Frigid temperatures: Winter weather advisories switch to wind chill warnings
You've heard all of the chatter the past few days. Dangerously cold wind chills, blowing and drifting snow and icy roads — well, it's finally here.
An arctic cold front meteorologists have been projecting since last week has made its way into the region. Wind chills of 50 below are possible until Thursday morning.
A wind chill warning will remain in effect for every county in Wisconsin until noon Thursday, though the worst of the cold is expected Wednesday when temperatures could drop to 20 below and wind chills could fall anywhere between 35 and 55 below zero.
The Weather Service warns those who will be outdoors that frostbite could be an issue.
"A Wind Chill Warning means the combination of very cold air and the wind will create dangerously low wind chill values," the weather service said. "Frostbite can occur quickly and even hypothermia or death if precautions are not taken."
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency Tuesday night and directed state government offices to close Wednesday.
Around noon Tuesday a slew of school districts and local colleges and universities started announcing cancellations for Tuesday night and Wednesday. Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc and Sheboygan districts closed for the day, as well as Fox Valley Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and UW-Green Bay campuses.
Countless other businesses, schools and institutions across the state announced Wednesday closures. Call or check online before you go anywhere — your destination might be closed.
County and city workers continue to clean up roads and highways after Monday's winter storm dropped between 8 and 12 inches of snow in some areas. But with the arctic air moving into the area, icy and snowy stretches on roads remained through Tuesday.
Crews could not fully clean the roads Tuesday, authorities said. It's because road salt becomes much less effective below 15 degrees, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Plus, previously dropped salt can leave a residue, and dry, fluffy, drifting snow can stick to it. That makes roads even more slippery.
Snow was blowing off Lake Butte des Morts onto the Interstate 41 bridge Tuesday afternoon, causing near-white-out conditions, the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office said. Two southbound lanes were closed around 3:30 and traffic appeared to crawl along the bridge, the DOT reports.
Below is a list of noteworthy snow totals from winter storm, according to the National Weather Service:
- Sheboygan: 15 inches
- Valders: 14.5 inches
- Sturgeon Bay: 12.8 inches
- Fond du Lac: 12.8 inches
- De Pere: 11.5 inches
- Green Bay: 11 inches
- Appleton: 8.8 inches
- Oshkosh: 8 inches
- Wisconsin Rapids: 7 inches
- Plover: 6.1 inches