An upper level storm system and a surface cold front combined with unstable air and strong winds just above the surface to produce wind damage and large hail. The storm knocked out power to more than 6,000 customers in central and north-central Wisconsin.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 GRB wrote it up.
An upper level storm system and a surface cold front combined with unstable air and strong winds just above the surface to produce wind damage and large hail. The storm knocked out power to more than 6,000 customers in central and north-central Wisconsin. Hail to 1.25 inches in diameter damaged an automobile in Weston (Marathon, Co.).
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 Oct 25, 2:18 AM CST, 4 hours 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI 318 AM CDT THU OCT 25 2012 .SYNOPSIS...HEAVY RAIN TODAY...THEN MUCH COLDER FOR THE REST OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. LNGWV TROF WAS LOCATED OVER THE ROCKIES...WITH A RIDGE OVER THE ERN GREAT LAKES RGN. STG BLOCKING WAS IN PLACE DOWNSTREAM OVER THE NORTH ATL. ROCKIES TROF WL SHIFT EWD INTO THE GREAT LAKES RGN AND DEEPEN...AND IN THE PROCESS...SHARPEN THE ERN NOAM RIDGE WHICH IS LOCKED IN PLACE BY THE ATL BLOCKING. DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE PERIOD...A BROAD LOW-AMPLITUE RIDGE WL BUILD NR THE WEST COAST... WHILE THE TROF/RIDGE COMBINATION OVER ERN NOAM BASICALLY EVOLVE INTO A PORTION OF THE ATL BLOCK. TEMPS WL DROP OFF SHARPLY WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT TDA...THEN REMAIN AT LEAST A LITTLE BLO NORMAL FOR THE REST OF THE FCST PERIOD. EXPECT MAJOR PCPN EVENT TDA WITH ONLY SCT LGT PCPN AFTER THAT. && .SHORT TERM...TDA/TNGT/FRI. MAIN CONCERN IS WHAT APPEARS TO BE A HEAVY RAIN EVENT UNFOLDING ACRS THE AREA. UNSEASONABLY MOIST AIR WL BE ACTED UPON BY STG DYNAMICS WITH INCOMING COLD FRONT AND UPR TROF. PCPN TOTALS WITH SHRA/TSRA THUS FAR HAVE BEEN VERY IMPRESSIVE...AND WITH COVERAGE EXPECTED TO INCREASE AND PCPN TO TRAIN ON SSW-NNE AXIS...MUCH OF THE FCST AREA SHOULD GET 1-2 INCHES OF RAIN TDA. MAIN FCST ISSUE WL BE TRYING TO ADD TIMING TO EWD ADVANCE OF THE PCPN. NONE OF THE MODELS OFF TO A GREAT START...AS FRONT VERIFIED E OF WHERE ALMOST EVERY MODEL HAD IT AT 06Z. WL MAKE ISSUANCE TIME DECISION ON THE EWD PROGRESSION OF POPS...BUT THE ENTIRE AREA WL HAVE HAVE A 100 PCT 12-HR POP. PCPN WL PROBABLY STILL BE LINGERING IN THE E AFT 00Z...BUT SHOULD EXIT QUICKLY THEREAFTER. SOME LGT PCPN COULD ALSO LINGER ACRS THE FAR N CLOSE TO CORE OF UPR SHRTWV LIFTG NE OUT OF THE LARGE SCALE TROF. EXPECT CLEARING SKIES LATER IN THE NGT. BLUSTERY AND MUCH COOLER WX EXPECTED FRI. PREV FCST HAD A GOOD HANDLE ON MAX TEMPS SO LITTLE CHG NEEDED. .LONG TERM...FRI NGT THRU NEXT WED. A BROAD LONGWAVE TROF TO SETTLE OVER THE N-CNTRL CONUS (INCLUDING THE GREAT LAKES) THRU THIS WEEKEND BEFORE SHIFTING A BIT FARTHER EAST TOWARD THE ERN GREAT LAKES/MID-ATLANTIC STATES FOR THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. INITIAL DRY AIR MASS OVER WI IN NW FLOW ALOFT WOULD LIMIT ANY SERIOUS PCPN THREAT THIS WEEKEND INTO MON...BUT FCST GETS VERY SHAKY THEREAFTER WITH THE EXPECTED MERGER OF THE LONGWAVE TROF AND REMAINS OF TROPICAL SYSTEM 'SANDY' OVER THE NE CONUS. PCPN CHCS TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK WL DEPEND ON HOW FAR INLAND THESE REMAINS CAN GET. TEMPS