Name: Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 31, 2018
Start: 2018-12-31T00:00
End: 2018-12-31T23:59
Location: Wisconsin

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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 DLH wrote it up.

A cold front moving through the Northland spread snow into northwest Wisconsin and helped lay down a quick 3 to 6 inches of snow overnight. Lake effect snow occurred as well with light additional snowfall amounts that lasted into January 1st. South range reported 6 inches of snow while Gil in Iron County had 6.5.

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 30, 11:54 PM CST, 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 30, 11:54 PM CST, 6 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 30, 9:09 PM CST, 2 hours 51 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Duluth MN
909 PM CST Sun Dec 30 2018

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-010315-
Koochiching-North St. Louis-Northern Cook/Northern Lake-
North Itasca-Central St. Louis-Southern Lake/North Shore-
Southern Cook/North Shore-North Cass-South Itasca-South Cass-
Crow Wing-Northern Aitkin-South Aitkin-Carlton/South St. Louis-
Pine-Douglas-Bayfield-Ashland-Iron-Burnett-Washburn-Sawyer-Price-
909 PM CST Sun Dec 30 2018

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northeast
Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

Late tonight snowfall will spread across central and northeast
Minnesota, beginning in the Brainerd Lakes and Iron Range areas,
spreading toward the Twin Ports after midnight. The snow may begin
with a brief period of freezing rain. Snowfall rates in excess of
one inch per hour are possible at times. Overnight snowfall
ending 6 AM Monday morning will range from 1 to 3 inches across
northeast Minnesota, with less than one inch in northwest
Wisconsin.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday

Snowfall will impact the Monday morning commute for much of the
Northland, with areas from the Brainerd Lakes to the Twin Ports
being the hardest hit. In the morning hours moderate to heavy
snowfall rates are possible, causing snow to quickly accumulate on
roads and creating slippery conditions. Snowfall then moves into
northwest Wisconsin through the day Monday where lake enhancement
will result in heavy snowfall rates along the south shore during
Monday afternoon and evening. Monday day time snowfall amounts
will be around 2 to 4 inches in northeast Minnesota (mainly south
of the Iron Range), with 3 to 5 inches along the south shore,
lesser amounts further south. Freezing rain may mix with snow in
parts of northwest Wisconsin, but little ice accumulation is
expected.

An additional 1 to 3 inches will fall along the south shore
Monday night into Tuesday morning as lake effect snow lingers,
mainly in northern Iron and Ashland counties.

Storm total snowfall amounts will range from 3 to 6 inches in
northeast Minnesota and 4 to 8 inches in northwest Wisconsin
along the south shore. Areas north of the Iron Range will see
only 1-3 inches. See the latest Warnings and Advisories in effect
for more details.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Snow spotters are requested to report precipitation type...and
measurements of snow or ice accumulations to the National Weather
Service. Spotters and the public can also report precipitation
type with the free M-PING smartphone app.

LSZ121-140>148-010315-
Bayfield to Oak Point WI-Grand Portage to Grand Marais MN-
Grand Marais to Taconite Harbor MN-
Taconite Harbor to Silver Bay Harbor MN-
Silver Bay Harbor to Two Harbors MN-Two Harbors to Duluth MN-
Duluth MN to Port Wing WI-Port Wing to Sand Island WI-
Sand Island to Bayfield WI-Oak Point to Saxon Harbor WI-
909 PM CST Sun Dec 30 2018

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of the Nearshore
waters of western Lake Superior.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday

Increasing northeasterly winds will create hazardous waves for
small craft along the north shore of Lake Superior, Monday and
Monday evening. Gale force winds are forecast from the Twin Ports
east along the south shore of Lake Superior, Monday and Monday
evening. See the latest marine products for details on the small
craft advisory and gale warning.

LE/JJM/GSF

More information may be obtained at the following web address:
http://www.weather.gov/duluth (all lower case)

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Douglas

When: December 31, 12:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.464, -91.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Iron

When: December 31, 3:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.317, -90.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Started at 3AM on December 31st, 2018, and carried over into January 1st, 2019, ending at 11AM.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, December 2018

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: 798244, 798421.