOR NOW...FEEL MESOETA MODEL HAS BEST DEPICTION OF WARM
FRONT AND QPF. SO WILL USE THAT SOLUTION...WITH THE MAV MOS TEMPS...
FOR GUIDANCE SAT NIGHT THROUGH SUN NIGHT.

THE EXTENDED PERIODS LOOK QUITE WET...AS GFS...ECMWF AND UKMET MODELS
ALL BRING A SERIES OF CYCLONES ALONG STATIONARY BAROCLINIC ZONE FROM
THE PLAINS TO THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES REGION. ALL OF THESE MODELS
INDICATE A DEEP LONGWAVE TROUGH PERSISTING ACROSS THE WRN USA THROUGH
MOST OF NEXT WEEK. SO...EXPECT CLOUDY SKIES AND CHANCES FOR RAIN
THROUGH NEXT WEEK.

.MKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

WOOD

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 31, 5:00 AM CST, 19 hours before

WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-011100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE-SULLIVAN WI
500 AM CST FRI OCT 31 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

NJ

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Marquette

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Green Lake

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Fond du Lac

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Fond du Lac

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Sauk

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Columbia

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Dodge

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Washington

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Ozaukee

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Iowa

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Dane

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Jefferson

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Waukesha

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Milwaukee

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Lafayette

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Green

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Rock

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Walworth

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Racine

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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)

Drought, Kenosha

When: November 1, 12:00 AM CST to November 30, 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

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, November 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: 5331379, 5331380, 5331381, 5331382, 5331383, 5331384, 5331385, 5331386, 5331387, 5331499, 5331500, 5331501, 5331502, 5331503, 5331504, 5331505, 5331506, 5331507, 5331508, 5331509.