Very dry conditions and strong winds across portions of central Wisconsin caused a controlled burn of grass clippings in a wooded area to quickly become out of control in Adams County on April 17th. The wildfire burned approximately 106 acres and destroyed several vehicles, outbuildings, personal property, permanent and seasonal residences.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 ARX wrote it up.
Very dry conditions and strong winds across portions of central Wisconsin caused a controlled burn of grass clippings in a wooded area to quickly become out of control in Adams County on April 17th. The wildfire burned approximately 106 acres and destroyed several vehicles, outbuildings, personal property, permanent and seasonal residences.
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 Apr 17, 2:09 AM CST, 8 hours 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 309 AM CDT FRI APR 17 2009 .SHORT TERM...THROUGH SUNDAY MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS WITH THE PRECIPITATION CHANCES SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. SURFACE ANALYSIS THIS MORNING SHOWS HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER LOWER MICHIGAN AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WAS OVER EASTERN MANITOBA WITH A COLD FRONT SOUTH INTO CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. LARGE UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE INTER MOUNTAIN WEST THIS MORNING WILL ADVANCE SLOWLY EAST/NORTHEAST INTO THE CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY BY LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. SEVERAL SHORT WAVE TROUGHS ARE EXPECTED TO ROTATE AROUND THE LOW WITH SOME OF THESE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA BOTH SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. NONE OF THESE ARE EXPECTED TO BE ALL THAT STRONG WITH THE 17.00Z GFS SHOWING NO MORE THAN 4 PVU/S OF VORTICITY ADVECTION IN THE 500-300 MB LAYER. HOWEVER...THE EXPECTED TRACK OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL PLACE THE AREA IN A FAVORABLE POSITION TO BE UNDER THE STRONGEST DIVERGENCE ALOFT AND IN THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF THE NORTHERN STREAM JET CORE AND THE LEFT EXIT REGION OF THE JET CORE COMING AROUND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW. THIS IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN A EXTENDED PERIOD OF GOOD AGEOSTROPHIC MOTIONS FROM LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MUCH OF SUNDAY. WEAK TO MODERATE QG CONVERGENCE SHOULD OCCUR IN THE 1000-500 MB LAYER WITH THE SHORT WAVE TROUGHS. THE WEAK COLD FRONT OVER THE DAKOTAS THIS MORNING WILL PROGRESS TO THE EAST CROSSING THROUGH THE REGION SATURDAY NIGHT. THE MAIN SURFACE LOW IS EXPECTED TO TRACK THROUGH MISSOURI INTO ILLINOIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY WITH A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE EXTENDING NORTH INTO THE AREA. WEAK FRONTOGENESIS IS SHOWN BY THE GFS WITH THESE TWO FEATURES SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY IN THE 850-500 MB LAYER. OUTSIDE OF THE AGEOSTROPHIC MOTIONS...NONE OF THE FORCING IS EXPECTED TO BE OVERLY STRONG BUT THE COMBINATION OF ALL OF THEM TOGETHER SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE A FAIR AMOUNT OF RAINFALL. SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN MOVING INTO THE AREA SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND THEN SPREAD ACROSS MUCH OF THE SATURDAY NIGHT. WITH THE INVERTED TROUGH OVER THE AREA SUNDAY...THE RAIN SHOULD REMAIN OVER MUCH OF THE AREA. STAYED WITH CHANCE VALUES FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND THEN WENT TO LIKELY FOR THE AREA SOUTH AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 94 FOR SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY THE INVERTED SURFACE TROUGH IS STILL EXPECTED TO BE OVER THE REGION SUNDAY EVENING UNTIL THE MAIN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE PULLS WELL OFF INTO THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY. EXTENDED THE LOW END CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION BACK WEST THROUGH THE ENTIRE AREA. ALSO ADDED SOME LOW END CHANCES IN FOR MONDAY. BOTH THE 17.00Z GFS AND ECMWF SHOW A NORTHERN STREAM SHORT WAVE TROUGH DROPPING INTO THE MEAN LONG WAVE TROUGH. THIS PRODUCES SOME WEAK PV ADVECTION MONDAY AFTERNOON AS THE COLD POOL ALOFT COMES OVER THE AREA. 500 MB TEMPERATURES AROUND -30C ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE STEEP LAPSE RATES OF 7 TO 8 C/KM UP THROUGH 500 MB. THIS IS EXPECTED TO BE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION WILL SINK INTO THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. A LIGHT SOUTHERLY SURFACE AIRFLOW IS EXPECTED ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE HIGH. OTHERWISE...A SOUTHERLY AIRFLOW ALOFT AHEAD OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING OUT OF THE ROCKIES INTO THE HIGH PLAINS WILL PRODUCE SCATTERED MID/HIGH CLOUDS ACROSS THE AREA FROM TIME TO TIME TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. && .FIRE WEATHER... THE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BEGIN TO EASE UP TODAY. SURFACE DEW POINTS ARE ALREADY IN THE LOWER 40S ACROSS NORTHERN MISSOURI AND THIS MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO RETURN TO THE AREA TODAY AS THE FLOW TURNS MORE TO THE SOUTHEAST. HOWEVER...THE MOISTURE RETURN WILL BE SLOWER OVER CENTRAL WISCONSIN WHERE DEW POINTS WILL REMAIN IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 20S. RAIN IS THEN EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY WITH GENERAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF A QUARTER TO A HALF INCH. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...04 AVIATION...DAS FIRE WEATHER...04
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ...CORRECTED FOR GRAMMAR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 456 AM CDT FRI APR 17 2009 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-181100- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 456 AM CDT FRI APR 17 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHEAST IOWA AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT FIRE DANGER WILL REMAIN ELEVATED TODAY. MINIMUM HUMIDITIES THIS AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE 15 TO 20 PERCENT RANGE NORTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 94...AND IN THE 20 TO 30 PERCENT RANGE ELSEWHERE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WITH FIRE DANGER REMAINING ELEVATED THROUGH TODAY...HEIGHTENED AWARENESS SHOULD BE MAINTAINED FOR ANY UNUSUAL FIRE ACTIVITY. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED. DAS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A controlled burn of grass clippings in a wooded area quickly became out of control and destroyed residences, several vehicles, and personal property.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 2009
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: 158732.