Power Outage in La Crosse, WI

COOP and volunteer snow observers reported that 2 to 5 inches of snow fell across La Crosse County. The highest reported total was 5.9 inches in Rockland. Power outages on December 15th affected more than 6,700 customers across the county.

Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were common across La Crosse County during the late evening of December 15th into the early morning of the 16th. The automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse airport measured a 68 mph gust. Several trees and power lines were blown down across the city of La Crosse causing some streets to be blocked off. Several vehicles were damaged by a downed tree on State Street.

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the northern part of La Crosse County.

Trees and power lines were blown down in the city of La Crosse. A boat (of unknown size) was flipped over on French Island.

COOP and volunteer snow observers reported that between 4 and 7 inches of snow fell across La Crosse County. In addition to the snow, a period of sleet and freezing rain occurred that coated exposed surfaces with a glaze of ice. With the glaze of ice, some power poles and lines were brought down by the strong winds causing about a 1,000 people to lose power. A lightning strike hit and destroyed a tree in West Salem.

Power lines were blown down in La Crosse.

Trees and power lines were blown down on the south side of La Crosse.

In the city of La Crosse, a garage roof was blown off, which brought power lines down onto a house starting a fire in the house.

Several trees and branches, along with a light pole, were blown down in the city of La Crosse. The power was out in some parts of the city.

The automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse airport and a mesonet reporting station near St. Joseph recorded wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph on March 16th. The highest recorded wind gust was 49 mph at the La Crosse airport and 45 mph near St. Joseph. These strong winds blew trees down and onto power lines in La Crosse.

Trees and power lines were blown down across Brice Prairie.

Lightning struck a power pole with the electrical surge going into a nearby house and starting a small fire in a La Crosse home.

Several trees and power lines were blown down in the city of La Crosse causing the power to be lost for about 5,000 customers.

Power lines were blown down in the town of Shelby. More than 440 people were without power when a tree fell on a power line.

Several trees and power lines were blown down in the city of La Crosse. One tree went down on an apartment building on South 33rd Street with several trees down in the vicinity of the Shelby ball fields.

This tornado originally began in Houston County Minnesota and crossed into La Crosse near Target Lake. The first damage occurred on Green Island where numerous mature trees were snapped off and substantial damage occurred to the Green Island ice arena. The tornado then moved into a residential area where buildings sustained partial roof removal and garages were heavily damaged. Buildings in a small industrial area near the intersection of Green Bay Street and West Ave had walls partially collapse causing the roofs to subsequently collapse and a small apartment complex had its roof cleanly removed. After this, the tornado tracked primarily through residential areas until it dissipated causing mainly tree damage and light structural damage to homes and garages. An estimated 200 homes and businesses were damaged, 9 homes were destroyed and another 6 buildings condemned and uninhabitable. An emergency shelter was set up where up to 40 people sought refuge at times with 14 spending the night. This tornado was the first to hit the city of La Crosse since 1966 when a tornado moved across the airport. Total damages were estimated to be just over $15 million. An estimated 6,300 customers lost power as a result of the tornado. There was not a single ambulance call right after the tornado, but some did occur during the following days during clean up.

This tornado originally began in Houston County Minnesota and crossed into La Crosse near Target Lake. The first damage occurred on Green Island where numerous mature trees were snapped off and substantial damage occurred to the Green Island ice arena. The tornado then moved into a residential area where buildings sustained partial roof removal and garages were heavily damaged. Buildings in a small industrial area near the intersection of Green Bay Street and West Ave had walls partially collapse causing the roofs to subsequently collapse and a small apartment complex had its roof cleanly removed. After this, the tornado tracked primarily through residential areas until it dissipated causing mainly tree damage and light structural damage to homes and garages. An estimated 200 homes and businesses were damaged, 9 homes were destroyed and another 6 buildings condemned and uninhabitable. An emergency shelter was set up where up to 40 people sought refuge at times with 14 spending the night. This tornado was the first to hit the city of La Crosse since 1966 when a tornado moved across the airport. Total damages were estimated to be just over $15 million. An estimated 6,300 customers lost power as a result of the tornado. There was not a single ambulance call right after the tornado, but some did occur during the following days during clean up.

