5 acres near Cataract (Monroe County) before being extinguished. For several days before the fire, high pressure remained anchored over the Great Lakes setting up a dry east to northeast flow over the region.
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 brush fire became uncontrollable and burned almost 2.5 acres near Cataract (Monroe County) before being extinguished. For several days before the fire, high pressure remained anchored over the Great Lakes setting up a dry east to northeast flow over the region. On the day of the fire, the automated weather observing equipment at the Sparta airport recorded a minimum relative humidity around 15 percent.
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 May 18, 1:46 AM CST, 9 hours 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 246 AM CDT TUE MAY 18 2010 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY DRY CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH MID WEEK AS A BROAD SURFACE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS IN PLACE ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THE MAIN FORECAST QUESTIONS WILL BE WITH TEMPERATURES AND CLOUD COVERAGE THE NEXT FEW DAYS...WITH THE NEXT CHANCES FOR RAIN COMING THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. MID LEVEL CLOSED LOW CONTINUES TO PROPAGATE EAST ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES REGION WITH MID LEVEL RIDGING EXTENDING ALONG THE EASTERN ROCKIES. THIS RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO TRACK EASTWARD OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND USHER IN EVEN DRIER MID TO UPPER LEVEL AIR WHICH SHOULD LEAVE MUCH OF THE REGION SUNNY AND CLEAR THROUGH THURSDAY. SOME THIN CIRRUS WILL LIKELY PERSIST INTO THE AFTERNOON TODAY AS THE MID LEVEL TROF REMAINS EXTENDED BACK INTO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY REGION...WITH SOME CU EXPECTED ACROSS NORTHERN WISCONSIN/CENTRAL MINNESOTA. CLOUD COVERAGE WILL BE ON THE INCREASE THURSDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM. AS FOR TEMPERATURES...HAVE NOT MADE ANY MAJOR CHANGES TO THE GOING FORECAST AS THE 18.00Z GUIDANCE REMAINS FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH THE EXPECTED HIGHS/LOWS. THE EXPECTED TREND IS FOR GRADUAL WARMING INTO THURSDAY AS SKY COVER CLEARS OUT...WITH 80 POSSIBLE IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY TOMORROW. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO COOL A BIT ON FRIDAY WITH THE THICKER CLOUD COVER AND POSSIBLE SHOWERS. AS FOR THE SYSTEM ON FRIDAY...A MID LEVEL TROF WILL BREAK FREE FROM THE MAIN FLOW AND PROPAGATE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND INTO THE MIDWEST BY FRIDAY MORNING. THE FIRST DECENT BAND OF 500-300MB PV ADVECTION APPEARS TO GET INTO NORTHEAST IOWA THURSDAY EVENING AND THEN PUSH NORTHEAST THROUGH THE NIGHT. THE CORE OF THIS TROF WILL BE CENTERED OVER THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI ON FRIDAY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY CONTINUING THROUGH THE DAY. PER THE 18.00Z GFS AND ECMWF...0-3KM MUCAPE APPEARS TO BE LITTLE TO NOTHING SO HAVE KEPT THE PRECIPITATION TYPE AS JUST SHOWERS WITH NO THUNDER. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTER THE AFOREMENTIONED SYSTEM TRACKS OFF TO THE EAST THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES FRIDAY NIGHT...RATHER STRONG MID LEVEL RIDGING WILL TAKE SHAPE OVER THE EASTERN CONUS WITH A DIGGING AND DEEPENING MID LEVEL TROF FORMING OVER THE ROCKIES. GIVEN THE SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW...EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO WARM THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH 80S LIKELY REGION WIDE. HAVE KEPT THE EXTENDED PORTION OF THE FORECAST PERIOD DRY FOR THE TIME BEING GIVEN THE CAP THAT WILL LIKELY BE IN PLACE DUE TO THE STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION. && .AVIATION...TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES OVERHEAD. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS EARLY THIS MORNING ARE EXPECTED TO PICK UP OUT OF THE NORTHEAST AS THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE BECOME MIXED WITH DAYTIME HEATING. THE WINDS WILL RAPIDLY DECOUPLE AND BECOME LIGHT/CALM TONIGHT. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...HALBACH AVIATION...DAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 457 AM CDT TUE MAY 18 2010 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-191100- 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- 457 AM CDT TUE MAY 18 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHEAST IOWA...AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. .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.
After several days of dry conditions, a brush fire got out of control and burned almost 2.5 acres near Cataract. No buildings were damaged or injuries occurred 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, May 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: 226266.