Share to:

Significant Wind Storm to Impact Wisconsin This Week!

Oct 24, 2010
The model runs from this morning are still advertising a powerful storm system to affect Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin Monday night into Wednesday. A powerful jet stream will be digging across the Central U.S. causing a low pressure system to undergo rapid deepening to what is called "bombogenesis" (24 millibar pressure drop in 24 hours). That is a very significant drop in pressure in a short time span. Some models have the low deepening in the low 960 millibar range across Northern Minnesota, as shown here by the NAM model.

The story with this system will be the very strong winds. Wind gusts will be anywhere from 35 mph to as high as 65 mph across Minnesota and Wisconsin on Tuesday lasting into Wednesday night. The 850mb chart from the NAM model shows winds blowing as high as 70 mph early Wednesday morning! These winds are at a height of 5,000 feet above the surface which could possibly be transported down to the ground!

Wisconsin has had similar storms of this magnitude in the past. The November 10, 1975 storm produced very powerful winds causing the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior to sink. Unfortunately, the ship was inundated with large waves caused by the strong winds that sank the ship along with killing 29 crewman on board. Another recent wind storm occurred on November 10, 1998. This wind storm caused havoc over Wisconsin with wind speeds reaching 50-80 mph causing some fatalities. My suggestion is be ready for a windy day on Tuesday and Wednesday.