Besides numerous trees and power lines blown down, many traffic signs were damaged and there were occasional brief power outages. A wind gust of 59 mph was recorded at the La Crosse Municipal Airport at 12:17 a.m. CST (1:17 a.m. CDT) on October 27th, followed by a gust of 58 mph on the south side of La Crosse around 1:25 a.m. CST (2:25 a.m. CDT). A peak gust of 69 mph hit areas southeast of La Crosse during the evening of October 26th at 7:20 p.m. CST (8:20 p.m. CDT). Winds topped at 54 mph at the National Weather Service office.

Power lines were blown down in the cities of La Crosse and Onalaska.

The emergency manager reported trees down on power lines at Mormon Coulee Road and Broadview in the city of La Crosse. This caused a traffic signal to malfunction.

Sporadic tree damage was reported around the city of La Crosse as weak thunderstorms passed by. Most of the trees were small, but a few of the trees took down some power lines on the north side of the city.

Power lines blown down in the city.

Several trees and power lines were blown down. Damage was also reported in the West Salem area.

Large tree branches were blown down in addition to power lines.

A large storm system impacted Wisconsin from the evening of Saturday, April 15th into Sunday night, April 16th. Initially, rain and thunderstorms spread through southern Wisconsin before switching over to snow during the morning hours of Sunday, April 16th. Heaviest snowfall occurred in central Wisconsin during the day Sunday, April 16th, where snowfall totals were 22.5 near Longwood (Clark County) and 22.0 near Black River Falls and Northfield (Jackson County). Many trees were beginning to leaf out following record breaking warmth the week prior, and the heavy snow load resulted in tree damage and power outages. The large amount of precipitation associated with this storm greatly impacted flooding along the Mississippi, Black, and Yellow Rivers and ultimately resulted in the Governor of Wisconsin issuing a State of Emergency declaration on April 16.

A slow moving storm system produced several days of snow across western Wisconsin. The snow began during the afternoon of February 21st and continued on and off into the morning of the 23rd. Initial light snow accumulations area wide became heavier during the night of the 22nd. The highest overall snowfall totals ranged from 12 to 14 inches from Buffalo into Taylor Counties from two separate bands, an initial band during the evening of the 21st and another heavier band through much of the 22nd into the morning of the 23rd. The Governor of Wisconsin declared an energy emergency that would allow for the swift and efficient restoration of any electric power outages. Interstate 94 near Osseo (Trempealeau County) was closed for a period during the morning of the 22nd because of a weather related accident.

A winter storm moved across the region late December 14th into the morning of December 15th. Snowfall amounts of 2 to 9 inches were reported from western Wisconsin to central Wisconsin, respectively. The highest reported totals were 9.3 inches in Mather (Jackson County), 9.0 inches in Greenwood (Clark County), and 8.5 inches in Tomah (Monroe County). This storm caused several power outages to occur with interruptions in La Crosse, Juneau, Monroe, Taylor, Trempealeau and Vernon Counties. The largest outage was in La Crosse County where more than 6,700 customers were without power. U.S. Highway 53 was closed near Pidgeon Falls (Trempealeau County) because of downed lines across the road.

Two rounds of storms moved across western Wisconsin on July 23rd. The first occurred in the afternoon and produced a tornado and wind damage. A brief EF0 tornado occurred just east of La Crosse (La Crosse County) that damaged trees along its path. The storms also produced high winds that caused considerable damage in and near Stoddard (Vernon County). A camper was blown over injuring the occupants and numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Trees were also blown down from near Viroqua (Vernon County) east to Ontario (Vernon County) and La Farge (Vernon County). The second round of storms occurred in the late evening and blew down trees near Wauzeka (Crawford County).

