Wisconsin, 2010

Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 3 to 4, 2010

December 3 to 4, 2010 · NWS ARX · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

A low pressure system moved across the Central Plains states in the early afternoon hours of December 3rd through the morning hours of December 4th. Light snow began in the late afternoon hours of December 3rd and increased in intensity during the evening hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
8

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.

A low pressure system moved across the Central Plains states in the early afternoon hours of December 3rd through the morning hours of December 4th. Light snow began in the late afternoon hours of December 3rd and increased in intensity during the evening hours. The snow produced a swath of six to ten inches of accumulation across portions of southwest Wisconsin. Volunteer cooperative observers reported snowfall amounts of 10.5 inches at Sinsinawa (Grant County), 9.5 inches near De Soto (Vernon County), 7.5 inches at Lynxville (Crawford County) and 6.8 inches at Galesville (Trempealeau County).

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 Dec 3, 3:13 PM CST, 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 3:13 PM CST, 47 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 3, 2:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 3, 2:39 PM CST, 1 hour 21 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

8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Grant

When
December 3, 4:00 PM CST to December 4, 10:45 AM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.868, -90.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An observer in Sinsinawa measured 10.5 inches of snow.

Heavy Snow, Crawford

When
December 3, 4:30 PM CST to December 4, 10:15 AM CST
Where
Crawford forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.240, -90.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An observer in Lynxville measured 7.5 inches of snow.

Heavy Snow, La Crosse

When
December 3, 5:00 PM CST to December 4, 9:30 AM CST
Where
La Crosse forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
43.907, -91.115 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A total of 6.5 inches of snow was measured at the National Weather Service Office.

Heavy Snow, Vernon

When
December 3, 5:10 PM CST to December 4, 9:45 AM CST
Where
Vernon forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.594, -90.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

In the De Soto area, about 9.5 inches of snow was measured.

Heavy Snow, Buffalo

When
December 3, 5:15 PM CST to December 4, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
44.380, -91.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An observer in Buffalo measured 6 inches of snow.

Heavy Snow, Richland

When
December 3, 5:30 PM CST to December 4, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Richland forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.376, -90.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Six inches or more of snow was observed around Richland Center and northwest of the city.

Heavy Snow, Trempealeau

When
December 3, 5:30 PM CST to December 4, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Trempealeau forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
44.304, -91.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An observer in Galesville measured 6.8 inches of snow.

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When
December 3, 5:45 PM CST to December 4, 9:15 AM CST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.946, -90.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A total of 6.5 inches of snow was observed east of Wilton.

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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, December 2010

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 266423, 266422, 266427, 266433, 266421, 266429, 266431, 270494.