A red flag warning was in effect over southern Wisconsin on April 12 due to critical fire weather conditions. The Governor of Wisconsin issued Executive Order #191, declaring a state of emergency in response to the elevated wildfire conditions.
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.
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 ARX wrote it up.
A red flag warning was in effect over southern Wisconsin on April 12 due to critical fire weather conditions. The Governor of Wisconsin issued Executive Order #191, declaring a state of emergency in response to the elevated wildfire conditions. Multiple wildfires were reported from April 12th to 14th, with the two most notable burning west of Warrens (Monroe County) and near Necedah (Juneau County). These fires burned 3,092 and 100 acres, respectively, with both requiring evacuations.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 12, 4:41 AM CST, 5 hours 19 minutes earlier.
<!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><!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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A fire began in the Town of Necedah on April 12th, spreading towards multiple housing structures. Evacuations of three separate streets in town were implemented. A total of 100 acres burned.
Critical fire weather conditions led to a prescribed burn west of Warrens becoming uncontained, and eventually burning 3,092 acres from April 12th to April 14th. Many local roads along Arcadia Avenue were closed due to the fire, as was Interstate 94 and US Highway 12 between Tomah and Black River Falls due to smoke and poor visibility. Many families were evacuated. Three structures were damaged and one shed was destroyed by the flames.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 2023
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: 1088679, 1088678.