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Wisconsin State Climatology Office
 Steve Vavrus, PhD, Director & State Climatologist
 John Young, PhD, Director Emeritus & Professor Emeritus
Your climate information resource for Wisconsin
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This page focuses on the recent weather and climate for Wisconsin on time scales that range from the last seven days to the last 12 months. 

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State Bulletin

January 2023 Wisconsin Climate Summary

Steve Vavrus, PhD, State Climatologist

Warm and gloomy

2023 began with an extremely warm start to the year in Wisconsin, with the state-wide average temperature of 23.0 degrees being 7.7 degrees higher than the long-term average (1895 to present). This anomaly put the month as the 5th warmest January on record, and the daily minimum temperatures were even more extreme: 2nd warmest in the 129 years of data. All parts of the state were exceptionally warm, ranging from 8 to 11 degrees above normal, but far north-central and northeast Wisconsin had the largest anomalies of all.

On the wet side

January was also wetter than normal in Wisconsin (37% above average statewide) but not exceptionally so (27th wettest on record). Virtually all portions of the state received more precipitation than average, except for slightly dry anomalies in the east-central region.

For snow enthusiasts, January all depended on which part of the state you live in. During much of the month, a diagonal line from southwest to northeast Wisconsin represented the snow margin, with a deep snowpack in the northwest but mostly bare ground southeast of this boundary. A late-month snowstorm hitting southern Wisconsin on the 28th finally brought snow cover to the entire state to close out the month, but otherwise January's snowfall was fairly meager in the central and eastern portions of the state.

 

 

Oh, drear!

Besides the extreme warmth, the most remarkable aspect of January was the seemingly relentless cloudiness. Based on daily sky conditions (sunrise to sunset) reported by the National Weather Service, all six of the "first-order" weather stations around Wisconsin reported at least 70% sky cover in January, exceeding average conditions by 15 to 25 percentage points. Compared with all Januaries for data available back to 2006, January was the cloudiest in all these cities except La Crosse, which ranked second.

The gloominess was most extreme in the far south and east, where Milwaukee suffered through clouds 88% of the time while Madison was nearly as high (86.5%) and had the largest positive anomaly of 25%. To top it off, fog was reported on 24 of Madison's 31 January days! Averaged across all six cities, last month was by far Wisconsin's cloudiest January in the 18 years of data (sky coverage 79% of the time = 18% above normal).



Maps of 2020 temperature and precipitation data along with their departures from normal are available below.

Weather computer models and the seasonal forecasts of the NOAA Climate Prediction Center are available.

Last 24 Hours - Courtesy of NWS Sullivan (updated by 8:00 am Central Time)

Last 7 Days (Statewide Maps) - updated by 10:30am Central Time

Precipitation (inches)Mean
Temperature (F)
Low Temperature (F)High Temperature (F)
Precipitation Departure (inches)Mean Temperature Departure (F)Low Temperature Departure (F)High Temperature Departure (F)
Precipitation Percent of Average   

Last 30 Days (Statewide Maps) - updated by 10:30am Central Time

Precipitation (inches)Mean
Temperature (F)
Low Temperature (F)High Temperature (F)
Precipitation Departure (inches)Mean Temperature Departure (F)Low Temperature Departure (F)High Temperature Departure (F)
Precipitation Percent of Average   

Last 90 Days (Statewide Maps) - updated by 10:30am Central Time

Precipitation (inches)Mean
Temperature (F)
Low Temperature (F)High Temperature (F)
Precipitation Departure (inches)Mean Temperature Departure (F)Low Temperature Departure (F)High Temperature Departure (F)
Precipitation Percent of Average   

Recent precipitation data from NOAA NWS

  • High-resolution Precipitation Maps from NOAA
    Multi-sensor Precipitation Estimates (from NWS Radar Observations and rain gauge data) for:
    • 1-day to 1-year Precipitation Estimates for National

Monthly 2023 Statewide Maps -
Courtesy of Midwestern Regional Climate Center

  • Precipitation (inches) - and departures from 1991-2020 Normals

    MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Ann
    ActualAAAAAA A A A A A A A
    DepartureDDDDDD D D D D D D D
    % of normal P P P P P P P P P P P P P

  • Mean Temperature (F) - and departures from 1991-2020 Normals

    MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Ann
    ActualAAAAAA A A A A A A A
    DepartureDDDDDD D D D D D D D

  • Snowfall (inches) - and departures from 1991-2020 Normals

    MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
    ActualAAAAAA AAAA A A
    DepartureDDDDDD DDDD D D
    % of normal P PPPP P P P P P P P

  •  See archive of statewide monthly precipitation, temperature and snowfall maps for previous years (2001-2021)

Last 12 Months Averages

The data for these products come from the U.S. Cooperative Network, augmented by observations from NWS and FAA sites. These cooperative sites are operated by volunteer observers using approved instruments and observing techniques. Their efforts that provide sufficient data to generate these products are greatly appreciated.

  • Divisional Monthly Averages for Last 12 Months
    • Temperature (and departure from 1991-2020 normals)
      Division NW  NC  NE  WC  C  EC  SW  SC  SE 
      ActualAAAA AAAAA
      DepartureDDDD DDDDD
    • Precipitation (and departure from 1991-2020 normals)
      Division NW  NC  NE  WC  C  EC  SW  SC  SE 
      ActualAAAA AAAAA
      DepartureDDDD DDDDD
  •  
  • See archive of statewide-averaged data  for previous years (2001-2020)

     

Wisconsin Drought Issues

Midwest to Global

Tables, maps, other graphics and narratives describing the climate of the Midwest, the United States and the globe over the last week to one year are available.

Forecasts & Outlooks