A nearly stationary area of high pressure from Hudson Bay Canada into the northeastern section of the United States produced several days of breezy and dry conditions across western Wisconsin. The automated weather observing equipment at Sparta recorded average sustained speeds around 10 mph out of the east to southeast on both the 13th and 14th of April.
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.
A nearly stationary area of high pressure from Hudson Bay Canada into the northeastern section of the United States produced several days of breezy and dry conditions across western Wisconsin. The automated weather observing equipment at Sparta recorded average sustained speeds around 10 mph out of the east to southeast on both the 13th and 14th of April. The minimum relative humidity averaged less than 25 percent from the 9th of April through the 14th. These conditions set the stage for a prescribed burn to get out of control and torch 97 acres northwest of Sparta in rural western Monroe county. No structures were damaged or injuries sustained from this fire.
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 14, 1:35 PM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 235 PM CDT WED APR 14 2010 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY FORECAST CONCERNS FOCUS ON THE PCPN CHANCES FOR TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. LATEST SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTING A THIN BAND OF CLOUDS RUNNING FROM NORTHERN MN INTO WESTERN IA...ASSOCIATED AHEAD OF A FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND IN AN AREA OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE RETURN. THERE ARE SOME SHOWERS WITH THESE CLOUDS. GENERAL MOVEMENT ON THE CLOUD/PCPN BANDS WAS TO THE NORTHEAST...WITH A SLOW PUSH EAST. AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS ND TO OVER THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE MAIN COLD FRONT WITH THIS SYSTEM...SECONDARY TO THE ONE JUST OFF TO THE WEST CURRENTLY...WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN WI/NORTHERN IA LATE THU AFTERNOON...CONTINUING TO DROP SOUTHEAST THROUGH FRIDAY. 2-D FRONTOGENETIC RESPONSE IS FAIRLY WEAK AND SOMEWHAT SHALLOW WITH THE SYSTEM...AS EVIDENCED VIA A NORTHWEST-SOUTHEAST RUNNING SECTION...WITH MOST OF THE LIFT POST THE SFC BOUNDARY...AND NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE MODELS/ QPF. HOWEVER...MOST OF THE CURRENT PCPN IS CO-LOCATED WITH THE LOW LEVEL JET/MOISTURE TRANSPORT...AND BOTH THE 14.12Z GFS/NAM BEND THIS TO THE SOUTHEAST...DRIVING FROM NORTHWEST IA INTO NORTHERN WI. LATEST RUC13 HAS AN EVEN BETTER DEPICTION MATCHING UP VERY WELL WITH LATEST 88-D IMAGERY. THE RESULTING MODELED QPF SITS IN THIS MOISTURE TRANSPORT...MORE FAVORABLE ALONG AND NORTH OF A ROCHESTER TO NEILLSVILLE LINE. THE MESO MODELS FAVOR A SIMILAR LOCATION...WITH THE ARW INDICATING THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PCPN. ON THU...THE MAIN COLD FRONT WILL BE INCHING ITS WAY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA AS THE UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH SCOOTS INTO THE NORTHERN GREAT LAKES. THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TRANSPORT/FORCING WEAKENS DURING THE DAY...BUT THERE WILL BE ENOUGH FORCING AND SATURATION TO CONTINUE AT LEAST SCATTERED SHOWERS. THE RAIN THREAT WOULD CONTINUE INTO THU NIGHT...SHIFTING TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST AS THE NIGHT WEARS ON. AS FOR THUNDER CHANCES...MODELS POINT TO 500-1000 J/KG SCAPE BY THU AFTERNOON. SOUNDINGS...HOWEVER...SHOW SKINNY CAPE...WHICH WOULD INHIBIT ANY SIGNIFICANT/STRONG UPDRAFT DEVELOPMENT. ENOUGH INSTABILITY TO WARRANT THUNDERSTORM CHANCES...BUT MINIMAL FOR A SEVERE THREAT. THUNDER ALSO POSSIBLE TONIGHT THANKS TO THE LOW LEVEL JET. A SFC HIGH WILL THEN BUILD IN BEHIND THE DEPARTING WEATHER SYSTEM FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...BRINGING A COUPLE DRY AND QUIET DAYS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLER THAN THE PAST FEW DAYS...BUT STILL RIGHT AROUND THE SEASONABLE NORMALS. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MODEL TRENDS VIA THE GFS AND ECMWF GET A BIT MORE BUSY/MESSY FOR THE LOCAL AREA AS THEY WORK TOWARD BREAKING DOWN THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE THIS WEEKEND...DROPPING A SHORTWAVE TROUGH ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY FOR THE EARLY PART OF THE NEW WORK WEEK. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO MODELS IN POSITIONING AND TIMING OF SOME OF THE FEATURES...BUT THEY BOTH PAINT SIMILAR PICTURES. A CHANCE FOR SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WOULD RETURN WITH THIS EARLY WEEK SHORTWAVE TROUGH...ALTHOUGH THE BETTER CHANCES MAY LIE SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL BE AROUND THE SEASONABLE NORMALS. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST BUT WILL NOT PASS THROUGH THE TAF SITES UNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT. THE SOUTH WINDS WILL DIMINISH THIS EVENING AROUND SUNSET BUT ANOTHER BREEZY DAY IS EXPECTED THURSDAY WITH SUSTAINED SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 12 TO 17 KNOTS AHEAD OF THE FRONT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONT. EXPECTING MOST OF THIS ACTIVITY TO REMAIN WEST OF KLSE UNTIL POSSIBLY LATE TONIGHT OR THURSDAY MORNING. KRST HAS A BETTER CHANCE OF BEING IMPACTED BY THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BUT GIVEN THE SCATTERED NATURE OF THE ACTIVITY HAVE STAYED WITH VICINITY SHOWERS AND WILL UPDATE WHEN AND IF ANY RAIN APPROACHES THE AIRPORT. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE A SHORT PERIOD OF MVFR CONDITIONS. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM... RIECK AVIATION.......... 04
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 1203 PM CDT WED APR 14 2010 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-151100- 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- 1203 PM CDT WED APR 14 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHEAST IOWA AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE MID AND LATE AFTERNOON HOURS FOR AREAS MAINLY WEST OF A LINE FROM SAINT ANSGAR IOWA TO MEDFORD WISCONSIN. THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY OVER THIS SAME REGION TONIGHT WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING JUST SOUTHEAST FROM THIS REGION. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED BUT SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SOME STRONG WIND GUSTS. THE POTENTIAL ALSO EXISTS THAT SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY TRAIN OVER THE SAME AREAS...PARTICULARLY IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND CAUSE SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA THURSDAY. THERE ALSO IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY NIGHT SOUTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM CHARLES CITY IOWA TO VIROQUA WISCONSIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH THURSDAY. ANY RAINFALL REPORTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED OVER THIS TIMEFRAME. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED. 04
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A prescribed burn got out control when exhaust from a tractor ignited dry prairie grass. The fire burned 97 acres northwest of Sparta in rural western Monroe county. No structures were damaged or injuries sustained because of the fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 2010
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: 222257.