MONROE — Emergency crews and police responded to a rash of slide-offs and minor accidents amid last week’s snow storms. 

The farther west, the worse it got, especially as nightfall arrived on Thursday, March 9.

According to a Green County Sheriff’s Office press release, deputies located, or responded to, 19 vehicles in the ditch.

Five accidents caused immediate response, including one on Wis. 92 in Exeter township, which led to an OWI-Third Offense arrest.

At approximately 8:07 p.m., deputies responded to the W9300 block of Wis. 92 for a vehicle in the ditch. The driver, David Fisher, 53, of New Glarus, spoke to deputies and advised he was uninjured and that there was no damage to his vehicle. 

Upon further inspection, Fisher was arrested and transported to the SSM Health Monroe Hospital emergency room for a blood draw. Deputies transported him to the Green County Jail where he posted bond and was later released to a responsible party pending a future mandatory court appearance.

In Lafayette County, 10 incidents left cars in a ditch or an accident on March 9, including a semi that slid off the road on Wis. 78 near Gratiot. Another six vehicles were reported in ditches between 5 a.m. and noon.

The area saw between 5-10 inches of snow between Thursday and a Sunday, whitening the ground after a stretch of warming all but melted away the previous winter precipitation. However, high temperatures have bounced back above freezing, and are predicted to be in the mid- to upper-40s for March 15 and 16, melting away much of the snow. By March 22, temperatures in the area should be nearing 50 degrees for several days in a row.