Severe storms moved across western Wisconsin during the evening of May 19th and produced a brief tornado, some damaging winds, and large hail. An EF0 tornado occurred southeast of Sparta (Monroe County) and destroyed a camper and outbuilding along with damaging farm equipment and trees. The automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse (La Crosse County) airport measured a 62 mph gust and a roof was damaged near Barre Mills (La Crosse County). Most of the hail that fell was quarter sized or smaller and the largest reported was golf ball sized in Holmen (La Crosse County). Around 3,800 customers were without power in La Crosse after the storms rolled through.

An intense storm system moved across the Upper Midwest on December 15th and produced a rare severe weather outbreak across western Wisconsin. Eight tornadoes occurred across parts of Trempealeau, Jackson and Clark Counties. Four of these tornadoes were rated EF2 and three EF1. The most substantial damage from the EF2 tornadoes occurred in Clark County. One tornado destroyed a home in the southwest corner of the county near Five Mile Creek west of Neillsville (Clark County). Another tornado caused extensive damage to farms and trees after moving through Stanley (Chippewa County) into the northwest corner of Clark County. An EF0 tornado passed through Perrot State Park (Trempealeau County) and damaged several homes on the west edge of Trempealeau (Trempealeau County). The other tornadoes largely moved through rural areas damaging trees, power lines and farm buildings. Because of the severe weather threat, the Rotary Lights display in La Crosse (La Crosse County) was closed for the first time in over 26 years where two temporary structures were destroyed.

Following behind the rare December severe weather outbreak, very strong winds buffeted western Wisconsin from the late evening of December 15th into the morning of the 16th. Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were common with a few gusts over 60 mph. The highest measured wind gust was 68 mph by the automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse airport (La Crosse County). In Gilman (Taylor County), a truck was damaged when a 10 inch pine tree fell on it. In La Crosse, several trees and power lines were blown down with some streets blocked by the downed trees. The high winds caused numerous power outages to occur across the area. On December 17th, schools were closed in Greenwood (Clark County), Sparta (Monroe County) and Thorp (Clark County).

Scattered thunderstorms moved across portions of western Wisconsin during the early afternoon of July 7th. Some of these storms produced large hail near Onalaska (La Crosse County) and blew down some power poles near Trempealeau (Trempealeau County).

Severe storms rolled across western Wisconsin during the late afternoon and evening of June 2nd. Some of these storms produced very large hail ranging in size from 1 inch up to 2.5 inches in diameter. One of the hardest hit areas by the hail was Holmen (La Crosse County) where it was estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 homes would need new roofs. Up to golf ball sized hail also fell near Pray (Jackson County) and near Dodge (Buffalo County). The storms also produced damaging winds with trees blown down across parts of Jackson, Monroe, Vernon, Adams and Juneau Counties. In Tomah (Monroe County), the roof canopy was blown off a grandstand at the county fairgrounds. The metal siding was ripped off a grain mill southeast of Ontario (Vernon County). More than 6,600 customers in the La Crosse area (La Crosse County) were without power after the storms moved through.

Scattered thunderstorms moved across parts of western Wisconsin during the afternoon and evening of May 26th. These storms blew down trees and power lines near Owen (Clark County) with one of the trees landing on a house. Additional storms during the evening caused more wind damage with trees blown down in La Crosse and Barre Mills (La Crosse County). In Onalaska (La Crosse County), a power pole was blown down along with some trees. The storms also spawned a funnel cloud near Greenwood (Clark County).

Two rounds of thunderstorms moved across western Wisconsin on July 20th. The first round moved across during the morning and produced two tornadoes. The first tornado touched down in far southeast Trempealeau County and damaged corn and trees. The second tornado occurred northeast of North Bend (Jackson County) with the damage again limited to corn and trees. This round of storms also blew down trees from near Galesville (Trempealeau County) and Holmen (La Crosse County) northeast to Spencer (Clark County). The second round of storms moved across during the afternoon and blew down trees near Rockland (La Crosse County) and Rockbridge (Richland County). Around 7,000 customers lost power in La Crosse County after the storms moved through. The Governor of Wisconsin declared a statewide State of Emergency. A federal disaster declaration was made for La Crosse, Monroe and Vernon Counties.

