Wisconsin, 2022

Extreme Cold in Wisconsin, December 22 to 23, 2022

December 22 to 23, 2022 · NWS MKX · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

Strong and deepening low pressure from the Lower Great Lakes into southern Quebec brought an arctic air mass with wind gusts of 30-50 mph across southern WI. Minimum wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 below to 45 below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 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
20

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 MKX wrote it up.

Strong and deepening low pressure from the Lower Great Lakes into southern Quebec brought an arctic air mass with wind gusts of 30-50 mph across southern WI. Minimum wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 below to 45 below zero. Some blowing and drifting snow occurred during this time. Schools and many public and private events were cancelled. Warming centers were opened especially in large urban areas.

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 Milwaukee, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 22, 3:31 PM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 3:31 PM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 22, 3:46 PM CST, 2 hours 14 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 22, 12:55 PM CST, 5 hours 5 minutes before
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Local storm report, Dec 22, 3:01 PM CST, 2 hours 59 minutes before
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Local storm report, Dec 22, 3:03 PM CST, 2 hours 57 minutes before
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Local storm report, Dec 22, 5:22 PM CST, 38 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lafayette

When
December 22, 6:00 PM CST to December 23, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Lafayette forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.661, -90.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 41 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Green

When
December 22, 7:00 PM CST to December 23, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Green forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 43 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sauk

When
December 22, 8:00 PM CST to December 23, 1:00 PM CST
Where
Sauk forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 38 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Iowa

When
December 22, 8:00 PM CST to December 23, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Iowa forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.001, -90.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 41 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Columbia

When
December 22, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Columbia forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 41 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Green Lake

When
December 22, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Green Lake forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.800, -89.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Marquette

When
December 22, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Marquette forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.820, -89.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dane

When
December 22, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Dane forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 38 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Walworth

When
December 22, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 39 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Waukesha

When
December 22, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Waukesha forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jefferson

When
December 22, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.021, -88.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Rock

When
December 22, 10:30 PM CST to December 23, 1:00 PM CST
Where
Rock forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.671, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 38 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Washington

When
December 22, 10:30 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.369, -88.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 38 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Milwaukee

When
December 22, 11:00 PM CST to December 23, 1:00 PM CST
Where
Milwaukee forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 37 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dodge

When
December 22, 11:30 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.416, -88.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 44 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ozaukee

When
December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Ozaukee forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.403, -87.891 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 38 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kenosha

When
December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Kenosha forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.573, -87.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Fond du Lac

When
December 23, 1:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Fond du Lac forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.754, -88.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 41 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sheboygan

When
December 23, 2:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Sheboygan forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.756, -87.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 42 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Racine

When
December 23, 3:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Racine forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.730, -87.812 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranging from 30 below to 35 below zero.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, December 2022

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1063986, 1063987, 1063983, 1063984, 1063906, 1063907, 1063909, 1063985, 1063989, 1063990, 1063991, 1063988, 1063993, 1063994, 1063992, 1063995, 1063996, 1063998, 1063999, 1063997.