SHAWANO, WI- A powerful late-season winter storm dumped historic snowfall across northeast Wisconsin over the weekend, surpassing totals from the devastating April 2018 blizzard in many communities. Meteorologist Gus Kaiser with the National Weather Service Green Bay said Shawano recorded about 33 inches of snow, among the highest reports in the entire region.
“These were pretty historic snow totals across much of the region,” Kaiser said, noting Wausau set an event record with 30.9 inches while Green Bay logged its second-highest storm total ever at 26.6 inches.
Many residents compared the storm to the destructive April 2018 blizzard, which caused widespread roof collapses and damage, but Kaiser confirmed this event actually produced higher snowfall in many locations.
“In a lot of locations, the snow totals from this event were a little bit higher than they were in 2018,” he said, explaining the earlier storm featured heavier, wetter snow that caused more destruction. By contrast, this storm began with wet snow but transitioned to lighter, powdery snowfall as temperatures dropped, limiting widespread structural failures and power outages despite some localized roof collapses.
Kaiser said Shawano recorded about 29.8 inches during the 2018 storm, meaning this year’s snowfall clearly exceeded that benchmark. Strong winds also played a major role this time, with gusts topping 50 miles per hour, stronger than the roughly 45-mph gusts observed in 2018, producing dangerous whiteout conditions. “Combining the more powdery snow and the slightly higher winds, you got more of the lower visibilities and more true whiteout conditions,” Kaiser explained.
Cleanup efforts are expected to take several days, but forecasters say a gradual warmup into the 40s should help snow melt slowly and reduce immediate flooding concerns. Kaiser noted that rain later this week could accelerate melting and raise river levels, though officials are not overly concerned at this time.
Top Snow Totals for the Area in inches
Mountain-34.0
Shawano 33.0
Iola-30.5
Pella- 30.0
Cecil- 29.0
Clintonville- 26.5
Oconto Falls 25.3
Weyauwega- 25.0
Greenville- 24.0
Shiocton- 24-0
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