A line of severe thunderstorms moved across portions of western Wisconsin during the afternoon of June 30th. These storms primarily produced damaging winds with the southern half of Grant County hit the hardest. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down with an estimated 20,000 customers without power. A 75 mph wind gust was measured by the automated weather observing equipment at the Platteville airport (Grant County).

A strong early spring storm system produced snow, sleet and freezing rain across western Wisconsin from April 10th into the 11th. Snowfall amounts generally ranged from 5 to 10 inches. Strong east winds of 25 to 35 mph with higher gusts, brought down power lines across portions of Vernon and La Crosse Counties where enough freezing rain occurred to coat exposed surfaces. The highest reported snowfall total was 10.3 inches near Montana (Buffalo County).

With arctic air in place over western Wisconsin, air temperatures dropped into the 20s below zero from January 29th into January 31st. A few sites recorded temperatures in the 30s below zero on the morning of the 30th with several sites falling into the 30s and 40s below zero on the morning of the 31st. When combined with wind speeds of 5 to 25 mph, wind chills of 35 to 60 below were common. The coldest wind chill to occur was 57 below zero in Medford (Taylor County) during the morning of January 30th. One person suffered hypothermia related injuries near Hazel Green (Grant County) when they were found outdoors after about an hour. A power outage occurred across northern Grant County during the morning of January 30th that affected approximately 360 households. The Governor of Wisconsin declared a state of emergency because of the cold weather. Most western Wisconsin schools were closed from January 28th through the 31st. La Crosse (La Crosse County) city libraries closed because of the cold and this had never occurred in the past 34 years. The U.S. Post Office suspended delivery operations across all of western Wisconsin on January 30th and 31st. Classes at UW-La Crosse were canceled on January 30th and 31st while both Viterbo and Western Technical College canceled classes on the 30th and the morning of the 31st. More than 1,000 elderly people across La Crosse County did not receive meals during the cold outbreak as the county's senior nutrition program was closed.

A line of severe thunderstorms moved across western Wisconsin during the evening of August 27th. A brief tornado touched down and had an intermittent damage path between Tomah and Wyeville (Monroe County). The damage was limited to trees and power poles. These storms blew down trees and caused roof damage in Sparta (Monroe County), rolled a camper and damaged several signs near Tomah (Monroe County) and downed trees around Hixton (Jackson County) and in the Town of Cleveland (Jackson County). The storms then became oriented in an east to west line and dumped copious amounts of rain from southern La Crosse County and northern Vernon County east across the southern sections of Monroe, Juneau and Adams Counties. Numerous roads were closed because of flooding or mudslides, homes had to be evacuated with several water rescues were performed. Towns that were hit hard by the flooding included Coon Valley, Ontario (Vernon County), Elroy and Wonewoc (Juneau County). The eastbound Amtrak Empire Builder had to be halted near Tomah because of a washout on the rail line near Mauston (Juneau County). In Monroe and Vernon Counties, four earthen flood control dams failed and seven others sustained damage. Rainfall totals of 6 to 10 inches were common in this heavy rain band with the highest reported totals being 9.14 inches in Union Center (Juneau County) and 9.98 inches near Westby (Vernon County). The runoff later produced historic flooding on the Kickapoo River with several record flood crests established. Damages in Juneau County exceeded $22 million of which $6.5 million was from Elroy. The State of Wisconsin Governor declared a state of emergency for the entire state. A federal disaster declaration was made for La Crosse, Monroe, Juneau, Adams, Vernon, Crawford and Richland Counties.

A cluster of storms moved into western Wisconsin during the afternoon of July 4th. These storms produced a 59 mph wind gust at the La Crosse airport (La Crosse County), blew down power lines in Onalaska (La Crosse County) and La Crosse and prompted the evacuation of a festival in La Crosse.

