A strong winter storm moved through the upper Midwest over the weekend, providing the Northland with its first widespread snowfall of the winter season. Heavy snow combined with strong winds to create blizzard conditions near the head of Lake Superior, and near blizzard conditions elsewhere.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 DLH wrote it up.
A strong winter storm moved through the upper Midwest over the weekend, providing the Northland with its first widespread snowfall of the winter season. Heavy snow combined with strong winds to create blizzard conditions near the head of Lake Superior, and near blizzard conditions elsewhere. The storm was preceded by mild weather, with temperatures in the 30s and 40s. A period of rain and freezing rain fell on Saturday evening across northwest Wisconsin.
Six to 10 inches of snow fell across the region, with the highest amounts on the Bayfield Peninsula and in the Gogebic Range of Iron County.
Snow was heaviest across the region on Sunday afternoon, accumulating 1 to 2 inches per hour at times. Winds gusted to 40 to 50 mph in Superior, causing blizzard conditions with near zero visibility for several hours. U.S. Highway 2 near the Chequamegon Bay in Ashland, as well as in Superior, was closed Sunday afternoon due to the blowing and drifting snow.
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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 13, 6:48 PM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
648 PM CST SAT DEC 13 2008
.DISCUSSION...
AREA RADARS SHOW PRECIPITATION EXPANDING THIS EVENING...WITH AN
AREA OF PRECIP COMING OUT OF SOUTH DAKOTA...STRETCHING NORTHEAST
TOWARD THE TWIN PORTS AND UP THE NORTH SHORE. THERE IS SOME
BANDING TO THIS PRECIP...AND THE NAM SHOWS FGEN
INCREASING...ESPECIALLY LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THERE
COULD BE A BAND OF HEAVIER SNOW THAT DEVELOPS FROM THE BRAINERD
LAKES AREAS...NORTHEAST INTO THE ARROWHEAD. THE TWIN PORTS LOOKS
TO BE ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR CONDITIONS
TONIGHT...AND MAY NEED TO INCREASE SNOW AMOUNTS FOR A PORTION OF
OUR SOUTHWEST ZONES...INTO THE ARROWHEAD.
WE ALSO ALSO ADDED SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE AROUND THE TWIN PORTS
THIS EVENING...AS WE ARE STILL RECEIVING SOME. SOUNDINGS SHOW THE
COLUMN MOISTENING THIS EVENING...AND PRECIP SHOULD SWITCH OVER TO
ALL SNOW. WE ALSO DECREASED POPS OVER MUCH OF NORTHWEST
WISCONSIN...AS THERE IS LITTLE PRECIP OCCURRING THERE. WE ALSO
ADDED SOME RAIN TO PARTS OF BURNETT/WASHBURN/SAWYER/PRICE COUNTIES
DUE TO TEMPS BEING ABOVE FREEZING STILL.
REST OF FORECAST NOT CHANGED. 18Z MODELS STILL SUPPORT THE CURRENT
FORECAST OF HEAVY SNOW OVER A GOOD PORTION OF OUR MN CWA. FORECAST
WILL BE FINE TUNED CONTINUALLY AS WE MOVE THROUGH SUNDAY.
&&
POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DLH 20 22 -11 -5 / 80 100 80 40
INL 3 5 -15 -10 / 90 100 80 40
BRD 17 18 -8 -4 / 90 100 70 20
HYR 27 31 -6 0 / 70 90 70 30
ASX 23 29 -3 0 / 80 90 70 60
&&
.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 AM CST MONDAY FOR CROW WING-PINE-
SOUTHERN AITKIN-SOUTHERN CASS.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 12 PM CST MONDAY FOR CENTRAL ST.
LOUIS-KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN AITKIN-NORTHERN CASS-NORTHERN
COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-NORTHERN ITASCA-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-
SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-SOUTHERN ITASCA-SOUTHERN
LAKE/LAKESHORE.
BLIZZARD WARNING UNTIL 12 PM CST MONDAY FOR CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST.
LOUIS.
WI...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 12 PM CST MONDAY FOR ASHLAND-BAYFIELD-
IRON.
BLIZZARD WARNING UNTIL 12 PM CST MONDAY FOR DOUGLAS.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM CST MONDAY FOR BURNETT-PRICE-
SAWYER-WASHBURN.
LS...GALE WARNING FROM 6 AM TO 10 PM CST SUNDAY FOR LSZ121-LSZ144-
LSZ145-LSZ146-LSZ147-LSZ148.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 6 AM TO 10 PM CST SUNDAY FOR LSZ140-
LSZ141-LSZ142-LSZ143.
MELDEHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 131 PM CST SAT DEC 13 2008 MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-141130- KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE- NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE- SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS-SOUTHERN ITASCA- SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN-SOUTHERN AITKIN- CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD-ASHLAND-IRON- BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE- 131 PM CST SAT DEC 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHWEST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE NORTHLAND. SNOW WILL INCREASE THIS EVENING NORTH OF A LINE FROM THE BRAINERD LAKES REGION NORTH TOWARDS THE TWIN PORTS. SNOW...POSSIBLY MIXED WITH FREEZING RAIN...MAY OCCUR ELSEWHERE. SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT WITH SEVERAL INCHES ACCUMULATION ACROSS MOST OF NORTHEAST MINNESOTA. A MIXTURE OF SNOW...SLEET...AND FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED ACROSS MOST OF NORTHWEST WISCONSIN. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND PARTS OF NORTHWEST WISCONSIN FROM LATE SATURDAY INTO EARLY MONDAY...AND A BLIZZARD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE HEAD OF THE LAKES. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED UNTIL CLOSE TO DAYBREAK...AND WILL BE LOCALIZED. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER PRODUCTS FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND PARTS OF NORTHWEST WISCONSIN SUNDAY INTO EARLY MONDAY...WITH A BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AREAS NEAR THE HEAD OF LAKE SUPERIOR. LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW COMBINED WITH STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS WILL CREATE NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY ALONG LAKE SUPERIOR FROM GRAND PORTAGE TO THE TWIN PORTS AND EAST TO BAYFIELD WISCONSIN. ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM 6 TO 15 INCHES ACROSS THE REGION...WITH HIGHEST AMOUNTS EXPECTED FROM THE ARROWHEAD TO THE TWIN PORTS AND WEST TO GRAND RAPIDS. VERY COLD AIR WILL RETURN TO THE REGION SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH WIND CHILL VALUES DROPPING WELL BELOW ZERO. LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TUESDAY AND EARLY WEDNESDAY. ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SIGNIFICANT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. LSZ121-140>148-141130- BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN- GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN- TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN- SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN- DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI- SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI- 131 PM CST SAT DEC 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY INCREASING NORTHEAST WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL CREATE VERY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR BOATERS SUNDAY AND MONDAY. A GALE WARNING IS IN EFFECT ON SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. SEE THE LATEST MARINE WEATHER MESSAGE FOR MORE DETAILS. DONOFRIO MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DULUTH (ALL LOWER CASE)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter storm, 1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard conditions began around noon, lasting for several hours into the afternoon.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, December 2008
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: 145480, 145476, 145477, 145482, 145479, 145483, 145484.