WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — One more time, with feelin’
It didn’t take the City of Wausau long to set another single-day snowfall record on Thursday, with 11.3 inches of snow on the ground by 12:06 PM according to the National Weather Service. That breaks a nearly 100-year-old record of 7.9 inches set in 1922.
NWS-Green Bay Meteorologist Roy Eckberg says the “Thundersnow” phenomenon helped that total pile up quickly. “It developed late last [Wedmesday] evening and continued through the morning. It was accompanied by thunderstorms which produced snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour,” he said.
That snow eventually shifted to freezing rain and sleet in the afternoon, so Eckberg says the snowfall total shouldn’t climb much higher. “Maybe another half-inch to an inch,” he said.
Back in February Wausau and other cities around Central Wisconsin set multiple single-day and month-long snowfall records. That included doubling the record for snowfall on February 12th from 7 inches to just over 14. The record for snowfall during the month of February was also broken in just under two weeks at 35 inches.
RELATED: Snowfall Breaks Multiple Records in Central Wisconsin
It’s not uncommon for late-season storms like this one to bring a great deal of energy, which Eckberg says will often time combine with cold temperatures in the higher levels of the atmosphere to trigger thundersnow.
Another possible late-season storm could hit eastern parts of Wisconsin early next week as well, but Eckberg says it’s currently too soon to tell if that would bring any additional wintery precip to Central Wisconsin. In the meantime, he says residents along the Wisconsin River need to brace themselves for flooding because Thursday’s snow is not going to melt gradually.
“The snow melt will be fairly rapid with highs in the 30s to 40 [Friday] and around 40 on Saturday. With a strong April sunshine, that will allow the melt to be rapid.” Eckberg says anyone living along the Wisconsin River will need to monitor river levels to watch for flooding as next week approaches.
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for the area through 1 AM Friday.
