Winter Storm in Wisconsin, January 7 to 8, 2010

Name: Winter Storm in Wisconsin, January 7 to 8, 2010
Start: 2010-01-07T00:00
End: 2010-01-08T00:00
Location: Wisconsin

January 7 to 8, 2010 · NWS MKX · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

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 MKX wrote it up.

The only January 2010 winter storm of any consequence produced periods of moderate to heavy snow across most of south-central and southeast Wisconsin on January 7th. Total snow accumulations were mostly in the 6 to 12 inch range. This storm was the result of strong forcing associated with a vigorous upper-low that tracked from central Iowa to east-central Illinois and then eastward. The storm had brisk northeast surface winds of 13 to 17 knots (15 to 20 mph) with gusts to 26 knots (30 mph) as the associated surface low deepened across north-central Illinois. This provided the low-level winds a long fetch over the relatively warmer open waters of Lake Michigan. Additionally, steep lapse rates and lake-induced CAPE between 250 and 280 J/kg, produced lake-effect snow bands that enhanced snow accumulations near the lake. Some wind gusts to 30 to 39 knots (35 to 45 mph) were reported along the Lake Michigan shoreline, resulting in snow drifts of 1 to 3 feet in height. Numerous vehicle spin-outs and accidents were reported across south-central and southeast Wisconsin. At least two people were hospitalized due to serious injuries suffered in vehicle accidents: one in Salem (Kenosha Co.) and the other one in the Town of Lyndon (Sheboygan Co.). Both are considered indirect injuries.

Maximum snow amounts in each county included 13.1 in Germantown (Washington Co.), 12.5 in Sturtevant (Racine Co.), 10.2 in Big Bend (Waukesha Co.), 10 in Elkhart Lake (Sheboygan Co.) and West Allis (Milwaukee Co.), 9.4 in Port Washington (Ozaukee Co.), 9.2 in Reedsburg (Sauk Co.), 8.6 in Horicon (Dodge Co.), 8.5 in Dodgeville (Iowa Co.) and Paddock Lake (Kenosha Co.), 8.4 in Argyle (Lafayette Co.), an estimated 8 in far west-central Green County and far east-central Walworth County, 7.9 in Milton (Rock Co.), an estimated 7.5 in far southwest Dane County, 7 in Watertown (Jefferson Co.) and Ashford (Fond du Lac Co.).

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 Jan 6, 9:15 PM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 6, 9:15 PM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 6, 8:53 PM CST, 3 hours 7 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
853 PM CST WED JAN 6 2010

WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-080300-
MARQUETTE-GREEN LAKE-FOND DU LAC-SHEBOYGAN-SAUK-COLUMBIA-DODGE-
WASHINGTON-OZAUKEE-IOWA-DANE-JEFFERSON-WAUKESHA-MILWAUKEE-
LAFAYETTE-GREEN-ROCK-WALWORTH-RACINE-KENOSHA-
853 PM CST WED JAN 6 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL
WISCONSIN...SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SNOW WILL SPREAD ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
WISCONSIN TONIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES IS EXPECTED
IN PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
FOR SNOW GOES INTO AFFECT AT MIDNIGHT ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE
FROM THE WISCONSIN DELLS TO MADISON TO JANESVILLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

ACCUMULATING SNOW IS EXPECTED ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN
THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. INCREASING NORTH WINDS WILL
PRODUCE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY
NIGHT.

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST
WISCONSIN THURSDAY AND THURSDAY EVENING WITH TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS
OF 6 TO 12 INCHES EXPECTED...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. MUCH OF THE
REST OF SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN WILL BE UNDER A
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW...WITH
TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 7 INCHES EXPECTED.

THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST THURSDAY NIGHT.

WIND CHILLS WILL FALL TO BETWEEN 10 AND 20 BELOW FRIDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. HOWEVER...SNOWFALL REPORTS
WILL BE APPRECIATED.

LMZ643>646-080300-
SHEBOYGAN TO PORT WASHINGTON WI-
PORT WASHINGTON TO NORTH POINT LIGHT WI-
NORTH POINT LIGHT TO WIND POINT WI-
WIND POINT WI TO WINTHROP HARBOR IL-
853 PM CST WED JAN 6 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF LAKE MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY BE MET THURSDAY
AFTERNOON...LASTING THROUGH ABOUT SATURDAY MORNING DUE TO BRISK
NORTHEAST THEN NORTHWEST WINDS. AREAS OF FREEZING SPRAY ARE ALSO
EXPECTED.

WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MKX

MBK

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Sauk

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 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)

Winter Storm, Dane

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 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)

Winter Storm, Iowa

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Iowa forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.001, -90.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lafayette

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Lafayette forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.661, -90.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Green

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Green forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rock

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 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)

Winter Storm, Dodge

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 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)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: January 7, 12:00 AM CST to January 8, 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)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, January 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: 212782, 212783, 212788, 212789, 212790, 212791, 212970, 212971.