Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 20 to 23, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 20 to 23, 2008
Start: 2008-12-20T10:00
End: 2008-12-23T03:00
Location: Wisconsin

December 20 to 23, 2008 · NWS DLH · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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 DLH wrote it up.

A winter storm with widespread snow affected much of northwest Wisconsin. The heaviest snow was concentrated across Ashland, Sawyer, and Washburn counties, where total snowfall amounts of 7 to 9 inches were common, including 6 inches at Loretta and Butternut, 7 inches at Exeland, and 9 inches at Sarona. After the heaviest snow exited the region, areas of lake effect snow developed near Lake Superior, and continued through early December 23, adding light accumulations in some locales.

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 20, 3:25 AM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 20, 3:25 AM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 20, 4:50 AM CST, 5 hours 10 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 20, 4:34 AM CST, 5 hours 26 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 20, 6:52 AM CST, 3 hours 8 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 20, 8:35 AM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 20, 8:52 AM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 20, 9:00 AM CST, 1 hour before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Washburn

When: December 20, 10:00 AM CST to December 21, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Washburn forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.899, -91.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sawyer

When: December 20, 10:00 AM CST to December 21, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Sawyer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.880, -91.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ashland

When: December 20, 2:00 PM CST to December 23, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Ashland forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.510, -90.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, December 2008

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 146915, 146916, 146914.