Two lines of severe thunderstorms moved across western Wisconsin during the afternoon and evening of June 30th. These storms dropped some hail and also produced damaging winds. A 59 mph wind gust occurred at the La Crosse airport (La Crosse County) and trees and power lines were blown down in Soldiers Grove (Crawford County), Richland Center (Richland County) and on Brice Prairie (La Crosse County).

A line of severe thunderstorms moved across southwest Wisconsin during the evening of July 19th. Locations from Prairie du Chien (Crawford County) east to Gotham (Richland County) and Platteville (Grant County) were hit with winds of 60 to 70 mph. Hangars and vintage World War II plane were damaged at the Prairie du Chien airport, an outbuilding was damaged near Mt. Hope (Grant County) and significant tree and power line damaged occurred in Lancaster (Grant County).

Rain spread across western Wisconsin on January 16th. Some of this fell as freezing rain with ice accumulations of 0.10 to 0.15 inches. This ice accumulated on some trees and power lines. A greater impact developed as temperatures quickly dropped below freezing causing the standing water to rapidly turn into a sheet of ice on roads, parking lots and sidewalks. Numerous accidents occurred on the icy roads with some schools closed for 2 or 3 days.

Tornadoes hit a small sections of western Wisconsin when they touched down near Cream and Waumandee (Buffalo County) and near Retreat (Vernon County). The tornado near Cream damaged a house and some farm outbuildings. The tornado near Waumandee damaged a hunting structure and crops. Trees and crops were damaged by the tornado near Retreat. Other parts of western Wisconsin were hit with high winds that blew down trees and power lines. Numerous trees were blown down in Onalaska (La Crosse County) with some of these landing on and damaging homes. The highest measured wind gust was 68 mph by the automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse airport (La Crosse County).

Winds of 45 to 60 mph battered portions of western Wisconsin on March 16th. A strong area of low pressure moved across the region with the strong winds occurring in the tight pressure gradient both on the front and back sides of the low. The highest reported wind gust was 61 mph from a private weather station in Mt. Sterling (Crawford County). These strong winds blew trees down and onto power lines in the city of La Crosse (La Crosse County).

A line of severe thunderstorms moved across western Wisconsin during the early morning hours of July 18th. The storms primarily produced damaging winds from Buffalo County into portions of Jackson and Monroe Counties. A tree was blown down onto a car in the town of Buffalo (Buffalo County) and the power was knocked out in Eleva (Trempealeau County), Black River Falls (Jackson County) and Sparta (Monroe County). Additional thunderstorms developed during the late morning of the 18th that produced a funnel cloud near Platteville (Grant County).

Severe thunderstorms moved across portions of western Wisconsin during the afternoon and early evening of July 13th. A small, short-lived tornado developed from one of these storms as it tracked across Lone Rock (Richland County). One house sustained roof damage and had two large trees blown down onto it. Other trees were snapped off about 20 feet above the ground. The storms also dropped large hail through the afternoon and evening, generally north of Interstate 90. The largest hail reported was tennis ball sized near Osseo (Trempealeau County) where the hail cracked the sky lights on a home. Damaging winds occurred with the storms across southwest Wisconsin with trees and power lines blown down in Richland Center (Richland County) and Lone Rock.

Thunderstorms developed across western Wisconsin during the evening hours of June 28th ahead of a trough of low pressure. Several of these storms produced high winds that caused considerable damage in the city of La Crosse north into Holmen (La Crosse County). Numerous trees and power lines were blown down by winds that gusted to at least 60 mph. At least 7,000 customers in the La Crosse area were without power. The power outage took out street lights and stop lights across much of the city.

Thunderstorms developed along a cold front during the afternoon of September 19th across northeast Iowa. These storms intensified as they moved into southwest Wisconsin where they dumped dime sized hail on Wauzeka (Crawford County) and blew trees and power lines down in Boscobel (Grant County).

