La Crosse could tie third-longest-ever dry streak Thursday, but rain is in the forecast

A four-week period of zero precipitation in La Crosse could finally be ending.

After Wednesday, La Crosse hit 31 consecutive days without measurable precipitation, which is one away from the third-longest streak ever in the area.

The record of 44 days set in 1976 probably won’t get broken this year, with rain in the forecast Thursday.

And with the lack of rain, La Crosse also saw some of the warmest days on record.

After two 80-degree days things have cooled down but it’s still well above normal for late October. That also helped La Crosse hit the sixth-warmest start to the Meteorological Autumn at 63.6 degrees.

Four of the Top 6 records have been set in the past eight years and seven of the Top 10 have now taken place in the 2000s — with the record set in 2021 (65.4).

The National Weather Service – La Crosse said that, as of Tuesday, the temperature had not gone below 50 degrees in the area since Oct. 17.

Temps had been 10 to 20 degrees above average for five days in a row, but the weather has started to normalize.