Some Wisconsin Communities See Record-Breaking Snowfall Totals

This week’s snow storm in Wisconsin is a record breaker for some communities.

The snow total reached 15.7 inches in Wausau on Tuesday, shattering the one-day snowfall record for the city previously set at 13 inches in 1924 and 1908.

Some impressive snow totals were seen around the state Tuesday, including 14.2 at Plover and 13.9 at Rhinelander.

According to the National Weather Service, 8.3 inches of snow fell at the Dane County Regional Airport, smashing the old mark for the day of 4.9 inches set Feb. 12, 1923.

In Milwaukee, the weather service recorded 7.9 inches, breaking a record for the day set at 7.5 inches in 2008.

Wausau Public Works Director Eric Lindman said plow drivers worked 14- to 16-hour shifts Tuesday and Wednesday to clear the snow — and there will still be plenty of work even after the roads are clear.

“The next step will be snow removal from our downtown area,” he said, “which in this case is going to be a lot of hours of hauling snow.”

Meteorologist Jeff Last of the National Weather Service in Green Bay said the storm was unusual because it brought heavy snow to a large area.

“There was a large swath of a foot or more that fell from La Crosse up toward Rhinelander and Iron Mountain, across the central part of the state,” Last said.

Forecasters have said there’s only a chance of light snow in the forecast over the next few days.

But there could be more unsettled winter weather in the coming weeks.

“The jet stream is what controls the path of weather systems, and that’s been situated over the Midwest,” said Meteorologist Sarah Marquardt of the National Weather Service office in Sullivan. “That’s been bringing these storms, just tracking them right across the Midwest.”