Strong winds developed across northern Wisconsin in the wake of a rapidly intensifying low pressure system that moved across Wisconsin and northern Lake Michigan. Scattered trees and power lines were downed by wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph that were recorded across much of northeast Wisconsin.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GRB wrote it up.
Strong winds developed across northern Wisconsin in the wake of a rapidly intensifying low pressure system that moved across Wisconsin and northern Lake Michigan. Scattered trees and power lines were downed by wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph that were recorded across much of northeast Wisconsin. Downed tree branches damaged vehicles in Manitowoc (Manitowoc co.), and downed power lines in Two Rivers (Manitowoc co.) and Manitowoc caused at least 500 customers to lose electrical service. The highest gust recorded was 78 mph at Northport Pier (Door co.) at 10:45 PM. Some other strong gusts included 52 mph at Manitowoc, 50 mph at Merrill (Lincoln co.), 48 mph at Sturgeon Bay (Door co.) and 47 mph at Rhinelander (Oneida co.) and Oshkosh (Winnebago co.). A downed tree caught fire in Antigo (Langlade co.) after it fell on a power line.Two teenage boys died after setting out in a boat on a duck hunting trip on Lake Winnebago (Winnebago co.). Waves as high as 6 feet were reported on the lake by the Winnebago county sheriff.
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 Nov 12, 3:00 PM CST, 2 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI 300 PM CST WED NOV 12 2003 .SHORT TERM...DEEPENING SURFACE LOW NOW OVER FAR NORTHEAST WI IN ASSOCIATION WITH NEG TILTED TROF LIFTING NORTHEAST THROUGH THE WESTERN LAKES. RAIN SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER CWA THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF WIND SHIFT/FRONT WITH LIGHT SNOW OVER NW WISCONSIN ASSOCIATED WITH COMMA HEAD. AN AREA OF HEAVIER PCPN MOVING OVER CENTRAL PORTIONS OF STATE ATTM ASSOCIATED WITH DYNAMICS OF UPPER SYSTEM. PROBLEMS WITH FORECAST TONIGHT...WINDS AND BRIEF BOUT OF PCPN. WILL GO WITH CATEGORICAL POPS ALL AREAS FOR LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING AS PCPN ROTATES THROUGH CWA. EXPECT LIGHT AMOUNTS WITH ONLY A DUSTING OF SNOW AS THE COLDER AIR WORKS IN. THE EXCEPTION IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL. SITUATION NOT IDEAL FOR LAKE EFFECT WITH WINDS IN COLUMN AVERAGING A BIT TOO WESTERLY. STRENGTH OF WINDS WILL ALSO CUT DOWN ON RESIDENCE TIME OVER LAKE FOR AIR TO PICK UP ENOUGH MOISTURE. BY THU MORNING...INVERSION DROPS TO AROUND 4K. AMOUNT OF 1 TO 3 INCHES PROBABLE BASED ON LES TABLE...BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA...THOUGH WITH WINDS WILL CONTINUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. GRADIENT TIGHTENING OVER AREA NOW AS LOW PULLS OUT TO THE NORTHEAST. 925 FLOW ON MODELS 40 TO 45 KTS THROUGH THE NIGHT. WIND ADVISORY STILL LOOKS GOOD. WINDS SLACKEN OFF SOME THU. WITH STRONG WINDS/CAA KEPT DIURNAL CHANGES IN TEMPS SMALL EVEN WITH SUNSHINE ON THU. .LONG TERM...RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL SETTLE OVER THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT WITH CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS. THIS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO FALL INTO THE TEENS AND LOW 20S ACROSS MOST OF THE CWA WITH MID 20S NEAR THE LAKE. MOS TEMPERATURES ALL IN THE BALLPARK FOR THIS PERIOD SO WILL STICK WITH THE PREVIOUS FORECAST LOWS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD REBOUND ON FRIDAY AS THE RIDGE MOVES EAST AND SOUTHWEST FLOW SLOWLY BEGINS AS THE AFTERNOON WEARS ON. NGM AND AVN MOS TEMPERATURES SEEM TO BE RIGHT AS THE ETA MOS TEMPS SEEM A BIT HIGH GIVEN ITS THE FIRST DAY BACK INTO THE SOUTHWEST FLOW AND EVEN THAT IS PUT OFF UNTIL THE AFTERNOON. A WEAK LOW WILL MOVE THROUGH ON SATURDAY WITH THE GFS PRODUCING SOME QPF WHILE THE ETA IS DRY. GIVEN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST HAD PRECIPITATION AND THE GFS STILL HAS QPF WILL LEAVE PRECIPITATION IN FOR THIS PERIOD. THE RAIN SHOWERS WILL LINGER INTO AND END SATURDAY NIGHT AS THE BEST ENERGY MOVES NORTH WITH THE WARM FRONT BY SUNDAY MORNING. SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT WILL BE DRY AS THE LOW SLOWLY MOVES EASTWARD. THE LOW AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT GET CLOSE ENOUGH ON MONDAY TO PRODUCE SOME RAIN SHOWERS DURING THE DAY AS THE SOUTHERLY FLOW ALLOWS TEMPERATURES TO WARM WELL INTO THE 40S. COLD AIR ADVECTION BEHIND THE FRONT WILL MIX SOME SNOW OVER CENTRAL AND MAY CHANGEOVER TO ALL SNOW OVER PARTS OF NORTH-CENTRAL WISCONSIN MONDAY NIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. HOWEVER EAST-CENTRAL WISCONSIN WILL STILL BE ALL RAIN. MORE COLD AIR ADVECTION AS WELL AS WRAP AROUND MOISTURE WILL MEAN MORE PRECIPITATION FOR TUESDAY. MOST OF NORTH-CENTRAL WILL BE ALL SNOW WHILE THE REST OF THE CWA WILL SEE A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW. MOISTURE AT THIS TIME SEEMS A BIT TOO LIMITED FOR ANY SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION. ANOTHER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL KEEP SKIES CLEAR WITH NO PRECIPITATION EXPECTED TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. && .GRB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT WIZ005- WIND ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT WIZ010>013-018>022-030-031-035>040-045-048>050-073-074- && KURIMSKI/TE WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/GRB
WIZ005-010>013-018>022-030-031-035>040-045-048>050-073-074-131215- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI 615 AM CST WED NOV 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH-CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AN INTENSIFYING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING STRONG WINDS TO THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. WEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE AREA WITH THE EXCEPTION OF VILAS COUNTY WHERE A SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY IS POSTED. SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED IN VILAS COUNTY WITH CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY STRONG WINDS AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH EARLY THURSDAY. .SPOTTER ACTIVATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT...THOUGH SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO RELAY WIND GUST AND SNOWFALL INFORMATION LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. RDM WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/GRB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 strong wind, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, Winnebago | 2003-11-12 | 16 | Male | Boat | Direct |
| Strong Wind, Winnebago | 2003-11-12 | 15 | Male | Boat | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, November 2003
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: 5332391, 5332392, 5332393, 5332390.