A strong area of low pressure moved out of the Central Plains into Illinois and the Great Lakes region on December 19th and 20th. As this storm moved by, it produced a period of blizzard conditions during the morning and afternoon of the 20th as sustained north winds of 25 to 35 mph with higher gusts created poor visibility from falling and blowing snow. Impacts from the blizzard included closed roads, trapped vehicles, power outages, region wide school closings on the 20th with some schools remaining closed on the 21st or started 2 hours late. The accumulating snow started in southwest Wisconsin during the middle of the evening on the 19th and did not reach north central Wisconsin until the early morning hours of the 20th. Accumulations reached winter storm criteria of 6 inches between midnight and 7 a.m. on the 20th. Two bands of heavy snow, with accumulations of 10 or more inches, occurred. The first was from Grant County northeast through Richland County into the southern sections of Adams and Juneau Counties. The second was across northern Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties into northwest Jackson and southwest Clark Counties. The highest reported snow total in the southern band was 14.5 inches in Sinsinawa (Grant County) with 15.0 inches in the northern band just west of Whitehall (Trempealeau County). The Governor issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency before the storm hit. This placed the state emergency management, National Guard, State Patrol and other state and county agencies on high alert. National Guard troops were used to help rescue stranded drivers. Commercial flights in and out of the La Crosse Municipal Airport were canceled through the evening of the 20th. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse officials kept residence halls open an extra day before the Christmas break to house stranded students.

As a cold front moved across Wisconsin, it sparked severe thunderstorms during the late evening of August 15th into the early morning hours of August 16th. These storms produced a path of damaging winds and large hail from the southern portions of Buffalo County to the southeast corner of Adams County. The most concentrated wind damage was near the Trempealeau-La Crosse County line, including communities of Galesville and Holmen, where estimated winds of 60 mph knocked down several trees and power lines. Most of the hail was estimated to be about the size of a quarter with this falling for up to 10 minutes at Perrot State Park (Trempealeau County).

Severe thunderstorms produced damaging winds during the morning hours of September 2nd across portions of southwest and central Wisconsin. Law enforcement, trained spotters and National Weather Service employees reported numerous trees and power lines down from La Crosse, Trempealeau and Vernon counties eastward to Adams County. Over 10,000 residents loss power and schools were either delayed for two hours or closed in these areas.

A cold front over central Minnesota pushed into central Wisconsin during the evening hours of July 1st triggering severe thunderstorms. The storms produced wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour causing roof and siding damage to a metal shed near Riplinger (Clark County). The wind gusts knocked down numerous trees and power lines over southwest and central Wisconsin.

A cold front pushed east into Wisconsin during the late afternoon and evening hours of April 10th. Severe thunderstorms developed along the cold front and produced very large hail and three tornadoes over portions of western and central Wisconsin. The hail ranged from quarter to tennis ball size and caused extensive damage to siding and cars in the southern portions of the city of La Crosse (La Crosse County). Although difficult to estimate, damage estimates from insurance companies and contractors in the area were between 20 and 30 million dollars from the one hail storm. National Weather Service storm survey teams confirmed two EF1 tornadoes and an EF2 tornado in Juneau and Adams counties. The tornadoes uprooted trees, knocked power lines down, flipped automobiles, and damaged or destroyed homes and businesses. In Adams County, 7 homes and 3 businesses were destroyed and damage assessments exceeded three and a half million dollars.

A powerful low pressure system tracked across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region during the evening hours of December 10th into the morning hours of December 12th. An indirect fatality occurred near the town of Goodrich (Taylor County), when a man died from injuries sustained from plowing snow at his home. This storm brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions across portions of western and central Wisconsin. Volunteer cooperative observers measured snowfall amounts of 20.8 inches near Warrens (Monroe County), 20.5 inches at Medford (Taylor County), 20.2 inches near Holmen (La Crosse County), 19.9 inches at Friendship (Adams County) and 19.2 inches at Black River Falls (Jackson County). In addition to the heavy snow, sustained wind speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 miles per hour caused whiteout conditions, widespread road closures, stranded motorists and power outages.

