Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 14, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 14, 2008
Start: 2008-02-14T03:00
End: 2008-02-14T17:30
Location: Wisconsin

February 14, 2008 · NWS ARX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

An upper level disturbance interacted with a cold front to produce a narrow band of heavy snow across parts of southwest and central Wisconsin on Valentines Day. 2 inches at Viroqua.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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 ARX wrote it up.

An upper level disturbance interacted with a cold front to produce a narrow band of heavy snow across parts of southwest and central Wisconsin on Valentines Day. Highest accumulations were reported by volunteer weather observers in Vernon County and included 12.5 inches at Ontario, 12.3 inches at De Soto and 11.2 inches at Viroqua.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 13, 9:27 PM CST, 5 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 13, 9:27 PM CST, 5 hours 33 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 13, 1:15 PM CST, 13 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
115 PM CST WED FEB 13 2008

MNZ079-086>088-095-096-WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044-053-055-141200-
ADAMS-BUFFALO-CLARK-DODGE-FILLMORE-HOUSTON-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE-
MONROE-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON-WABASHA-WINONA-
115 PM CST WED FEB 13 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...
AND WESTERN INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE MAY BE A LITTLE LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES IN SOME SPOTS THIS
AFTERNOON...BUT NO ACCUMULATION IS ANTICIPATED. A STRONGER LOW
PRESSURE AREA WILL MOVE TOWARD THE AREA TONIGHT...SPREADING SNOW
INTO THE REGION AGAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES
COULD ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND BY MORNING...ESPECIALLY ACROSS CLARK
AND TAYLOR COUNTIES IN WISCONSIN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

AS THIS STRONGER LOW MOVES ACROSS THE AREA...SNOW WILL CONTINUE
THROUGHOUT THE DAY THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME...TOTAL STORM ACCUMULATIONS
LOOK TO BE BETWEEN 4 AND 8 INCHES ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA...WITH THE
HIGHER AMOUNTS GENERALLY NORTH AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 94. HEAVY SNOW
WARNINGS AND SNOW ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY. AS THE
SNOW TAPERS OFF THURSDAY EVENING...THE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO PICK UP...
GUSTING TO 20 TO 25 MPH...WHICH WILL RESULT IN AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW.
IN ADDITION...COLDER AIR WRAPPING IN BEHIND THE SYSTEM THURSDAY NIGHT
AND FRIDAY MORNING WILL COMBINE WITH THE STRONG NORTH WINDS TO
PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 20 BELOW TO 30 BELOW ZERO. WIND CHILL
ADVISORIES MAY BE NECESSARY.

ANOTHER CHANCE OF SNOW ENTERS THE PICTURE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY BUT
IT REMAINS TO EARLY TO DETERMINE WHETHER OT NOT THERE WILL BE ANY
ACCUMULATIONS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

REPORTS OF SNOW ACCUMULATION TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY WOULD BE
GREATLY APPRECIATED.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION...

NO CALL IS SCHEDULED.

IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ094-WIZ054-061-141200-
ALLAMAKEE-CHICKASAW-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-FAYETTE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOWARD-
MITCHELL-MOWER-WINNESHIEK-
115 PM CST WED FEB 13 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA...
SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE MAY BE A LITTLE LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES IN SOME SPOTS THIS
AFTERNOON...BUT NO ACCUMULATION IS ANTICIPATED. A STRONGER LOW
PRESSURE AREA WILL MOVE TOWARD THE AREA TONIGHT...SPREADING SNOW
INTO THE REGION OVERNIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS UP TO AN INCH ARE POSSIBLE
BY MORNING...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE IOWA/MINNESOTA BORDER REGION...
AND ADJACENT AREAS OF SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

AS THIS STRONGER LOW MOVES ACROSS THE AREA...SNOW WILL CONTINUE
THROUGHOUT THE DAY THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME...TOTAL STORM ACCUMULATIONS
LOOK TO BE BETWEEN 1 AND 4 INCHES...WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS GENERALLY
ALONG THE IOWA/MINNESOTA BORDER AND THE ADJACENT AREAS OF SOUTHWEST
WISCONSIN. AS THE SNOW TAPERS OFF THURSDAY EVENING...THE WINDS WILL
BEGIN TO PICK UP...GUSTING TO 20 TO 25 MPH...WHICH WILL RESULT IN
AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. IN ADDITION...COLDER AIR WRAPPING IN BEHIND
THE SYSTEM THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING WILL COMBINE WITH THE
STRONG NORTH WINDS TO PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 20 BELOW TO 30 BELOW
ZERO. WIND CHILL ADVISORIES MAY BE NECESSARY.

ANOTHER CHANCE OF SNOW ENTERS THE PICTURE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY BUT
IT REMAINS TO EARLY TO DETERMINE WHETHER OT NOT THERE WILL BE ANY
ACCUMULATIONS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

REPORTS OF SNOW ACCUMULATION LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY WOULD BE
GREATLY APPRECIATED.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION...

NO CALL IS SCHEDULED.

MW

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When: February 14, 3:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.946, -90.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Vernon

When: February 14, 4:00 AM CST to 5:30 PM CST
Where: Vernon forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.594, -90.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Crawford

When: February 14, 4:00 AM CST to 5:30 PM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.240, -90.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Adams

When: February 14, 5:00 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.970, -89.771 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Juneau

When: February 14, 5:00 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where: Juneau forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.924, -90.114 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Richland

When: February 14, 5:00 AM CST to 5:30 PM CST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.376, -90.429 (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, February 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 74414, 74415, 74416, 74412, 74413, 74417.