Winter Weather — La Crosse, Wisconsin

2010-12-29 to 2010-12-31 · La Crosse, Wisconsin

Event narrative

Several accidents occurred during the evening of the 31st as a short period of freezing drizzle created a glaze of ice on roads and exposed surfaces. At least 15 accidents occurred with 10 people taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. The La Crosse police department closed the Cass Street bridge over the Mississippi river for about an hour. Also, the visibility was reduced to less than a mile from the afternoon of the 29th into the evening of the 31st. In addition, the weight of all the snow that fell during December, caused the roof of a building to collapse in West Salem. The building was later declared a total loss and will be razed.

Wider weather episode

Fog develop across western and central Wisconsin and reduced the visibility to less than mile for an extended period starting on the 29th and continuing through much of the 31st. During this period, an extended period of dense fog with visibilities of a quarter mile or less occurred. Some freezing drizzle also occurred during the evening of 31st, creating a glaze of ice on area roads that resulted in several accidents in and around La Crosse (La Crosse County). Ten people were transported to area hospitals, but none of the injuries were considered to be life-threatening. The weight of all the accumulated snow that fell during the month of December, caused the roof a building to collapse in West Salem (La Crosse County) on the 31st. The building was later declared a total loss and will be razed.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 268731. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.