Power Outage in Rhinelander, WI

High winds downed trees and power lines in Oneida County. Peak winds of 76 mph were measured at the Rhinelander airport.

Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines in Rhinelander. The time of this event is an estimate based on radar data.

Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Woodboro. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.

Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in the town of Pine Lake.

Strong winds downed trees and power lines across Oneida County.

Thunderstorm wind downed numerous trees and power lines.

Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines at Sugar Camp.

Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Woodboro. The time of this event was estimated based on radar data.

High winds from a wake low downed trees and power lines near Sugar Camp.

Thunderstorm winds knocked out power in the Town of Newbold.

Trees and power lines were blown down in the city of Rhinelander.

A number of trees were knocked down throughout the county, creating scattered power outages. The airport reported a wind gust to 60 mph. Numerous trees were down in the town of Minocqua with estimates that half of the town lost power.

Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines just north of Rhinelander.

High winds from thunderstorms downed trees and power lines. Fallen trees significantly damaged a house and blocked two roads along the southwest shore of Pelican Lake.

Thunderstorm winds downed a large number of trees and a number of power lines in the Town of Minocqua. Downed trees made roads impassable and caused thousands of customers in the Minocqua and Rhinelander areas to lose electrical service. Some homes sustained damage, mainly to their roofs, when trees fell onto them. The high winds also flipped or damaged a number of boats.

A low pressure system tracking northeast from the southern Plains to the Great Lakes brought a swath of snow and ice to northern Wisconsin from Tuesday evening (3/22) through midday on Wednesday (3/23). Snowfall amounts were generally 4 to 8 inches across portions of north-central Wisconsin along with 2 to 3 tenths of an inch of ice from freezing rain. The combination of snow and ice caused significant damage to trees and power lines, with over 50,000 customers without power in northern Wisconsin.||Some of the highest snowfall totals included 7.6 inches in Eagle River (Vilas Co.), 6.3 inches in Rhinelander (Oneida Co.), and 5.9 inches in St. Germain (Vilas Co.). Some of the highest ice totals included 0.3 inches in Manitowish Waters (Vilas Co.), Argonne (Forest Co.), as well as southeast of Niagara (northern Marinette Co.) and 0.2 inches in Rhinelander (Oneida Co.), Spread Eagle (Florence Co.), as well as in St. Germain (Vilas Co.).

Freezing rain fell across northern Wisconsin as a low pressure system moved across the state. One-quarter to four-tenths of an inch of ice accumulated across far north-central Wisconsin during the overnight hours of February 3rd into the early afternoon of the 4th.||Roads became hazardous as the ice accumulated and hundreds of vehicles slid off roads. Icing also caused numerous power outages, and at the height of the event more than 5,000 customers were without power.

Low pressure from the Plains moved across Wisconsin and produced a swath of heavy, wet snow over the northern part of the state. Six to sixteen inches of snow fell, with the heaviest across Vilas County, where 16.0 inches fell near Phelps and at Conover, and 15.0 inches fell at Boulder Junction.||The heavy snow caused scattered power outages.

Strong southwest winds, with frequent gusts of 30 mph to 45 mph, developed ahead of an approaching cold front. The wind downed tree limbs that landed on power lines, causing the lines to come down. The downed power lines started a number of fires, including one near Pelican Lake.||Fires in Oneida County and Vilas County burned more than 15 acres. Wind gusts as high as 42 mph downed a couple of trees, including one that was 40 feet tall and a foot in diameter, near Plover in Portage County. Winds, gusting to 38 mph, fanned a brush fire near Green Bay in Brown County.

A major spring storm system, that slowly passed through the region, dropped more than a foot of snow in some locations across far northern Wisconsin. Temperatures near freezing brought snow that easily stuck to trees and power lines. Trees falling onto power lines caused power outages for about 5,000 customers in parts of Vilas County, Oneida County and Forest County.||Some of the highest snowfall totals included 13.6 inches at Conover (Vilas Co.), 13.1 inches at Hiles (Forest Co.), 12.0 inches at Three Lakes (Oneida Co.), 11.7 inches at Eagle River (Vilas Co.), 11.0 inches near Argonne (Forest Co.), 10.6 inches near Laona (Forest Co.) and near Alvin (Forest Co.), 10.4 inches at Long Lake (Florence Co.), 10.1 inches at Rhinelander (Oneida Co.) and 10.0 inches at Winchester (Vilas Co.).

Strong winds developed during the late morning hours of the 6th, ahead of an intense low pressure system that moved across the northern Plains. The strong winds continued for most of the afternoon, producing frequent gusts in excess of 35 mph. The peak measured gust was 57 mph recorded by a spotter in Oshkosh.||Although there were scattered reports of downed trees, and power was knocked out to thousands of customers for at least part of the day, there were no reports of injuries and only one report of significant damage.

Thunderstorms that developed ahead of an approaching cold front produced dime size hail in northern Vilas county and downed a few trees and power lines in western Oneida county.

Rain and some thunderstorms developed as south winds aloft carried warm air over a surface cold front that was across Illinois. The rain moved into northern Wisconsin where temperatures remained below freezing, resulting in an accumulation of around a quarter inch of ice. Ice accumulation was mainly confined to roads and sidewalks as brisk east winds at the surface kept much ice from developing on trees and power lines. Roads in Vilas, Oneida, Forest and Florence counties were ice covered and hazardous until surface temperatures warmed above freezing.

Thunderstorms developed along a warm front and downed numerous trees and power lines in north central Wisconsin. Lightning from one of the thunderstorms set fire to a home in Arbor Vitae, destroying the entire structure.