Arctic air plunged into southern WI in the wake of a snowstorm and arctic cold front. Ambient air temperatures dropped well below zero the morning of Dec.
Every event with a place to put it; 20 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 MKX wrote it up.
Arctic air plunged into southern WI in the wake of a snowstorm and arctic cold front. Ambient air temperatures dropped well below zero the morning of Dec. 19th. Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 35 below zero. One death due to hypothermia was reported. Some schools were delayed or cancelled the morning of Dec. 19th. Warming centers were opened in many cities across southern WI.
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 Dec 17, 9:43 PM CST, 5 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan WI
943 PM CST Sat Dec 17 2016
.UPDATE...Mid level frontogenesis band not as heavy as earlier but
nonetheless accumulating snow will continue over se WI until
midnight. Winter Storm Warning will expire at midnight over se WI.
Very light snow will then likely linger to 3 am over far se WI.
Nwly winds have been increasing this evening which will lead to
some blowing and drifting snow and resultant snow covered roads
into Sun morning.
The arctic front will drop temps below zero for Sun AM and likely
remain below zero for the day with perhaps far ern WI just above
zero. Wind chills will range from 15 to 30 below zero in the
morning warming to 15 to 20 below for the middle of the day before
returning to bitterly cold values by late afternoon into Mon AM.
Lows Mon AM still looking to be 10 to 16 below zero. Kept it
simple with the wind chill advisory and issued it from Sun AM
until 10 am Mon.
&&
.AVIATION/06Z TAFS/...Light snow will end by midnight or 1 am or
south central WI but not until around 3 am over far se WI. Stratus
clouds will clear over south central during the early morning
hours and 2-3 hours before sunrise in se WI. Cigs of 1-3 kft and
mvfr vsbys with the lgt snow is expected over se WI through 3 am.
VFR conditions are then expected for daytime hours through Sun
night.
&&
.MARINE...A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect until noon on
Sun. Brisk nwly winds and high waves will continue as an arctic
front moves across Lake MI. Winds and waves will subside some for
Sunday afternoon and night a ridge of high pressure shifts east
across the region.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 339 PM CST Sat Dec 17 2016/
SHORT TERM...
TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...Forecast Confidence Is High.
Winter Storm Warning continues into this evening across the area.
The second round of moderate to sometimes heavy snow will continue
to push slowly eastward through the area into this evening. This is
in association with robust 700 to 500 mb frontogenesis response. The
upward vertical motion will be fairly strong with this feature as it
moves through. This will continue to tap the dendrite snow crystal
growth zone, and this zone will become deeper as colder air moves
into the area.
Should continue to see 1/2 to 1 inch per hour snowfall rates with
this band of snow, with additional accumulations in the 3 to 5 inch
range, highest in the east near the lake. It look like the lake
effect band will remain just offshore, similar to mesoscale model
trends.
The snow should taper off from west to east this evening into the
overnight hours. Evening shift may need to extend current warning in
the eastern counties a few hours later, depending on how quickly the
current band moves through. Gusty northwest winds should kick in by
early this evening, bringing some blowing and drifting snow. This
should linger into later tonight.
Issued a Wind Chill Advisory for later tonight into Sunday morning
for the south central Wisconsin counties. This area should see the
snow end this evening, and have matched up with neighboring offices.
The rest of the area will need a Wind Chill Advisory as well for
this period, but will hold off on issuing it until the current
Winter Storm Warning ends. The far eastern counties may remain just
above the 20 below zero threshold, but will likely include them in
any advisory. Values in the 20 below to 30 below zero range still
look on track later tonight into Sunday morning.
Wind chills will remain just above the 20 below zero threshold
Sunday afternoon, before falling below it again by Sunday evening.
Will need another Wind Chill Advisory for Sunday night into Monday
morning across the area. Very cold lows below zero are expected away
from the lake, with highs Sunday remaining below zero inland. Skies
should clear out by Sunday.
SUNDAY night AND MONDAY...Forecast Confidence is High
The ridge axis over southeast Wisconsin Sunday evening will move
off to the southeast with a fairly brisk low level southwest
flow. There will be enough of a pressure gradient to keep winds
around 10 knots during the early morning hours of these mornings.
This will result in wind chill values around 20 below to 30 below
zero lingering through Monday morning with some relief during the
day. Gusty winds on Monday will keep wind chills to zero to 5
below during the afternoon. A wind chill advisory will likely be
needed for Sunday night and Monday morning.
LONG TERM...
TUESDAY THROUGH Thursday...Forecast Confidence is Moderate
low pressure moving just to the north of the great lakes will
moderate the temperatures. Winds will remain rather gusty due to a
tight pressure gradient.
A fairly strong mid/upper trough moves across the upper Mississippi
valley Wednesday and across Wisconsin Wednesday night.
The next chance for precip is Wednesday as low pressure moves
across Iowa and northern Illinois. There is not much moisture
with this system as flow is cut off from the gulf but some light
to moderate accumulation of snow is expected.
Friday and Saturday...Forecast Confidence is Moderate
A large mid/upper trough approaches, then moves across the plains
After high pressure moves across the mid Mississippi valley
thursday evening a trough will move across southern Wisconsin
Saturday with some light snow possible.
AVIATION/00Z TAFS/...
Current band of moderate to heavy snow is expected to continue to
shift east across the area into this evening. Madison should see the
highest snowfall rates of 1/2 to 1 inch per hour until around 02Z
Sunday. The eastern sites should see this until around 05Z Sunday.
Additional accumulations of 3 to 5 inches look reasonable through
tonight, highest toward Milwaukee and Kenosha.
