Heavy snow and ice - December 27-28 1904. Southern and central Wisconsin. 26 inches of snow in Neillsville (Clark County) in 24 hours. Still stands as record for 24 hour snowfall in the state.
Heavy snow and wind - November 27-28, 1905. Northwest Wisconsin. 7 inches of snow. Sustained winds of 42 mph for 29 straight hours. 65 mph winds for 13 continuous hours. Severe drifting. Ship Mataafa grounded and breaks in two in Duluth harbor.
Heavy snow and ice - January 30-February 1, 1915. Southern and central Wisconsin. Widespread glazing; 10 inches of snow in Milwaukee.
Blizzard - February 12-14, 1923. Statewide. Heavy snow and high winds lead to severe drifting.
Blizzard - February 4-5, 1924. Southern Wisconsin. Heavy snow and gusty winds. 20.3 inches In Milwaukee - Heaviest snowfall in 24 hours.
Blizzard - February 8-10, 1936 - Statewide. Heavy snow and strong winds cause severe drifting.
Armistice Day blizzard - November 11-12, 1940. Western Wisconsin. Heavy snow with winds of 50 to 80 mph. 10 to 20 foot drifts. Temperatures fell from the 60s on the morning of the 11th, to the single digits by the morning of the 12th. 13 deaths in Wisconsin, mainly duck hunters along the Mississippi River.
Heavy snow and ice - November 6-8, 1943. Statewide. 10 to 18 inches of snow. Ice accumulations along with snow blocked roads for several days.
Blizzard of 1947 - January 28-30, 1947. Southern Wisconsin. Longest lasting on record in southern Wisconsin. 18 to 27 inches of snow. 35 - 45 mph winds with gusts to 60 mph. 10 to 15 foot drifts.
Snowstorm 1973 - April 8-9, 1973. South half of state. 10 to 20 inches of heavy, wet snow. Wind gusts to 50 mph. Many roads, including the interstates, were closed for 2 days. Thunderstorms accompanied the snow, with snowfall rates peaking at 2-3 inches per hour at the height of the storm.
Major snowstorm - November 9-10, 1975. Northern Wisconsin. 10 to 14 inches of snow. Wind Gusts in excess of 50 mph; hurricane force winds over Lake Superior. Edmund Fitzgerald sinks Nov. 10th on Lake Superior.
Blizzard of 1975 - January 10-12, 1975. Eastern Nebraska/Western Iowa through Minnesota to Western Wisconsin. 12 to 24 inches of snow. 80mph wind gusts. 20 foot drifts. Below zero temperatures.
Ice storm - March 4-5, 1976. Southern and eastern Wisconsin. Ice accumulations of up to 5 inches downed trees, power lines and poles, and glazed roads. Wind gusts up to 60 mph. Rural areas without power for 10 days.
Heavy Snow - December 30-31, 1978. Southeast Wisconsin. New Year's Eve revelers had their plans severely curtailed when up to a foot of snow fell in portions of southeast Wisconsin.
Blizzard - January 25-27, 1978. Southeastern Wisconsin. 1 to 2 feet of snow. 50 to 70 mph winds. 10 to15 foot drifts.
Near Blizzard - January 12-14, 1979. Southeast. 12 to 20 inches of snow. Drifts to 8 feet.
Record snow depth in Milwaukee - 33 inches on ground between January 25-27, 1979. Depth reached after a monthly record 27.9 inches of snow fell in December 1998, and another 33.3 inches of snow fell between January 1-25, 1979.
Blizzard - January 3-4, 1982. Southeast half of state. 8 to 16 inches of snow. This storm was followed on January 10th, with strong winds and an Arctic outbreak, bringing sharply colder temperatures. Wind chill readings in Milwaukee dipped to 83 degrees below zero, with a low temperature of 25 degrees below zero, and 27 mph sustained winds, with gusts to 45 mph. The record low temperature for Milwaukee was set on January 17, 1982 at 26 degrees below zero This mark was tied on February 3, 1996.
Blizzard - January 22-23, 1982. North half of state. 10 to 20 inches of snow.
Heavy snow - November 30-December 2, 1985. Statewide (except southeast corner). Widespread 10 to 18 inches of snow.
Blizzard - December 14-15, 1987. South half of state. 10 to 17 inches of snow. Wind gusts to 73 mph along the Lake Michigan shore in Milwaukee, generated 10 to 15 foot waves. The large waves repeatedly pushed a Greek cargo ship into a dock in the harbor, causing $100,000 in damage . Washington county reported 16 inches of snow. Milwaukee and Madison had 13 inches of snow.
Unseasonably early and late snow - October 19-20, 1989 and May 10, 1990. The winter season of 1989-90 was bracketed by 2 heavy, wet snows in eastern and southeastern Wisconsin. Milwaukee recorded 6.3 inches of snow on October 19th and 20th that coated power lines and trees still full of fall foliage. The weight of the snow dropped trees and power lines, cutting off power to eight thousand residents. The same situation occurred on May 10th, 1990 when 6 to 8 inches of snow fell in a band that extended from southern Oconto county, to northern Racine and Walworth counties. Trees, with their spring leaves sprouting, caught more of the snow than if they had been bare. Again, the weight of the wet snow, accompanied by 35 mph winds, snapped tree limbs and power lines. 30,000 customers were without power for two days, with damage totaling $4 million dollars.
Blizzard - December 2-3, 1990. South half of state. 10 to 20 inches of snow with strong, gusty winds. Madison had 17.3 inches of snow (most recorded in 24 hours).
Halloween Snow Storm - October 31- November 2, 1991. Northwest and west central Wisconsin. 15 to 30 inches of snow. 6 to 10 foot drifts.
Heavy Snow - January 25-27, 1996. South central and southeastern Wisconsin. A major winter storm dumped 6 to 15 inches of snow over southern Wisconsin. 40 mph winds kept snow plows off the highways, and Interstate 90/94 was closed in several stretches around Madison. Thunder accompanied the snow in the afternoon hours of the 25th, with snowfall rates peaking at 3 to 4 inches per hour. Madison recorded 8 inches of snow in less than 2 hours, with a total of 13.4 inches. Berlin and Markesan (Green Lake county) reported 15 inches of snow, with Oconomowoc (Waukesha) and Janesville (Rock) receiving 6 inches.
Record Cold - January 31- February 4, 1996. High temperatures ranged from the teens to twenties below zero; lows dropped to the 30s to 50s below zero. State's record coldest temperature -55 F set in Courderay on February 2nd and 4th. -18.3 degree state average temperature is the second coldest 4-day stretch in history. (Coldest was -18.6 avg from February 8-11, 1899). Many all time, monthly, and daily low temperature records set across the state.
Record seasonal snowfall for the state - Hurley,
Wi. 277.7 inches in the winter of 1996-97. Eight consecutive months where snow was measured somewhere in the state - October 1996 to May 1997. Six to eight inches of snow fell in northwest Wisconsin on May 11-12, 1997.
Snowstorm - March 13-14, 1997. Northern two thirds of Wisconsin. 12 to 28 inches of snow. 28 inches recorded in Wautoma (Waushara county). 19 inches was recorded at Tomah (Monroe county), with 12 inches at Hayward (Sawyer county). Green Bay (14.5 inches) and La Crosse (14.3 inches) set 24 hour snowfall records for the month of March. Some thundersnow helped contribute to the large snowfall totals.
Blizzard/Winter Storm of 1999 - January 2, 1999 - Southern and eastern Wisconsin. 10 to 20inches of snow across the southern half of the state...with 10 to 12 inches in the northeast and north central sections of the state. Wind gusts of 45 mph to 63 mph.
