A strong low pressure system moved from Ontario to Hudson Bay as high pressure drifted across the southern Mississippi Valley. The pressure difference created high winds across the western Great Lakes for two days.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 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 GRB wrote it up.
A strong low pressure system moved from Ontario to Hudson Bay as high pressure drifted across the southern Mississippi Valley. The pressure difference created high winds across the western Great Lakes for two days. Winds gusted over 45 mph across much of central and northeast Wisconsin for much of the event and gusts near 60 mph were measured at several locations. In some locations the high winds knocked out power; downed, snapped and uprooted trees; and caused roof damage. A couple of semitrailers on I-39 were toppled by the high winds.
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 Mar 7, 3:17 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Green Bay WI 317 PM CST Tue Mar 7 2017 Forecast discussion for routine afternoon forecast issuance .SHORT TERM...Tonight and Wednesday Issued at 317 PM CST Tue Mar 7 2017 A tight surface pressure gradient associated with strong low pressure in western Ontario will remain across the forecast area through Wednesday. Winds should diminish a bit tonight and then increase once again Wednesday as mixing increases. Have opted to keep the wind advisory in effect through Wednesday, though speeds and gusts are expected to be below advisory criteria for a while during the night. Think winds may be even stronger on Wednesday than they were today. Models showed some QPF in the area this afternoon/evening and SPC had central and eastern Wisconsin in a general risk for thunder. Radar mosaic of the Plains and western Great Lakes showed showers moving east and rapidly developing from western Wisconsin into South Dakota and Nebraska. Have a slight chance for showers going through this evening to account for them and will be adding a mention of thunder shortly. We should start to lose the steep lapse rates around sunset so expect convection to diminish thereafter. Have a mention of snow showers across northern Wisconsin later tonight and Wednesday morning in cold cyclonic flow as the low moves east. Winds tonight should help to keep temperatures from tanking, but cold advection will result in much cooler highs on Wednesday. .LONG TERM...Wednesday Night Through Tuesday Issued at 317 PM CST Tue Mar 7 2017 Primarily zonal flow remains in place Wednesday night through Saturday. A high pressure system to the northwest over Alberta will switch westerly flow over to the north by Thursday morning. Tranquil and dry conditions are expected as the stationery front is kept south of the region, stretched across Nebraska and Iowa to the Wisconsin-Illinois border. The only exception will be a few light lake effect snow showers over Vilas County during this period. A bit of a more tricky situation then develops for the end of the weekend into Monday as the high pressure system over Canada weakens, and the low pressure system over the central plains heads to the region. An extended period of precipitation is expected over the area Sunday night through Monday as weak warm air advection enters the region along with a surface trough. The overall strength of the warm air advection is still variable but currently not expected to change over precipitation types from snow to rain until Monday afternoon. Depending on the exact placement of the center of the low as we get closer, it is possible to see more mixed precipitation and possibly an earlier or more extensive switch to rain across the Fox Valley or possibly no switch if the low retains a more southerly track and we stay in the cold sector. This potential system will be watched as it draws closer. With primarily northerly flow in store for the region through the next few days and into the weekend, both high and low temperatures will be a few degrees below normal. Temperatures then return closer to normal with the weak warm air advection next Monday. && .AVIATION...for 18Z TAF Issuance Issued at 1154 AM CST Tue Mar 7 2017 Strong and gusty surface winds remain a concern today. LLWS is expected overnight as winds within the first 2000 feet of the surface increase and veer. More strong and gusty surface winds are in store during the day on Wednesday as well. At midday there were still some MVFR ceilings in far northern Wisconsin but those clouds were on their way out of the state. Expect VFR conditions to prevail through Wednesday morning, though SPC had an outlook for general thunder across mainly central and east central Wisconsin and surface lapse rates were quite steep. So, cannot rule out thunderstorms but do not feel the chance is high enough to warrant including in a tempo group. && .GRB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 7 PM CST Wednesday for WIZ005-010>013- 018>022-030-031-035>040-045-048>050-073-074. && SHORT TERM.....MG LONG TERM......Uhlmann AVIATION.......MG
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Green Bay WI 323 PM CST Tue Mar 7 2017 WIZ005-010>013-018>022-030-031-035>040-045-048>050-073-074-082130- Vilas-Oneida-Forest-Florence-Northern Marinette County-Lincoln- Langlade-Menominee-Northern Oconto County-Door-Marathon-Shawano- Wood-Portage-Waupaca-Outagamie-Brown-Kewaunee-Waushara-Winnebago- Calumet-Manitowoc-Southern Marinette County- Southern Oconto County- 323 PM CST Tue Mar 7 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north-central and northeast Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...Tonight Southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph or greater will continue into the early evening. These gusts could knock down small branches and make driving large vehicles difficult. Winds should decrease a bit during the overnight hours. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Tuesday Another period of strong winds can be expected on Wednesday. Gusts up to 50 mph will make isolated power outages possible, along with ice shoves along eastern Lake Winnebago and western Door County. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are requested to report wind gusts over 40 mph. LMZ521-522-541>543-082130- The Bay of Green Bay south of a line from Cedar River MI to Rock Island Passage-Lake Michigan from Washington Island to Sheboygan- 323 PM CST Tue Mar 7 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northwest Lake Michigan and the waters of Green Bay. .DAY ONE...Tonight Southwest winds will gust to gale force tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Tuesday Southwest to west winds will gust to gale force Wednesday morning before subsiding by the evening. MG/Uhlmann
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI
429 PM CST TUE MAR 07 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0421 PM SNOW WAUSAU 44.96N 89.63W
03/07/2017 U0.0 INCH MARATHON WI TRAINED SPOTTER
THUNDERSNOW. MINOR ACCUMULATIONS ON GRASSY SURFACES
0426 PM SNOW 4 NE IOLA 44.54N 89.05W
03/07/2017 U0.0 INCH WAUPACA WI TRAINED SPOTTER
MINOR ACCUMULATIONS.
0415 PM SNOW STEVENS POINT 44.51N 89.56W
03/07/2017 U0.0 INCH PORTAGE WI TRAINED SPOTTER
SNOWING. MINOR ACCUMULATION.
&&
BERSCHThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 high wind, 2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust to 61 mph was measured at Central Wisconsin Airport, near Mosinee.
A wind gust to 61 mph was measured at Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport.
A wind gust to 59 mph was measured at Wautoma Municipal Airport.
A wind gust to 68 mph was measured near Antigo.
A wind gust to 60 mph was measured near Plover.
A wind gust to 59 mph was measured at Wausau Downtown Airport.
A wind gust to 63 mph was measured at Omro.
A wind gust to 59 mph was measured at Marshfield Municipal Airport.
A wind gust, estimated at 45 mph, caused the door of a semitrailer to violently swing open and throw a man to the ground. He had been holding onto the door as it swung open. Exact location and time of this event are estimated.
Wind gusts measured to 46 mph during the late morning and early afternoon hours of March 8th overturned 2 semitrailers on I-39.
Winds gusted to an estimated 65 mph at Hortonville downing tree limbs and ripping shingles from the roof of at least one building.
High winds downed, uprooted and snapped pine trees and downed tree limbs in New London. Wind gusts there were estimated to be as high as 66 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, March 2017
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: 683392, 683384, 683404, 683389, 683401, 683391, 683406, 683399, 683435, 683432, 683403, 683402.