Wisconsin, 2023

Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 1, 2023

March 1, 2023 · NWS DLH · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A quick moving clipper system brought a swath of heavy snow to parts of northwest Wisconsin on the 1st. A band of 3 to 7 inches of accumulation stretched across Douglas, Bayfield and Ashland counties and into parts of Washburn County as well.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
4

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.

A quick moving clipper system brought a swath of heavy snow to parts of northwest Wisconsin on the 1st. A band of 3 to 7 inches of accumulation stretched across Douglas, Bayfield and Ashland counties and into parts of Washburn County as well. Lake-enhancement led to a high total of 8 inches in the city of Washburn in Bayfield County. Strong winds on the backside of the system led to blowing and drifting snow into the 2nd before high pressure built in.

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 Mar 1, 5:17 AM CST, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 5:17 AM CST, 43 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 1, 2:59 AM CST, 3 hours 1 minute 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

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Douglas

When
March 1, 6:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Douglas forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
46.464, -91.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals of 2 to 6 inches were reported across the county with a high report of 7.1 inches near Superior.

Heavy Snow, Washburn

When
March 1, 6:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Washburn forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.899, -91.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals of 3 to 6 inches were received across the county with a high report of 6 inches near Spooner.

Heavy Snow, Bayfield

When
March 1, 8:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Bayfield forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
46.635, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals of 4 to 7 inches were reported across the county with a high report of 8 inches recorded near Washburn.

Heavy Snow, Ashland

When
March 1, 8:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Ashland forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
46.510, -90.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals of 4 to 6 inches were reported across the county with a high report of 6.5 inches near Ashland.

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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, March 2023

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: 1085313, 1085316, 1085314, 1085315.