Winter Storm — Southern Marinette, Wisconsin

2015-12-28 to 2015-12-29 · Southern Marinette, Wisconsin

Event narrative

Storm total snowfall at Peshtigo was 10.0 inches, and winds gusted to 53 mph near Marinette.

Wider weather episode

The first major winter storm of the 2015-2016 winter season for the region produced a swath of 8 to 14 inches of snow across parts of central and northeast Wisconsin as a low pressure system moved from Arkansas to southern Lake Michigan. Much of the snow fell in just eight hours. In addition to the snow, sleet fell in parts of east-central Wisconsin and thundersnow was reported at several locations, including Green Bay and the Lake Michigan shoreline. The heavy, wet snow caused numerous vehicles to become stranded across Green Bay and the Fox Valley. Two unoccupied vehicles that were stuck in the snow on railroad tracks were later hit by trains (one in the Green Bay area and the other in Appleton).

Winds were very gusty across the area, mostly 35 to 45 mph, causing blowing and drifting of the newly fallen snow that created blizzard conditions in Brown County and Outagamie County. The highest reported gusts included 61 mph at Algoma (Kewaunee Co.), 54 mph at Green Bay (Brown Co.) and 53 mph near Marinette (Marinette Co.).

Some of the heaviest snow accumulations included: 14.6 in New London (Waupaca Co.); 13.5 near Two Rivers (Manitowoc Co.), in De Pere (Brown Co.), and near Ephraim (Door Co.); and 13.2 inches in Green Bay (Brown Co.). The storm total in Green Bay made it the fourth greatest December snowstorm on record for the city.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 611965. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.