Wisconsin, 2015

Extreme Cold in Wisconsin, January 4 to 5, 2015

January 4 to 5, 2015 · NWS GRB · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Temperatures in the 12 below to 22 below zero range combined with west winds of 10 to 20 mph to produce dangerous wind chills during the night of January 4th and the morning of the 5th. These dangerous wind chills were mainly across parts of central and north central Wisconsin.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
6

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.

Temperatures in the 12 below to 22 below zero range combined with west winds of 10 to 20 mph to produce dangerous wind chills during the night of January 4th and the morning of the 5th. These dangerous wind chills were mainly across parts of central and north central Wisconsin. The wind chill dropped as low as 44 below zero at Rhinelander (Oneida 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 Green Bay, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 4, 5:38 PM CST, 1 hour 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 4, 5:38 PM CST, 1 hour 52 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, Jan 4, 3:17 PM CST, 4 hours 13 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

6 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Vilas

When
January 4, 7:30 PM CST to January 5, 10:30 AM CST
Where
Vilas forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
46.053, -89.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The coldest wind chill recorded in Vilas County was 39 below zero at Manitowish Waters.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Langlade

When
January 4, 8:30 PM CST to January 5, 9:30 AM CST
Where
Langlade forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.262, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The coldest wind chill recorded in Langlade County was 39 below zero at Antigo.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Oneida

When
January 4, 10:30 PM CST to January 5, 10:30 AM CST
Where
Oneida forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.706, -89.522 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The coldest wind chill recorded in Oneida County was 44 below zero at Rhinelander.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Marathon

When
January 5, 3:30 AM CST to 9:30 AM CST
Where
Marathon forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
44.898, -89.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The coldest wind chill recorded in Marathon County was 36 below zero at both Wausau and Mosinee.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lincoln

When
January 5, 8:30 AM CST to 9:30 AM CST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.338, -89.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The coldest wind chill recorded in Lincoln County was 35 below zero at Merrill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Oconto

When
January 5, 8:30 AM CST to 9:30 AM CST
Where
Northern Oconto forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
44.999, -88.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills reached at least 35 below zero at times in Oconto County.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, January 2015

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 556267, 556276, 556268, 556270, 556269, 557320.