Cold Snap Forecast for Wisconsin: The Next Arctic Blast
In Milwaukee the coldest week is usually Jan 20 to 26, with a normal low of 16°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was −23°F on Jan 31, 2019.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Milwaukee.
Normals and records at Milwaukee Mitchell Airport
Coldest week
Jan 20 to 26Normal low 16°F
Coldest night, last 10 winters
−23°FJan 31, 2019
First freeze
Nov 1Median of 10 winters
Record low
−26°FTwice, last on Feb 3, 1996 (records since 1938)
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Wisconsin reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
MilwaukeeMilwaukee Mitchell Airport, USW00014839
Jan 20 to 26
16°F
−23°FJan 31, 2019
Nov 1
−26°FTwice, last on Feb 3, 1996records since 1938
MadisonMadison Dane Regional Airport, USW00014837
Jan 20 to 26
11°F
−26°FJan 31, 2019
Oct 20
−37°FJan 30, 1951records since 1939
Green BayGreen Bay, USW00014898
Jan 22 to 28
10°F
−26°FJan 31, 2019
Oct 21
−36°FJan 21, 1888records since 1886
La CrosseLa Crosse Municipal Airport, USW00014920
Jan 19 to 25
10°F
−33°FJan 31, 2019
Oct 23
−37°FJan 30, 1951records since 1938
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Milwaukee against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 4 Wisconsin reference stations.
At Milwaukee it is usually Jan 20 to 26, with a normal low of 16°F. At the other reference stations: Madison Jan 20 to 26 (11°F), Green Bay Jan 22 to 28 (10°F) and La Crosse Jan 19 to 25 (10°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Milwaukee reaches 32°F around Nov 19 and 20°F around Dec 29. The first actual freeze came around Nov 1 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Milwaukee was −23°F on Jan 31, 2019, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −7°F. Elsewhere: Madison −26°F on Jan 31, 2019, Green Bay −26°F on Jan 31, 2019 and La Crosse −33°F on Jan 31, 2019. The record at the Milwaukee station is −26°F, most recently on Feb 3, 1996, in daily records since 1938.
At Milwaukee a typical recent winter brings 115 nights at 32°F or colder, 45 at 20°F or colder and 5 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Milwaukee Mitchell Airport (USW00014839), Madison Dane Regional Airport (USW00014837), Green Bay (USW00014898) and La Crosse Municipal Airport (USW00014920). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
