Winter Storm — Florence, Wisconsin

2019-02-23 to 2019-02-24 · Florence, Wisconsin

Event narrative

The highest measured snowfall totals in Florence County were 12.5 inches near Spread Eagle, and 6.9 inches in Aurora.

Wider weather episode

A fierce, late-winter storm produced heavy snow, freezing rain, and high winds across much of central and northern Wisconsin on February 23-24 as an area of low pressure rapidly deepened across the Great Lakes. At the height of the storm on the 24th, travel was not recommended across parts of central and northern Wisconsin as blizzard conditions made travel nearly impossible. The combination of ice, snow, and strong winds caused power outages and tree damage in many locations.

Strong winds and near-blizzard conditions shut down a few rural stretches of heavily traveled highways across east-central Wisconsin on February 24, including I-41 in Neenah (Winnebago Co.), where one motorist was killed and 71 others injured in a chain-reaction pileup involving 131 vehicles. This was the largest traffic accident in Wisconsin history.

The accident happened around 11:20 AM CST in the southbound lanes of I-41 at Highway G in Neenah. Cars, pickups, and semitrailers smashed together and sandwiched underneath each other. The interstate wasn't reopened until 3 AM on February 25.

Some of the highest snowfall totals with the two-day storm included 18.9 inches near Eagle River (Vilas Co.), 16.1 inches at Rice Reservoir (Lincoln Co.), 15.9 inches near Argonne, 15.7 inches near Merrill (Lincoln Co.), 15.4 inches in Rhinelander (Oneida Co.), 12.7 near Boulder Junction (Vilas Co.), and 12.5 in Spread Eagle (Florence Co.). Parts of central and east-central Wisconsin received up to one-half inch of ice accumulation in addition to the snow.

Measured wind gusts in the 50 mph to 60 mph range were recorded at many locations, including: 60 mph in Green Bay (Brown Co.); 58 mph in Wausau (Marathon Co.); 57 mph in Kewaunee (Kewaunee Co.); 56 mph in Omro (Winnebago Co.); 53 mph near Zittau (Winnebago Co.), near Monico (Oneida Co.), in Marshfield (Wood Co.), and in Rhinelander (Oneida Co.); 52 mph in Wisconsin Rapids (Wood Co.) and in Manitowoc (Manitowoc Co.); and 51 mph in Appleton (Outagamie Co.) and in Wautoma (Waushara Co.).

New daily snowfall records were set for February 24 in Rhinelander and Wausau. The 10.9 inches in Rhinelander broke the previous record of 5.8 inches that was set in 2017, and the 7.6 inches in Wausau broke the previous record of 7.3 inches that was set in 2017.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 809510. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.