Winter Storm is Here – Elevated to Blizzard Status to Our North

A wicked winter storm is progressing through Wisconsin, and trends on this one are going towards the colder and snowier margins of earlier forecasts.

Light snow showers began around 4 a.m. but expected heavier rates to follow could put down close to a foot of snow over much of the area before leaving on Saturday.  There may be a mid-day lull in snowfall today, but by tonight 3-6 inches are likely to accumulate east of I-43, with 8 to 9 inches further inland, and another 3 to 5 inches could fall throughout the area by tomorrow morning.  But that snow is only one of three elements that make this a very dangerous storm.

From Winnebago to Calumet and Manitowoc Counties northward a blizzard warning lasts from 3 this afternoon until noon Saturday.  And although not in effect for Sheboygan County, conditions between 9 tonight and 3 a.m. Saturday could approach blizzard limits.  That requires three hours of winds over 35 miles an hour combined with either falling or blowing snow that reduces visibility to a quarter mile or less.

The third dangerous element is arctic air invading from Canada beginning tonight, generating single-digit windchills by morning, and it keeps getting colder for days, with lows below zero by Monday morning and windchills potentially near 30 below.

Considering the extended period of severe winter weather, the public is being urged to prepare accordingly with extra food and water, fully-charged batteries in your devices, and putting off travel unless it’s absolutely necessary.