Wisconsin, 2020

Winter Storm and Lakeshore Flood in Wisconsin, January 17 to 18, 2020

January 17 to 18, 2020 · NWS GRB · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system tracked from the central Plains through the western Great Lakes region, bringing 8 to 12 inches to portions of central and northeast Wisconsin. The snow fell in two rounds, the first Friday evening with gusty southeast winds and the second early Saturday morning.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
3

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.

A strong low pressure system tracked from the central Plains through the western Great Lakes region, bringing 8 to 12 inches to portions of central and northeast Wisconsin. The snow fell in two rounds, the first Friday evening with gusty southeast winds and the second early Saturday morning.

The strong southeast winds and record high lake levels also caused some flooding along Lake Michigan Saturday morning.

Some of the highest snowfall totals included 11.8 inches in Fish Creek (Door Co.), 10.0 inches in Gills Rock (Door Co.), 9.0 inches near Ephraim (Door Co.), and 8.2 inches in Clintonville (Waupaca 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 17, 2:39 PM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 17, 2:39 PM CST, 2 hours 21 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 17, 2:23 PM CST, 2 hours 37 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>

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 17, 4:50 PM CST, 10 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

2 winter storm, 1 lakeshore flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Waupaca

When
January 17, 5:00 PM CST to January 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Waupaca forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.470, -88.965 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The highest snowfall totals across Waupaca County included 8.2 inches in Clintonville and 8.0 inches near Iola.

Winter Storm, Door

When
January 17, 7:00 PM CST to January 18, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Door forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.838, -87.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The highest snowfall totals across Door County included 11.8 inches in Fish Creek, 10.0 inches in Gills Rock, and 9.0 inches near Ephraim.

Lakeshore Flood, Kewaunee

When
January 18, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where
Kewaunee forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
44.483, -87.514 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong southeast winds and record high lake levels on Lake Michigan caused flooding at the Algoma Marina parking lot.

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Lakeshore Flood
Flooding along the shore of one of the Great Lakes or another large lake.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, January 2020

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 865449, 865451, 871964.