Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 9 to 10, 2019

Name: Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 9 to 10, 2019
Start: 2019-12-09T01:00
End: 2019-12-10T11:00
Location: Wisconsin

December 9 to 10, 2019 · NWS DLH · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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.

Low pressure developed over Wyoming and Montana on the 8th and moved eastward across the Dakotas and into northeastern Iowa on the morning of the 9th, setting up an area of snow to the north of the low that passed across the Northland. Snow began the evening of the 8th and ended for most the afternoon of the 9th, although lake effect snows of Lake Superior lasted into the 10th before ending. Snowfall totals of 6 to 8 inches were common across much of northwestern Wisconsin with a high of just over 10 in northeastern Douglas County that was aided by lake enhancement from Lake Superior.

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 8, 11:54 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 8, 11:54 PM CST, 1 hour 6 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, Dec 8, 1:20 PM CST, 11 hours 40 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Duluth MN
120 PM CST Sun Dec 8 2019

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-091930-
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-
120 PM CST Sun Dec 8 2019

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

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and Tonight

A winter storm will bring snow to the Northland tonight. Winter
Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday

A winter storm will bring snow to the Northland Monday. Winter
Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect.

Cold, arctic air will cover the Northland Monday night through
Wednesday night, with wind chill values between -20 to -30 degrees
F Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Snow spotters are requested to report their snowfall measurements
tonight to the National Weather Service.

LSZ121-140>148-091930-
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-
120 PM CST Sun Dec 8 2019

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

.DAY ONE...This afternoon and Tonight

Northeast winds will strengthen this evening and overnight,
leading to building waves and hazardous conditions to smaller
vessels, particularly along the South Shore of Lake Superior.
Areas impacted will be from Silver Bay in northeast Minnesota to
Saxon Harbor in northern Wisconsin. A Small Craft Advisory is in
effect.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday

The Small Craft Advisory will continue through Monday afternoon,
ending from west to east in the afternoon and evening, lingering
longest over the Chequamegon Bay to Saxon Harbor areas.

Wolfe/JTS

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 8, 10:14 PM CST, 2 hours 46 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>

Local storm report, Dec 8, 10:47 PM CST, 2 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>

Local storm report, Dec 8, 10:55 PM CST, 2 hours 5 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>

Local storm report, Dec 8, 11:52 PM CST, 1 hour 8 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>

Local storm report, Dec 9, 12:02 AM CST, 58 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>

Local storm report, Dec 9, 12:03 AM CST, 57 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

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Douglas

When: December 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 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, Bayfield

When: December 9, 1:00 AM CST to December 10, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Bayfield forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.635, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ashland

When: December 9, 1:00 AM CST to December 10, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Ashland forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.510, -90.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Burnett

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to December 10, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Burnett forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.863, -92.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Washburn

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Washburn forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.899, -91.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sawyer

When: December 9, 3:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Sawyer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.880, -91.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Iron

When: December 9, 6:00 AM CST to December 10, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.317, -90.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, December 2019

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: 868510, 868511, 868512, 868514, 868515, 868516, 868513.