Weather experts say Hurricane Sandy did affect Wisconsin

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Weather experts have confirmed what we just assumed at the time – that Wisconsin felt the wrath of Superstorm Sandy. The National Hurricane Center released a detailed report about Sandy’s destruction this morning.

It said the storm created wind gusts as far west as the Badger State, and as far north as Canada. According to the report, Sandy began as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa on October 11th. It reached the Caribbean a week later, and it temporarily weakened below hurricane strength over Cuba. And then it built steam again as it approached the U.S. on October 27th. The National Weather Service said the wind gusts from Sandy hit 61-miles-an-hour near Sister Bay in Door County on October 30th. And news reports at the time said there was minor erosion along Lake Michigan at Pleasant Prairie in Kenosha County.

Folks there were planning to evacuate, after a forecast of 18-foot waves on the shore. But they never materialized. Nobody had to go anywhere because the waves never got above eight-feet. The highest surge from Sandy as reported in New York, where the waves got 12-and-a-half feet above normal on the west edge of Long Island Sound.

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Light snow continues in far northern Wisconsin, where up to nine inches fell by late last night at places close to Lake Superior. Gile in Iron County has had the most snow since the latest storm began on Sunday. Parts of Vilas County reported over seven-inches, and Sayner had two-inches last evening alone. Superior had almost nine-inches at last word. Meanwhile, the high winds that hit the Badger State yesterday have subsided. Winds are less than 20-miles-an-hour statewide this morning, after gusts of 49 yesterday at Platteville and 48 at Racine. The snow was expected to move out this morning, and dry weather is in the forecast for at least the next two days – until another “clipper” moves into Wisconsin tomorrow night and Thursday. Relatively mild temperatures are predicted for the next couple days, with highs in the 20’s-and-30’s and lows in the teens. It’s supposed to get colder on Thursday night. Friday’s highs could struggle to reach the low-20’s.

Tags: news, wisconsin, weather