Five safety tips to know about cleaning up after a snowstorm
Here are 5 safety tips to keep in mind as you clean up after a snowstorm
Lou Saldivar, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
For an early April Tuesday that already featured election day, Brewers’ home opener and a scheduled trip to Green Bay by former President Trump, let’s toss in a winter storm that could drop a foot of snow on Green Bay and much of northeastern Wisconsin and a slushy, wintry mix in Milwaukee.
Here’s the latest on the wintry weather:
The Green Bay National Weather Service is expecting snow to begin midafternoon and reach its peak on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
Snow accumulations are expected for over a foot in Sturgeon Bay, between 10 and 11 inches in Appleton and Green Bay, and around 4.5 inches to the west in Marshfield and Wausau. With those higher totals, the office has issued a winter storm warning for a segment of northeast and central Wisconsin, upgrading from an earlier winter weather advisory.
“There’s a lot of moisture with this system,” said Tim Kieckbusch, a meteorologist at the Green Bay NWS. “It looks like especially this evening.”
He said that it isn’t uncommon for early spring low-pressure systems to develop with high moisture levels like this.
On Monday, forecasts showed that the Milwaukee area could get up to five inches of snow, however the weather system’s movement to the west has alleviated that.
The latest projections forecast that Milwaukee could receive up to two inches of snow now.
“The rain, it will change to snow kind of real late in the afternoon, but by then a lot of the heavy (precipitation) will have moved away,” said Mark Gehring, a local National Weather Service meteorologist. “There could be a little bit of grassy accumulation, in the western-northern portion of the county.”
Another major factor in the new forecast is the expected temperatures of the day keeping the storm’s precipitation mostly rain in the area, he said. Areas near Waukesha and the Timmerman Airport have the highest chances of receiving slight accumulation totals.
“(The system) has shifted even further west, which is why Milwaukee is going to get mostly rain now,” Gehring said. “It does strengthen very well from early this morning into the evening. There is going to be a good heavy snow band … the further west you go, the greater chance you’ll have problems.”
However, with the storm’s movement west, it means that Madison, the Wisconsin Dells, Beaver Dam, among others, are in a winter weather advisory, with up to four inches of snow possible in that area. Further north and east, totals reach eye popping numbers of over a foot of snow possible.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning and predicted between 8 and 12 inches in northern Wisconsin, with up to 14 inches possible in the far northeastern portion of the state.
With it, wind gusts could reach 45 miles per hour, leading to areas of blowing and drifting snow. Affected areas include Appleton and the surrounding areas, with higher totals possible near Green Bay.
Snowfall rates are expected to reach more than an inch an hour on Tuesday evening, the NWS said.
The NWS warned that strong winds and heavy snow could down power lines, potentially causing sporadic power outages. Travel is expected to be very difficult and impacting Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning commutes.
The heavy snow comes as former president Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Green Bay for a campaign rally at 5 pm at a local hotel.
The latest forecast from the local NWS office shows that just as tailgaters head inside for the Brewers home opener at 3 pm the rain will be turning to snow.
That will continue on and off into Wednesday afternoon, potentially leaving behind 2 inches of wet, slushy snow that should melt quickly. The greatest impacts are expected to be between 6 pm and through noon on Wednesday, the NWS said in an update on Monday afternoon.
The latest forecasted totals from the National Weather Service show that Milwaukee could see less snow than was initially forecast on Monday.
Tuesday’s snowfall could bring between two and six inches of snow and winds as high as 45 miles per hour to an area just north and west of Milwaukee, the NWS said.
Affected communities include Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, West Bend, Medford, Neillsville, Black River Falls, Sparta, Tomah, Mauston, Friendship, Viroqua, and Richland Center.
The advisory is in place between 4 pm and 7 am on Wednesday.
Snow expected to hit Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon, last through Wednesday
Snow is expected to start accumulating Tuesday afternoon throughout Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service, with rain turning to snow in the Milwaukee area and southeastern Wisconsin.
The heaviest snowfall is expected from late Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday morning, but snow will likely continue through Wednesday.
The NWS in Sullivan projects a 24% chance of at least 4 inches of snow in Milwaukee, with higher percentages to the west and north.
The NWS in Green Bay says the most likely area to get at least 6 inches of snow is a band that runs from the Fond du Lac area north to the Green Bay area, including Oshkosh and Appleton. There’s a 20-25% chance the area will get 12 inches of snow.