Ceilings and visibilities should drop to below alternate minimums,
and visibilities perhaps near airport minimums, during the more
intense snowfall periods. Northwest winds will gradually increase
into this evening, with gusty northwest winds tonight into early
Sunday. Some blowing and drifting snow is anticipated tonight,
though visibilities should remain above 4 miles once the snow ends.
Winds will then gradually decrease Sunday. VFR conditions should
return for Sunday as well.
MARINE...
Northwest winds will increase to Small Craft Advisory levels by
early evening and continue through Sunday morning. There may be a
few gale force gusts tonight as well. Temperatures dropping to
around zero late tonight and Sunday morning will result in some
freezing spray. However, lake temperatures are still in the lower
40s, so this should limit the impact of any freezing spray.
Gusty southwest winds, building waves and freezing spray are
possible again Monday into Tuesday tonight. A Small Craft Advisory
may be needed for this period.
MKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WI...WINTER STORM WARNING until 9 PM CST this evening for WIZ046-047-
051-052-056>060-062>072.
WIND CHILL ADVISORY from 3 AM to noon CST Sunday for WIZ046-047-
056-057-062-063-067>069.
LM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY until noon CST Sunday for LMZ643>646.
TONIGHT/Sunday AND AVIATION/MARINE...Wood
&&
.MKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WI...WIND CHILL ADVISORY from 3 AM Sunday to 10 AM CST Monday for
WIZ046-047-056-057-062-063-067>069.
WINTER STORM WARNING until midnight CST tonight for WIZ059-060-
064>066-069>072.
WIND CHILL ADVISORY from 6 AM Sunday to 10 AM CST Monday for
WIZ051-052-058>060-064>066-070>072.
LM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY until noon CST Sunday for LMZ643>646.
&&
UPDATE...Gehring
TONIGHT/Sunday AND AVIATION/MARINE...Wood
Sunday NIGHT THROUGH Saturday...HentzHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI 1137 PM CST SAT DEC 17 2016 WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-190545- MARQUETTE-GREEN LAKE-FOND DU LAC-SHEBOYGAN-SAUK-COLUMBIA-DODGE- WASHINGTON-OZAUKEE-IOWA-DANE-JEFFERSON-WAUKESHA-MILWAUKEE- LAFAYETTE-GREEN-ROCK-WALWORTH-RACINE-KENOSHA- 1137 PM CST SAT DEC 17 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL WISCONSIN...SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW WILL DIMINISH ACROSS SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN BETWEEN 2 AM AND 4 AM. BRISK NORTHWEST WINDS WILL PRODUCE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. MOST ROADS WILL REMAIN SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY. WIND CHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO FALL IN THE 15 BELOW TO 30 BELOW ZERO RANGE. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES WILL BE WEST OF MADISON. WIND CHILL ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT OVER SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN BEGINNING AT 3 AM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING WITH LOWS 10 TO 15 BELOW ZERO AND WIND CHILLS OF 15 TO 30 BELOW ZERO. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN FROM SUNDAY MORNING UNTIL 10 AM MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED BUT SNOWFALL MEASUREMENTS ARE APPRECIATED. LMZ643>646-190545- 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- 1137 PM CST SAT DEC 17 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR BRISK NORTHWEST WINDS AND HIGH WAVES CONTINUES THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR FREEZING SPRAY AS WELL DUE TO BUILDING WAVES AND FALLING TEMPERATURES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A SMALL CRAFT MAY BE NEEDED AGAIN MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING DUE TO BRISK SOUTHWEST WINDS. WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MKX
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1215 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1214 AM SNOW 3 WNW BEAVER DAM 43.48N 88.89W
12/18/2016 M9.1 INCH DODGE WI TRAINED SPOTTER
STORM TOTAL
&&
SDAVISPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1216 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1216 AM SNOW 1 W OCONOMOWOC 43.11N 88.52W
12/18/2016 M8.2 INCH WAUKESHA WI NWS EMPLOYEE
&&
SDAVISPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1218 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1216 AM SNOW EDGERTON 42.84N 89.07W
12/18/2016 M7.2 INCH ROCK WI TRAINED SPOTTER
1216 AM SNOW MILTON 42.78N 88.95W
12/18/2016 M8.0 INCH ROCK WI NWS EMPLOYEE
&&
SDAVISPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1230 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1228 AM SNOW 1 SW PALMYRA 42.87N 88.60W
12/18/2016 M8.7 INCH JEFFERSON WI NWS EMPLOYEE
&&
SDAVISPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1231 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1230 AM SNOW 2 W MADISON 43.08N 89.42W
12/18/2016 M5.4 INCH DANE WI TRAINED SPOTTER
1230 AM SNOW GLENDALE 43.14N 87.94W
12/18/2016 M8.8 INCH MILWAUKEE WI BROADCAST MEDIA
&&
SDAVISPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
135 AM CST SUN DEC 18 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0135 AM SNOW PORT WASHINGTON 43.38N 87.87W
12/18/2016 M9.0 INCH OZAUKEE WI AMATEUR RADIO
&&
SDAVISThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
20 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 26 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 26 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 31 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 25 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 34 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 25 to 31 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 25 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 26 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 38 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 29 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th. A woman died of hypothermia according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office. She was found outside on the back stairs of her apartment.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 25 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 25 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 26 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 26 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 26 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 25 to 30 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 25 to 34 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 25 to 30 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 25 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
Wind chill temperatures dropped to 20 to 30 below zero with the coldest readings the morning of December 19th.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Milwaukee | 2016-12-19 | 64 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, December 2016
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: 664912, 664913, 664914, 664915, 664916, 664917, 664918, 664922, 664923, 664919, 664920, 664921, 664924, 664925, 664926, 664927, 664928, 664929, 664930, 664931.