Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 31, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 31, 2008
Start: 2008-03-31T09:30
End: 2008-03-31T23:59
Location: Wisconsin

March 31, 2008 · NWS MPX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

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 MPX wrote it up.

A surface low pressure system that moved from eastern Kansas on March 31st, to the northern peninsula of Michigan on the morning of April 1st, brought heavy snow to much of Central Minnesota. Some snowfall amounts of note include: Eight inches in Holcombe, 7.8 inches in New Richmond, 7.0 inches in Clayton, 7.0 inches in Spring Valley, 6.8 inches in Hammond, 6.0 inches at Menomonie, 6.0 inches one mile SSW Connorsville. Northwest winds between 10 and 15 mph produced moderate amounts of blowing and drifting snow.

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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 31, 5:50 AM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 5:50 AM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 31, 3:45 AM CST, 5 hours 45 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 31, 7:44 AM CST, 1 hour 46 minutes before

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Local storm report, Mar 31, 8:36 AM CST, 54 minutes before

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Local storm report, Mar 31, 8:47 AM CST, 43 minutes before

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Local storm report, Mar 31, 8:50 AM CST, 40 minutes before

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Local storm report, Mar 31, 9:13 AM CST, 17 minutes before

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Local storm report, Mar 31, 9:14 AM CST, 16 minutes 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

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, St. Croix

When: March 31, 9:30 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.034, -92.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Polk

When: March 31, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pierce

When: March 31, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.720, -92.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Dunn

When: March 31, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Dunn forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.947, -91.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chippewa

When: March 31, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Chippewa forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.069, -91.280 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Barron

When: March 31, 11:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Barron forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.424, -91.848 (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, March 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: 89651, 89644, 89652, 89658, 89659, 89656.