Blizzard — Racine, Wisconsin

2011-02-01 to 2011-02-02 · Racine, Wisconsin

Wider weather episode

A powerful low pressure center, passing south of Wisconsin, produced blizzard conditions across much of southern Wisconsin from the evening hours of Tuesday, February 1st into the early morning of Wednesday, February 2nd. Snow associated with the system began in the mid-afternoon hours of February 1st in far southern Wisconsin and became heavy as it pushed northward into the state through the evening. Very strong winds were associated with this storm for an extended period of time. Sustained northeast winds of 30 to 40 mph were common through the event, with peak wind gusts between 45 and 65 mph, with the stronger wind gusts near Lake Michigan. The lakeshore observation site at Kenosha reported a 64 mph wind gust at 120 am CST on February 2nd. The canopy over gas pumps at a gas station in the City of Kenosha was damaged by the high winds. The combination of high winds and heavy snow created widespread sustained visibilities of less than 1/4 mile, with frequent whiteout conditions and near zero visibilities. Twenty-four hour snowfall totals were between 20 and 26 inches, with 26 inches of snow measured in Pell Lake, and 24 inches recorded at both the Racine Wastewater Treatment Plant, a one-day record, and by a cooperative observer 4 miles southwest of the city of Kenosha. In addition to the snow that fell during the blizzard, several inches of snow fell on Jan 31, with light lake effect snow through the day on Feb 1st. It's possible that some locations did not see a break in snowfall between the evening of January 31st and the morning of February 2nd. Racine set new two-day (1/31-2/1) and three-day (1/31-2/2) record snowfalls with 26 inches for each period, and Kenosha also set new two-day (1/31-2/1) and three-day (1/31-2/2) record snowfalls with 25.3 inches and 27.3 inches respectively. Snow drifts of 4 to 12 feet were common, with reports of some drifts reaching up to 15 feet in open rural areas. A Civil Danger Warning was issued by Wisconsin Emergency Management concerning the dangerous driving conditions. Drifting snow closed Interstate 94 from the Illinois border north to Milwaukee and Interstate 43 from Beloit to Mukwonago with many stranded motorists having to be rescued from vehicles buried in the drifting snow. Several Kenosha County sheriff deputies had to be rescued from their squad cars on I-94 after being stranded for six and seven hours. About 100 National Guardsman were mobilized statewide in response to Gov. Scott Walker's emergency declaration for 29 counties to help rescue motorists and run emergency shelters at armories. The Racine Fire Department alone responded to 150 emergency calls related to the storm. Emergency rooms across Southeast Wisconsin reported dozens of heart attacks and injuries from snow blower accidents. A 52-year old Yorkville (Racine County) woman died from exposure after being dropped off by a tow truck driver at the foot of her driveway and became disoriented in the whiteout conditions. Her body was found 300 feet from her home. At the height of the storm, WE Energies reported 5,200 customers were without power across Southeast Wisconsin. An estimated $1.4 million dollars was spent for snow removal in Racine County alone. Trucks dumped snow that had been cleared from area streets at Pershing Park, with snow piles reaching 60-70 feet high.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 286979. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.