Winter Weather — Vernon, Wisconsin

2013-03-10 to 2013-03-11 · Vernon, Wisconsin

Event narrative

One person was killed in a one care accident when the driver lost control on a snow and ice covered road and the vehicle flipped over in a ditch and then hit a tree. Volunteer and cooperative observers reported 1 and 3 inches of snow across the county.

Wider weather episode

One person was killed in a car accident after the driver lost control on snow and ice covered roads near Viroqua (Vernon County) on the morning of the March 11th. Almost a foot of heavy wet snow fell on parts of western Wisconsin from a winter storm on March 10th and 11th. The storm responsible for this snow moved northeast from the Kansas City region to Lake Michigan. Along with the snow, the system also produced northwest winds of 15 to 20 mph that created some drifting of the snow. Numerous schools were either closed or utilized a two hour delay on the 11th. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 10 inches were common and the highest reported total was 10 inches in Longwood (Clark County). Around 600 customers across Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties lost power because of the storm from the late evening of the 10th through the morning of the 11th. Ahead of the snowfall, the storm produced up to 1.5 inches of rain with temperatures in the upper 30s. This produced abundant run off from the rain and melting snow that was not able to penetrate into the ground due to frost depths up to 3 feet. The run off flooded basements and caused numerous roads to be covered with standing water.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 438818. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.