We’ve all heard the tales from our parents and grandparents about the legendary snowstorms of the Northwoods. Snowdrifts so deep they reached the telephone lines, trudging through waist-deep snow to get to school, uphill both ways, of course. The Northwoods winters of yesteryear are woven into the fabric of our history, and looking back at those snowy days is as much fun as digging a fort into a fresh snowbank.
Winter weather records are a fascinating thing to explore, from the longest stretches with snow on the ground to the heaviest snowfalls in a single season or day. Digging into the record books is a chance to relive the power of winter, and today, we’re taking a look at some of Rhinelander’s most memorable winter weather events.
On February 21st and 22nd, 1937, Rhinelander saw its deepest snowstorm ever recorded. Over the course of just 48 hours, 29 inches of snow blanketed the region. But that’s not all, February 21st also holds the record for the most snowfall in a single calendar day, with a staggering 20 inches. The storm was so intense it paralyzed the Northwoods, and clearing the roads took more than a week.
In those days, snow was shoveled into trucks and dumped directly into the Wisconsin River, a practice that continued for decades. If you look behind Ripco Credit Union, you’ll still see a concrete platform that was used for this very purpose. Environmental regulations eventually put an end to this practice.
While snowstorms can be fierce, sometimes the worst winter weather comes in the form of ice. When rain falls and freezes upon contact, it creates thick layers of ice, and that’s exactly what struck Rhinelander in January 1951 and early December 1974. These ice storms caused trees to snap under the weight, roads became impassable, and power outages lasted for days. More recently, many of us remember the ice storm of 2019, which left its mark on the Northwoods’ forests.
Another memorable winter storm came in 2000, when a Christmas Eve blizzard dumped more than a foot of snow on the area, with winds gusting over 50 miles per hour. The result? Whiteout conditions that made even the simplest journey, like traveling to Grandma’s house, extremely dangerous.
In more recent history, the winter season of 2022-2023 holds the record for the most snow in a single season, with an astonishing 122.9 inches, surpassing the previous record of 116.3 inches set in 2018-2019. In fact, seven of the top 10 snowiest winters in Rhinelander’s history have occurred since 2010.
Surprisingly, even with last year’s milder winter, just 55 inches of snow, it didn’t even crack the top 20 least snowy winters. The record for the least snow in a season belongs to the 1913-1915 winter, with only 20.2 inches.
The winter of 2013-2014 brought its own record, 133 consecutive days with at least one inch of snow on the ground. That’s over four months of consistent snow cover!
And of course, we can’t forget the coldest temperature ever recorded in Rhinelander: -41°F on February 3rd, 1996. Brr!
The record books are full of incredible stories like these, and you can explore them all online through the National Weather Service website. As we settle into this winter season, let’s hope we experience a winter that strikes a perfect balance, a winter that leaves everyone happy.
Sources: National Weather Service, NOAA, Rhinelander Daily News Archive