A low pressure system deepened over northern Minnesota and set the Wisconsin state record for the lowest recorded barometric pressure. This system was responsible for high winds across portions of southwest and central Wisconsin in the morning hours of October 26th and the daytime hours of the 27th. Automated weather observing equipment measured wind gusts of 59 miles per hour at La Crosse (La Crosse) and 58 miles per hour at Platteville (Grant). The high winds knocked down a tree onto a vehicle and injuring the driver in Crawford County. Numerous trees blown were blown down, some power lines also came down causing power outages across western and central Wisconsin. Sporadic damage to roofs and buildings also occurred.

Thunderstorms developed early in the afternoon of August 20th ahead of a cold front. As these storms moved across western Wisconsin they produced severe wind gusts that knocked down some trees and power lines. A lightning strike also started a structure fire north of Holmen (La Crosse County).

A cold front tracked west to east across western and central Wisconsin during the afternoon and evening hours of July 14th. Severe thunderstorms developed along the cold front and produced severe wind gusts, funnel clouds, large hail and one tornado. The severe winds knocked trees down onto power lines and caused power outages across portions of central and western Wisconsin. Trained spotters estimated hail up to two inches in diameter near Osseo in Trempealeau County. The severe thunderstorms also produced an EF1 tornado in northern Jackson and southern Clark Counties. These storms also produce very heavy rain which caused flash flooding across southern Jackson, northern Monroe and Richland Counties. Law enforcement reported several roads closed due to water over roads and washouts. Cooperative observers and amateur radio operators reported rainfall amounts ranging from three to seven inches across southern Jackson and northern Monroe Counties.

Outflow from thunderstorms produced damaging winds in parts of southwest Wisconsin in the late morning hours of June 11th. The strong wind gusts knocked down trees and tree branches onto power lines across La Crosse County.

A cold front moved across southwest and central Wisconsin during the late afternoon and evening hours on July 7th. A line of severe thunderstorms developed along the front, producing wind gusts up to 68 mph, which knocked down trees and power lines.

A powerful winter storm moved from Missouri to lower Michigan on February 17. This system brought freezing rain initially during the early morning hours. Ice accumulations ranged from a quarter of an inch to as much as an inch. By mid-morning, precipitation changed to all snow and was accompanied by strong northwest winds gusting up to 30 to 35 mph. The combination of heavy snow and strong winds caused blizzard conditions generally along and east of a line from Cassville to Necedah Wisconsin. Highest snowfall accumulations of 10 to 15 inches occurred, with the greatest amount of 15.5 inches reported by a volunteer weather observer near Richland Center (Richland County). Other snowfall totals included 12.5 inches at Hillsboro (Vernon County) and 11.2 inches at Friendship (Adams County).

An approaching cold front triggered a line of severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon and early evening of September 21. Law enforcement officials, storm spotters, amateur radio operators and the public reported wind gusts of 60 to 65 mph. As a result, trees and power lines were knocked down.

A cold front moved across southwest Wisconsin in the late evening and early morning hours of August 13 and 14, triggering a line of severe thunderstorms. Law enforcement officials, storm spotters and the public reported wind gusts up to 65 mph, which knocked down trees and power lines.

A cold front moved across southwest and central Wisconsin late in the evening of August 11, triggering a line of severe thunderstorms. Storm spotters, law enforcement officials, amateur radio operators and the public reported wind gusts of up to 70 mph, which knocked down trees and power lines.

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front during the late afternoon of July 3 and continued into the evening. Thunderstorms wind gusts of 60 to 65 mph downed trees and power lines, as well as blew down a barn along Highway 58 near Ithaca (Richland County).

A cold front triggered scattered severe thunderstorms across portions of southwest and central Wisconsin on the evening of May 23. Winds estimated at 60 to 65 mph knocked down trees and power lines, as reported by law enforcement officials, storm spotters and the public.

A cold front triggered scattered severe thunderstorms during the evening of May 14 across parts of southwest and central Wisconsin. Law enforcement officials and the public reported some trees and power lines downed due to estimated wind gusts of 60 to 65 mph.

