Winter Storm — Pepin, Wisconsin

2023-03-31 · Pepin, Wisconsin

Event narrative

A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and WIDOT road conditions, this event verified at 0300 CST on April 01, before the snow ended during the early morning hours of April 01. A Co-op observer measured 3.0 inches in the western part of the county. In addition to the heavy snow, gusty winds near 30 mph led to periods of whiteout conditions and snow/ice covered roads, which verified the winter storm.

Wider weather episode

A powerful late spring system produced a band of very heavy snow across the region on the evening of March 31, and ending during the early morning of April 01 (see corresponding entry for April). Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour combined with northwest winds of 25 to near 35 mph hour. This was a heavy, wet snow, and as a result there were power outages with the highest snowfall amounts across eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In some areas, recovery lasted multiple days before full power was restored.

A few notable snowfall amounts are:

15.0 inches near Ladysmith in Rusk County.

13.0 inches near New Richmond in St. Croix County.

11.5 inches near Amery in Polk County.

11.0 inches near Chetek in Barron County.

10.0 inches near Boyceville in Dunn County.

8.0 inches near Ellsworth in Pierce County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1089968. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.