Wisconsin, 2011

Lake-Effect Snow in Wisconsin, November 10, 2011

November 10, 2011 · NWS GRB · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lake-effect snow showers developed behind a departing low pressure system as cold air passed over the much warmer waters of Lake Superior. Parts of northwest Vilas County received more than 8 inches of snow.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 GRB wrote it up.

Lake-effect snow showers developed behind a departing low pressure system as cold air passed over the much warmer waters of Lake Superior. Parts of northwest Vilas County received more than 8 inches of snow. The highest totals were 8.8 inches at Presque Isle, 8.4 inches two miles east of Presque Isle and 8.0 inches at Boulder Junction.

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 Green Bay, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 10, 3:40 AM CST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 10, 3:40 AM CST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 10, 3:26 AM CST, 4 hours 34 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Nov 10, 5:39 AM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes before
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Local storm report, Nov 10, 7:32 AM CST, 28 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

1 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Lake-Effect Snow, Vilas

When
November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Vilas forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
46.053, -89.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lake-Effect Snow
Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, November 2011

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: 353722.