2024 brought an eventful year of weather to Wisconsin. From the first-ever February tornadoes to sightings of the northern lights, and plenty of mild days and nights, which set the stage for the warmest year on record in Milwaukee.
January brought active weather and big snow totals, with some communities picking up more than a foot of snow.
But overall, winter weather under-delivered with mild temperatures and very low ice coverage on Lake Michigan, putting a damper on winter activities.
February 8 will go down in weather history as the day Wisconsin had its first-ever February tornadoes. Previously, February was the only month that there had never been a tornado in the state. The rare setup spawned two tornadoes in southern Wisconsin, an EF-1 and an EF-2.
Later in the month, February 27, the mercury in Milwaukee hit 74 degrees, the warmest high temperature ever recorded in February.
Early May brought another bout of severe weather, two tornadoes caused heavy damage in parts of Walworth County.
The night sky in May put on a rare and beautiful display of northern lights thanks to an active solar cycle.
Harrington Beach, Wis
The spring overall was a wet one with over 15 inches of precipitation, well above normal.
Severe weather returned in June. Nine tornadoes occurred the night of June 22 in southern Wisconsin, destroying a church in Argyle, flattening trees, and causing damage to multiple homes and barns.
Similar to the rest of the year, fall was very warm, ranking as the third warmest fall on record for Milwaukee.
With the warmth came dry weather, sending parts of the state into a moderate drought. Fall also brought more spellbinding sights, with fall waterspouts developing on Lake Michigan as cold air passed over the warm lake waters.
Here's a look at the waterspouts that developed over Lake Michigan late this morning near Belgium and Harrington Beach State Park. 📷 credit: Teresa Marie Holcomb #wiwx @tmj4 @NWSMilwaukee pic.twitter.com/8ZgPKxRskr
— Kristen Kirchhaine (@KristenWeather) October 13, 2024
And the northern lights made a return in October, getting many folks to look up at the night sky to catch a glimpse.
Mid-December brought a round of heavy snow, mainly north of I-94, setting the stage for a white Christmas.
WHITE CHRISTMAS -
— Kristen Kirchhaine (@KristenWeather) December 26, 2024
It was officially a white Christmas in Milwaukee with an inch of snow on the ground this morning.
Of the last ten years, Milwaukee has had four white Christmases and six brown Christmases. #wiwx pic.twitter.com/QxFQxOV9cs
Climate change left its mark on the year as well. Milwaukee set 20 warm temperature records this year, and zero records for cold. 2024 will go in the record books as the warmest year on record for Milwaukee, with an average temperature of more than three degrees above normal.
Wisconsin had a total of 45 tornadoes in 2024, well above the average of 23. Lake Michigan remained warm from fall into winter, with surface temperatures near record highs to close the year.
