Everyone has their own personal stories of top 2010 weather events. Chances are most of these stories touch on either the very rainy summer, the muggy July weather, the record-setting October storm or the busy tornado season.
This was one of the wettest summers for Wisconsin since 1895. Summer precipitation includes that which falls during the months of June, July and August, and in all regions of the state the 2010 summer rainfall was ranked as the highest or second highest ever recorded.
The summer was also very muggy, with high dew point temperatures. Madison had its third-highest summer average dew point temperature, experiencing dew point temperatures warmer than 70 degrees for more than half of the month of July.
In contrast to the summer, most of October 2010 was dry, but on October 26 a mid-latitude cyclone dominated weather throughout the state. Though the storm did not break precipitation records, it did set a record for the lowest surface pressure in the continental US. The new pressure record, set in Superior during this storm, is 961.3 mb (28.52 inches of mercury). These low pressures were accompanied by high wind gusts of 50-60 mph that lasted for two days. This storm owed its origins to Supertyphoon Megi in the western Pacific Ocean, and study of it will offer new insights into the nature of tropical/extra-tropical interactions.
With 46 tornadoes reported in Wisconsin, the year had the second most recorded tornadoes. Wisconsin averages 20 tornadoes a year, with the maximum number being 62 in 2005. This tornado year included two tornadoes in Kenosha and Racine Counties on November 22, very late for the tornado season.
