Winter Weather — Barron, Wisconsin

2026-01-06 · Barron, Wisconsin

Event narrative

The AWOS at KRPD and KUBE both reported several hours of freezing precipitation during the early morning hours of the 6th. A CoCoRaHS observer also reported freezing rain in Rice Lake.

Wider weather episode

A second wave of wintry precipitation occurred 24 hours after a light mix of snow and freezing rain fell the day prior. This round was heavier and temperatures were right around freezing, leading to a mixture of snow, freezing rain, and rain. For most locations, the main period of freezing rain occurred very early in the morning on January 6th as rainfall rates were lighter. Rates then increased throughout the morning of the 6th which made it difficult for ice accretion to continue as temperatures hovered right around the freezing point. During the morning commute, most areas saw more of a crunchy slush on the ground as the heavier rain attempted to melt the coating of ice that developed overnight. The heaviest impacted area was St Croix, Polk, and Barron counties where temperatures were slightly cooler and the rain rates were not as heavy.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1309115. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.