A surface low tracked from South Dakota to the northwestern Great Lakes late Sunday night (12/26) into Monday morning (12/27), bringing a period of moderate to heavy snow during the early morning, changing over to freezing drizzle later in the morning to north-central Wisconsin. Vilas County measured 6 to 8 inches of snow during the early morning before transitioning to freezing drizzle.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 surface low tracked from South Dakota to the northwestern Great Lakes late Sunday night (12/26) into Monday morning (12/27), bringing a period of moderate to heavy snow during the early morning, changing over to freezing drizzle later in the morning to north-central Wisconsin. Vilas County measured 6 to 8 inches of snow during the early morning before transitioning to freezing drizzle.
Some of the highest snowfall totals in Vilas County included 7.7 inches near Boulder Junction and in Land O' Lakes, 7.5 inches in Manitowish Waters, and 6.0 inches in Presque Isle.
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 Dec 26, 11:57 PM CST, 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Green Bay WI 1157 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 Updated aviation portion for 06Z TAF issuance .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 242 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 A couple bouts of snow the next few days, with temperatures trending back down closer to seasonal normals to round out 2021. Strong ridging near 155W will remain the dominant large scale feature over the eastern Pacific/NOAM area throughout the period. That will maintain troughing over the western CONUS, and a southwest upper flow across the forecast area. Shortwaves ejecting out of the western trough and riding northeast within the baroclinic zone across the area will result in a fairly active pattern, with several rounds of snow and above normal precipitation likely during the period. Temperatures will begin the period above normal, then settle back closer to normal as a colder air mass from Canada becomes established across the region. && .SHORT TERM...Tonight and Monday Issued at 242 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 Main forecast concerns continue to be potential snow accumulation and ice accumulation this evening through roughly midday Monday. The 19Z MSAS surface analysis indicated high pressure that extended from Ontario southward into the Great Lakes. An area of low pressure was situated over the central High Plains with a warm front extended east-southeast toward the Ozarks. Visible satellite imagery already had mid and high clouds streaming into WI with lake effect clouds impacting parts of east-central WI. Surface reports still show no precipitation reaching the ground due to a dry lower level of the atmosphere. Models bring this area of low pressure northeast into the Upper MS Valley tonight, while an accompanying cold front approaches southwest WI by daybreak. Ahead of these features, a strong mid- level shortwave trough to move into the western Great Lakes region and provide strong Q-G and FGEN forcing from mid-evening through most of the night. Adding lift will be the left exit region of the upper jet. Putting this together (along with increasing WAA), will lead to snow overspreading the forecast area from southwest to northeast tonight with accumulations daybreak ranging from 2 to 4 inches north and central, 1 to 2 inches for east-central WI. Models also show a loss of ice aloft late tonight over central and east-central WI, thus the snow should become mixed with freezing drizzle. Another factor for tonight will be the gusty east winds that may surpass 30 mph at times. These winds, coupled with WAA ahead of the system, will lead to slowly rising temperatures through the night. This mix of snow, then freezing drizzle will make for slippery and potentially hazardous driving conditions for the morning commute. Freezing drizzle is expected to continue into Monday morning, however as temperatures moderate, parts of central and east- central WI will transition to drizzle, before ending around midday. Northern WI should see light snow or freezing drizzle continue through the morning until the cold front clears the area. Any additional snow accumulation is expected to be an inch or less while ice accumulation should be a tenth of an inch or less. Subsidence and drier air advecting into the southern half of WI should allow for skies to become partly cloudy across central/ east-central WI during the afternoon hours. Gusty west winds are also expected by the afternoon with gusts of 30 to 35 mph. Max temperatures for Monday to range from the lower 30s north-central, to near 40 degrees east-central WI. .LONG TERM...Monday Night Through Sunday Issued at 242 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 Temperatures Monday night at the start of the long-term portion of the forecast were tricky. Clouds will likely decrease during the evening, then increase again late. That may leave a window of time where mostly clear skies, light winds, and a fresh snowcover allow temperatures to drop off quickly. Went below the NBM for mins--closer to a blend of the bias-corrected guidance products. Another shortwave ejecting ENE across the Plains will push into the region, bringing a band of snow through the area through the area Tuesday afternoon and evening. In many ways, the system looks similar to the system that will be arriving tonight. Expect a general 2-4 inch snowfall across the area, with the precipitation again likely ending as DZ/FZDZ as the middle-level moisture strips off to the northeast. Another round of two of light snow or flurries is possible during the latter part of the work week--especially across the north. But those do not look as substantial as the ones tonight and Tuesday night. Beyond that, the models seem to be converging on having a major shortwave eject eastward across the CONUS early next weekend, driving a significant frontal wave into the Great Lakes region. That would lead to another round of snow Saturday, though the details of exactly where that will occur are still in doubt this far in advance. && .AVIATION...for 06Z TAF Issuance Issued at 1156 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 IFR and LIFR conditions moved into the area as snow began to spread across the region. The snow will be moderate to heavy at times causing very low visibilities with the addition of gusty east winds with gusts of 20 to 30 kts. The snow will continue overnight before transitioning to a drizzle or freezing drizzle Monday morning. The precipitation will come to an end by mid- afternoon ending from southwest to northeast. MVFR conditions may stick around through the afternoon due to a lingering low-level deck of clouds. The gusty east winds will turn southwest to west and remain gusty through Monday afternoon and evening. A period of LLWS is then expected Monday evening with winds of 45 to 50 kts around 2000 ft AGL. && .GRB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM CST Monday for WIZ022- 038>040-048>050. Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM CST Monday for WIZ030-031- 035>037-045. Winter Weather Advisory until 2 PM CST Monday for WIZ005-010>013- 018>021-073-074. && SYNOPSIS.......Skowronski SHORT TERM.....Kallas LONG TERM......Skowronski AVIATION.......Hykin
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Green Bay WI 221 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 WIZ005-010>013-018>022-030-031-035>040-045-048>050-073-074-272030- 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- 221 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north-central and northeast Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...Tonight Hazardous travel conditions are expected to develop tonight. Snow will push across the area from southwest to northeast during the evening, and then continue overnight. Snowfalls will range from 3 to 5 inches in north-central Wisconsin to 1 to 3 inches in east- central portions of the state. The snow may change to freezing drizzle over parts of central and east-central Wisconsin toward daybreak Monday. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Sunday The hazardous travel conditions will continue Monday morning as the wintry precipitation diminishes from south to north. Hazardous travel conditions are possible again Tuesday afternoon and evening as another round of snow affects the region. Two to four inches of accumulation is possible. Another round of snow is possible Saturday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are requested to forward snowfall or ice measurements to the National Weather Service in Green Bay. LMZ521-522-541>543-272030- The Bay of Green Bay south of a line from Cedar River MI to Rock Island Passage-Lake Michigan from Washington Island to Sheboygan- 221 PM CST Sun Dec 26 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northwest Lake Michigan and the waters of Green Bay. .DAY ONE...Tonight Some gale force wind gusts from the southeast are possible tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Sunday Some gale force wind gusts are possible Monday as winds shift to the west in the afternoon. Kallas/Skowronski
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI
1130 PM CST SUN DEC 26 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1100 PM SNOW MARATHON CITY 44.95N 89.84W
12/26/2021 E1.8 INCH MARATHON WI PUBLIC
1.75 TO 2.0 INCHES SO FAR THROUGH 11 PM
&&
MIKE.CELLITTIThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
The highest snowfall totals across Vilas County included 7.7 inches near Boulder Junction and in Land O' Lakes, 7.5 inches in Manitowish Waters, and 6.0 inches in Presque Isle.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, December 2021
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: 991522.