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Shaded-relief map of Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
WISCONSIN · COLUMBIA COUNTY

Fort Winnebago

810 people, 860 ft above sea level in Columbia County.

860 ftElevation, city center
810People, 2024 estimate
32 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 26° · NW 6 mph · high 41°
City of Fort Winnebago River Interstate 2 miles
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The Fort Winnebago plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Fort Winnebago

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 3:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW New Lisbon Mauston Airport (K82C) · 3:35 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 41° · high of 41° near 3 PM
WindNW 6 mphno gusts
Humidity48%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.28 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 26° · Dry34° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 120.05 in · 2 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Columbia County
NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:50 AM4:34 PM ↓
9 h 43 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
7
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
3p
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clear day
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
clear day
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
41°
23°
47°
26°
50°
34°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
2
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 21 to 34°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 45° / 28°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
41° 23°
0% rain — NW 2 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
51° 25°
0% rain — SSW 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
54° 33°
0% rain — SSW 7 A
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 37°
0% rain — S 8 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 46°
20% rain — S 10 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59° 39°
20% rain — W 3 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
59° 47°
60% rain up to 0.3″ SSE 5 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Fort Winnebago about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 2,310 miles back along its path. It came down from about 12,400 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from Canada; at 10,000 feet, from the open Pacific. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1953 Nov. 16, 1953

The hottest this week has been

73° on Nov. 16, 1953, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1889. Next is 72° in 1964.

72°
73°
19641953
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Portage Wwtp record since 1889.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Fort Winnebago stands on

Fort Winnebago’s center stands about 860 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 770 ft to 960 ft, a difference of 190 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Cascade Mountain, about 1,310 ft, 9 miles south-southwest.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Cambrian, undivided (sandstone), from the Cambrian, 487 to 542 million years old.

The section below crosses 2 rock units mapped at the surface.

Fort Winnebago, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
800 ft900 ft1,000 ft1,100 ft FORT WINNEBAGO860 ftHigh point of the line1,190 ftBaraboo Riverabout 830 ftWisconsin Riverabout 780 ftBuffalo830 ftLow point760 ft ← SW · CaledoniaNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 45×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Cambrian, undivided

Sandstone. Age: Cambrian, 487 to 542 million years old. About 23 mi of the line.

Barron Quartzite

Quartzite. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2.5 billion years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Fort Winnebago’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Fort Winnebago reaches Lake Michigan by way of the Fox River: about 160 river miles. From there it moves on through the Great Lakes, over Niagara Falls and down the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Fort Winnebago≈ 160 mi · Lake Michigan
FROM THE CENTER OF FORT WINNEBAGO ≈ 160 mi to Lake Michigan and the St. Lawrence Fox River

Lakes on the way: Lake Winnebago 6124, Lake Butte des Morts and Puckaway Lake.

50 miles of the trip are on the Fox River.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Fort Winnebago; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Fort Winnebago’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1889 · Portage Wwtp, 5 mi south

Fort Winnebago has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 10° in January. A normal year brings about 39 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

26°10°31°13°42°24°56°36°68°48°78°58°82°62°80°59°73°51°59°39°44°28°32°17° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY 38.3 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average82° / 62°high / low, the warmest month
January, average26° / 10°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow38.3 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year39.3 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record111°FJuly 14, 1936
Coldest on record−37°FFebruary 1, 1918
Wettest day on record7.50 inAugust 28, 2020
Snowiest day on record13.0 inJanuary 30, 1947
90° days a year9very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°148and 62 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 10, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 13 to Feb. 20; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 5 to April 7; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 14.7 of the year’s 38.3 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Fort Winnebago normally reaches 45° and falls to 29°. The record high is 72°, in 1999; the record low 1°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 0.63 in, fell in 1902.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high26°31°42°56°68°78°82°80°73°59°44°32°
Normal low10°13°24°36°48°58°62°59°51°39°28°17°
Rain and melt, in1.441.412.184.154.585.614.514.123.562.862.221.68
Snow, inches10.210.05.52.20.00.00.00.00.00.52.08.9
Record high58° (2025)72° (2024)83° (1986)99° (1985)102° (1934)104° (1911)111° (1936)103° (1988)103° (1922)93° (1963)76° (1999)67° (2021)
Record low−35° (1963)−37° (1918)−25° (1962)5° (1982)20° (1966)29° (1972)37° (1971)33° (1967)17° (1974)8° (1925)−10° (1976)−24° (1983)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1889 at Portage Wwtp, 5 miles south. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Fort Winnebago on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Sun Prairie WI · 31 MI 31 miles south Madison WI · 36 MI 36 miles south Milwaukee WI · 82 MI 82 miles southeast Aurora IL · 140 MI 140 miles southeast Chicago IL · 151 MI 151 miles southeast Grand Rapids MI · 195 MI 195 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin. Explore the plate
WISCONSIN · COLUMBIA

Fort Winnebago

810 people, 860 ft above sea level in Columbia County.

860 ftElevation
810People
32 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 26°
1

Today in Fort Winnebago

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 41° 0%
6p clear night 35° 0%
9p mostly clear night 30° 0%
12a mostly clear night 27° 0%
3a partly cloudy night 25° 0%
6a partly cloudy night 23° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
23
41
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
25
51
A
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
33
54
A
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
37
57
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
46
58
B
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
39
59
B
Fri60%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
47
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1953 · NOV. 16, 1953

73°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1889.

2

What Fort Winnebago stands on

Fort Winnebago’s center stands about 860 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 770 ft to 960 ft, a difference of 190 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Cascade Mountain, about 1,310 ft, 9 miles south-southwest.

Fort Winnebago, southwest to northeast Fort Winnebago860 ftBaraboo Riverabout 830 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 86×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center860 ft
Within 3 miles770 to 960 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (190 ft of relief)
High point nearbyCascade Mountain, 1,310 ft, 9 mi south-southwest
Rock at the surfaceCambrian, undivided
Its ageCambrian, 487 to 542 million years old
5

Fort Winnebago’s year

Fort Winnebago has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 10° in January. A normal year brings about 39 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 38.3 in
July, average82° / 62° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average26° / 10° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow38.3 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year39.3 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record111°F · July 14, 1936
Coldest on record−37°F · February 1, 1918
Wettest day on record7.50 in · August 28, 2020
Snowiest day on record13.0 in · January 30, 1947
90° days a year9 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°148 · and 62 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 10, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 13 to Feb. 20; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 5 to April 7; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 14.7 of the year’s 38.3 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Fort Winnebago normally reaches 45° and falls to 29°. The record high is 72°, in 1999; the record low 1°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 0.63 in, fell in 1902.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1889 at Portage Wwtp, 5 miles south. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 160 mito Lake MichiganFox River

A raindrop that lands in Fort Winnebago reaches Lake Michigan by way of the Fox River: about 160 river miles. From there it moves on through the Great Lakes, over Niagara Falls and down the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic.

Lakes on the way: Lake Winnebago 6124, Lake Butte des Morts and Puckaway Lake.

50 miles of the trip are on the Fox River.