Wisconsin, 2010

Winter Weather in Wisconsin, December 9 to 10, 2010

December 9 to 10, 2010 · NWS MKX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

An area of upper-level low pressure tracked across the Upper Midwest and western Great lakes region, interacting with increasing moisture moving into Wisconsin ahead of the low. Snow began falling late on the afternoon on the 9th, with most of the area seeing steady snow during the evening rush hour, causing travel problems.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 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
1
Property damage
$5,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

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 MKX wrote it up.

An area of upper-level low pressure tracked across the Upper Midwest and western Great lakes region, interacting with increasing moisture moving into Wisconsin ahead of the low. Snow began falling late on the afternoon on the 9th, with most of the area seeing steady snow during the evening rush hour, causing travel problems. Overall snow totals ranged between 2 and 4 inches, with the snow ending around midnight. The highest snowfall totals were north of a Portage to Port Washington line.

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 Milwaukee, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 9, 2:04 PM CST, 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 9, 2:04 PM CST, 56 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 9, 4:30 AM CST, 10 hours 30 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Marquette

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Marquette forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.820, -89.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Around 2 inches of snow fell across the county, with 1.9 inches measured at Montello.

Winter Weather, Green Lake

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Green Lake forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.800, -89.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Around 2 inches of snow fell across the county, with 2 inches measured at Berlin.

Winter Weather, Fond du Lac

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Fond du Lac forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.754, -88.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening. Though snow totals were around 1 inch, the snow fell during the evening rush hour, causing travel problems. The highest snow total was 1 inch in Fond Du Lac.

Winter Weather, Sheboygan

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Sheboygan forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.756, -87.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 3 inches, with the highest total of 3 inches in Random Lake.

Winter Weather, Sauk

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Sauk forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 1 and 2 inches, with the highest total of 2.2 inches in Baraboo.

Winter Weather, Columbia

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Columbia forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 3 inches, with the highest total of 3 inches in Arlington.

Winter Weather, Dodge

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.416, -88.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 3 and 4 inches, with the highest total of 3.7 inches in Watertown.

Winter Weather, Washington

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.369, -88.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 3 inches, with the highest totals of 3 inches at West Bend and Holy Hill.

Winter Weather, Dane

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Dane forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 3 inches, with the highest total of 3.3 inches at Deforest.

Winter Weather, Jefferson

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.021, -88.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 4 inches, with the highest total of 3.7 inches near Watertown.

Winter Weather, Waukesha

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Waukesha forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 3 inches, with the highest total of 2.5 inches at Waukesha.

Winter Weather, Milwaukee

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Milwaukee forecast zone
Injuries
0 direct, 1 indirect
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 3 inches, with the highest total of 2.8 inches at Brown Deer. There were eight vehicle accidents on area freeways causing minor damage, and one accident involving a minor injury.

Winter Weather, Rock

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Rock forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.671, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 1 and 2 inches, with the highest total of 1.8 inches at Janesville.

Winter Weather, Walworth

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 1 and 2 inches, with the highest total of 1.1 inches at Elkhorn.

Winter Weather, Racine

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Racine forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.730, -87.812 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 1 and 2 inches, with the highest total of 1.8 inches at Wind Lake.

Winter Weather, Kenosha

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Kenosha forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
42.573, -87.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals were around 1 inch, with the highest total of 1.1 inches at Kenosha.

Winter Weather, Ozaukee

When
December 9, 3:00 PM CST to December 10, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Ozaukee forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.403, -87.891 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling late in the afternoon and lasted through the evening, causing travel problems during the evening rush hour. Snow totals ranged between 2 and 3 inches, with the highest total of 2.7 inches at Cedarburg.

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 275483, 275484, 275485, 275486, 275487, 275488, 275489, 275490, 275491, 275492, 275493, 275494, 275495, 275496, 275497, 275498, 275499.