THROUGHOUT THE EXTENDED PERIOD WL REMAIN BLO NORMAL. A BROAD AREA OF HI PRES WL CONT TO PUSH INTO WI FRI NGT WITH SKIES BECOMING MOSTLY CLEAR AND WINDS ESSENTIALLY GOING LIGHT/VARIABLE. WHILE NOT A PERFECT RADIATIONAL COOLING SET-UP...EXPECT TO SEE TEMPS QUICKLY DROP ESPECIALLY OVER CENTRAL WI WHO WL BE CLOSER TO THE CORE OF THE SFC HI. MAY NEED TO CHOP ANYWHERE FROM 3 TO 5 DEGS FROM THE PREVIOUS FCST WHICH COULD BRING SOME READINGS DOWN INTO THE TEENS OVER PARTS OF N-CNTRL WI. AS THE HI PRES TAKES CONTROL OF THE GREAT LAKES WEATHER FOR SAT... THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LONGWAVE TROF WL BE UNDERWAY OVER THE NRN PLAINS/UPR MS VALLEY. MDLS DO SHOW A SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO THE BASE OF THIS UPR TROF BY SAT AFTERNOON AND THIS FEATURE COULD SEND SOME HI CLOUDS TOWARD CENTRAL WI. TEMPS WL REMAIN QUITE CHILLY FOR OCTOBER STANDARDS WITH MOST AREAS ONLY REACHING NEAR 40 NORTH...LWR TO MID 40S ELSEWHERE. WHILE THE HI PRES TO TECHNICALLY STILL BE OVER THE GREAT LAKES SAT NGT...IT IS FCST TO WEAKEN SOMEWHAT AS THE LONGWAVE TROF SHIFTS EAST INTO THE UPR MS VALLEY AND THE EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE TRACKS TOWARD IA. DRY CONDITIONS TO PERSIST OVER NE WI...BUT ANTICIPATE MORE HI CLOUDS TO OVERSPREAD THE REGION...THUS PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES EXPECTED. WINDS TO REMAIN LIGHT THRU THE NGT AND EVEN WITH SOME HI CLOUDS OVERHEAD...TEMPS SHOULD AGAIN DROP INTO THE 20S INLAND...LWR 30S NEAR LK MI. THE LONGWAVE TROF DOES REACH THE WRN GREAT LAKES REGION ON SUNDAY WITH THE MEAN FLOW STARTING TO TRANSITION MORE TO THE NW. BY THIS TIME...IT IS GETTING MORE DIFFICULT IN TRYING TO DETERMINE WHERE ANY INDIVIDUAL SHORTWAVES TO EXIST. UNTIL THIS HAPPENS...PREFER TO KEEP THE FCST DRY WITH HI PRES ATTEMPTING TO RE-BUILD OVER WI. WL STILL NEED TO WATCH THE LK MI SHORELINE AS WINDS BEGIN TO VEER NORTH IN THE AFTERNOON AND MARGINAL LK EFFECT CONDITIONS DEVELOP. FOR NOW...THE WINDS APPEAR TO HAVE TOO MUCH OF A NORTHERLY COMPONENT TO BRING AND PCPN INLAND. MAX TEMPS FOR SUNDAY TO BE SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS DAYS WITH MOST OF NE WI AGAIN SEEING READINGS IN THE 40-45 DEG RANGE. LITTLE CHANGE TAKES PLACE SYNOPTICALLY OVER WI THRU MON AS THE LONGWAVE TROF REMAINS OVER THE HEART OF THE GREAT LAKES AND THE SFC HI TO EXTEND FROM WRN ONTARIO SWD THRU WI ALL THE WAY TO THE OZARKS. THE BIGGER STORY ON MON WL BE THE REMAINS OF TROPICAL SYSTEM 'SANDY' WHICH THE MDLS ARE STILL TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON AS IT APPROACHES/GOES JUST EAST OF THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES. THIS SYSTEM APPEARS NOW TO BE QUITE FORMIDABLE AND WL HAVE AN IMPACT ON OTHER WEATHER SYSTEMS TRYING TO MOVE ACROSS THE CONUS. STILL PLENTY OF UNCERTAINTY WITH REGARDS TO THE EVENTUAL MOVEMENT OF 'SANDY' HEADED TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. NOT KNOWING YET WHEN THIS TROPICAL REMNANT WL INTERACT WITH THE LONGWAVE TROF... WHERE THIS REMNANT WL GET PULLED INLAND OVER THE NE CONUS OR HOW FAR WWD IT COULD POSSIBLY RETROGRADE MAKES THIS PART OF THE FCST ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. HAVE BASED THE FCST ON KEEPING THIS SYSTEM FAR ENUF TO OUR EAST SUCH THAT ANY PCPN WOULD REMAIN JUST TO THE EAST OF THE FCST AREA. THIS LEAVES THE RDG OF HI PRES OVER WI WHILE UPSTREAM SYSTEMS SLOW DOWN AND HEAD NE INTO S-CNTRL CANADA. