Weekly Weather Event -Week of June 8th
June 12, 2020On June 10th , Tropical Depression Cristobal passed over Wisconsin. As any reader based in Wisconsin can attest, this was an extraordinarily unusual event. According to the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), Cristobal was the first system with a “tropical” designation that had ever reached Wisconsin. Wisconsin rarely sees even post-tropical systems; historical data shows that in 1886, 1900, and 1949, the center of a post-tropical system moved through the state. A handful of other post-tropical systems have passed within 100 miles of Wisconsin, each delivering some rain around Milwaukee.
Along with being Wisconsin’s first “tropical” storm, Cristobal broke several other records during its duration. Cristobal was the earliest “C” named storm in the Atlantic, beating out Tropical Storm Collin which formed on June 5th in 2016. Due to its trajectory over Wisconsin and into Canada, Cristobal is also the farthest northwest a tropical storm has ever gotten over North America. Closer to home, Madison broke its record for lowest pressure recorded in June, recording a pressure of 988.0 mb (29.20 inches). This broke a record that had held since 1936.