The second in a series of powerful winter storms that hit southwest Wisconsin in late February continued through March 1 and 2. This storm produced total snow accumulations of 6 to 11 inches. Specific reports included 11.0 inches at Mondovi (Buffalo County), 9.0 inches near Independence (Trempealeau County) and 8.3 inches near Owen (Clark County). This snowfall combined with the previous storm produced snow depths of up to two and a half feet. For the week ending March 2, La Crosse (La Crosse County) set an all-time record for the snowiest week, with a total of 27.4 inches. In addition to the heavy snow, ice accumulations of 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch affected parts of Trempealeau, Clark, Monroe and Adams counties.

Heavy snow was widespread across southwest Wisconsin, as a powerful winter storm moved from Kansas to the lower Great Lakes. Hardest hit were areas near the Mississippi River from near La Crosse (La Crosse County) to Galesville (Trempealeau County) and Fountain City (Buffalo County). Snow accumulations in these areas totaled 20 to 25 inches. In fact, La Crosse established an all-time record three day snowfall total of 21 inches. In addition to the heavy snow, ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch impacted areas generally around the Wisconsin River and southward. Travel was dangerous or nearly impossible over all of southwest Wisconsin.

A tornado touched down near County Highway V between Holmen and Stevenstown (La Crosse County), knocking down several trees along Flatten and Mahlum Road. In fact, trees fell just ahead of and behind a school bus, which was stopped on Flatten Road. Other damage inlcuded a small boat being overturned and a fallen tree damaging a home on Mahlum Road. Elsewhere, thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 to 70 mph blew down trees and power lines. A barn was also blown down near Wilton (Monroe County).

Law enforcement officials, amateur radio operators and storm spotters reported hail ranging in size from pennies to as large as golf balls. In addition, there were numerous reports of 60 to 80 mph winds, which knocked down trees and power lines.

Thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph knocked down numerous trees and power lines.

A fast moving line of thunderstorms produced the first significant severe weather event of the season. There were numerous reports of trees and power lines down. Spotters and law enforcement officials estimated wind gusts of 60 to 65 mph, while a measured gust of 66 mph was recorded at the La Crosse Municipal Airport (LSE). At a campground just south of La Crosse (La Crosse County), a man was injured when a large limb fell on the tent he was sleeping in.

Winds estimated at 70 to 80 mph knocked down numerous trees and power lines. Some buildings sustained damaged in Abottsford (Clark County). A maple tree farm near Colby (Clark County) was hit hard by the severe winds, with an estimated 20 percent of the trees a total loss. In Adams County, a mobile home park was heavily damaged near the town of New Rome.

A storm spotter measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph on the south side of La Crosse (La Crosse County). A few trees were knocked down, knocking out power for a short time.

The public, law enforcement officials and amateur radio operators reported hail from dime and nickel size to as large as golf balls. Wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph were also reported, which downed trees and power lines.

Numerous reports of large hail and pockets of wind damage accompanied severe thunderstorms that moved across parts of southwest and central Wisconsin. A brief tornado touchdown also occurred near Urne (Buffalo County), but only some crop damage was reported. Spotters and law enforcement officials reported hail ranging in size from dimes to as large as golf balls. Hail with a diameter of 2.5 inches was observed at the La Crosse National Weather Service (La Crosse County). Hardest hit by thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 mph was the Pigeon Falls area (Trempealeau County), where four homes were heavily damaged, several barns were knocked down and numerous trees were blown down. The Hixton area (Jackson County) was also hit hard, with damaging winds downing power lines, which closed Interstate 94 for an hour and a half.

A strong pressure gradient associated with an intense low pressure system produced wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph across southwest and central Wisconsin. In fact, the La Crosse National Weather Service (La Crosse County) recorded a peak wind gust of 74 mph. The strong winds resulted in minor damage to roofs and siding, while knocking down some trees and limbs, which caused power outages.

60 mph wind gusts blew down several trees and power lines.