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z TAF ISSUANCE. CIGS AND VSBYS WL BE QUITE VARIABLE IN THE TSRA AHEAD OF THE FRONT. BUT EXPECT A PERIOD OF IFR CONDITIONS TO SPREAD EWD IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT...BEFORE STG SUBSIDENCE BREAKS UP THE CLDS DURING THE NGT. && .MARINE...NOT A LOT OF FOG NOTED EARLY THIS MORNING. BUT AIR WITH UNSEASONABLY HIGH DWPTS FLOWING OVER COLDER LAKE WATERS COULD STILL GENERATE SOME TDA. SO WL KEEP ADVISORY GOING UNTIL FROPA. && .GRB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SKOWRONSKI/KALLAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI 442 AM CDT THU OCT 25 2012 WIZ005-010>013-018>022-030-031-035>040-045-048>050-073-074-261100- VILAS-ONEIDA-FOREST-FLORENCE-NORTHERN MARINETTE-LINCOLN-LANGLADE- MENOMINEE-NORTHERN OCONTO-DOOR-MARATHON-SHAWANO-WOOD-PORTAGE- WAUPACA-OUTAGAMIE-BROWN-KEWAUNEE-WAUSHARA-WINNEBAGO-CALUMET- MANITOWOC-SOUTHERN MARINETTE-SOUTHERN OCONTO- 442 AM CDT THU OCT 25 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED AS WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL AND NORTH-CENTRAL WISCONSIN GRADUALLY EXPAND EAST TODAY. ANY HEAVY RAIN FALLING IN URBAN AREAS WHERE STORM SEWER GRATES ARE CLOGGED WITH FALLEN LEAVES COULD RESULT IN PONDING OF WATERS ON ROADWAYS AND IN PARKING LOTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO REPORT ANY MEASURED RAINFALL TOTALS OVER 1 INCH AND OBSERVATIONS OF STANDING WATER DUE TO HEAVY RAIN. LMZ521-522-541>543-261100- THE BAY OF GREEN BAY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CEDAR RIVER MI TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE-LAKE MICHIGAN FROM WASHINGTON ISLAND TO SHEBOYGAN- 442 AM CDT THU OCT 25 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST LAKE MICHIGAN AND THE WATERS OF GREEN BAY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...PATCHY DENSE FOG...STRONG SOUTH WINDS...AND INCREASING WAVES WILL ALL POSE A HAZARD TO BOATERS TODAY. THE FOG AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL END BY EARLY TONIGHT AND WAVES WILL START TO DECREASE...BUT WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO POSE A HAZARD TO BOATERS THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. JS/AK
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</html>The La Crosse radar (KARX), 142 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:51 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds downed two barns, heavily damaged a metal pole barn, toppled trees and power lines, and damaged two silos in the Town of Hull, east of Colby.
Strong thunderstorm winds knocked over a couple of trees, one on to a house. The winds also blew an empty tractor trailer on to its side.
Thunderstorms produced wind gusts estimated as high as 60 mph in Merrill.
A thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph was recorded at Oneida County Airport in Rhinelander.
Nickel size hail fell north of Rhinelander.
Quarter size hail fell in Schofield.
Quarter size hail fell in Weston.
Half dollar size hail fell in Weston.
Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Pickerel.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, October 2012
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 410428, 411012, 410430, 410431, 410424, 410425, 410426, 412048, 410432.