MONROE - A bitter cold snap and strong winds combined to send wind chills around much of Wisconsin to at least 35 degrees below zero on Sunday, creating icy driving conditions that shut down interstates and highways.
Roads in Green and Lafayette counties were drifted closed at times throughout the weekend because of high winds and blowing snow.
Green County Highway Commissioner Dallas Cecil said all county roads were open as of this morning. But over the weekend, roads throughout the county were impasseable at times.
"They were plugged several times," Cecil said. All parts of the county were bad, with north-south roadways, County J and County FF being particularly prone to drifting.
Green County crews were out Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and again Sunday afternoon into the evening, he said. There were two of the large V-plows out on the roads this weekend trying to keep roads clear.
While there weren't a large number of motorists getting stuck in drifted areas, the county helped several townships plows get unstuck. "We help each other out," Cecil said.
In addition, there is quite a bit of ice on county roadways. "It's too cold for salt," but the county is laying down a chip mix, Cecil said.
Lafayette County got an additional 1 1/2 to 2 inches of snow Saturday. "It came hard for a couple of hours," Lafayette County Highway Commissioner Tom Jean said.
Like Green, Lafayette County had a lot of drifting snow blocking some roads starting late Saturday. Jean said the county had 24 different trucks out trying to keep roadways clear.
As of this morning, Lafayette County roads were open. Ice isn't bad in the county, Jean said, although many roads are snowpacked. The county is putting down a chip mix making their condition "decent," he said.
Both Cecil and Jean reported they and their snowplow drivers are just waiting to see what tonight brings - an additional 3 to 5 inches of snow is predicted for the southern part of the state late Monday and into Tuesday.
The Wisconsin State Highway Patrol closed a seven-mile stretch of Interstate 39/90 just south of Madison for about an hour and a half Sunday because of icy driving conditions. Strong winds blew snow around to create near-whiteouts and snow drifts.
It was the same area - but in the opposite direction - where thousands of motorists were stranded for as long as 12 hours in a snowstorm last week. Gov. Jim Doyle has said authorities did not initially grasp the scope of the backup and ordered a review.
Sgt. Les Mlsna said on Sunday there were many vehicles stuck in ditches in the area in Dane County, near Stoughton. Authorities had to clear those vehicles, plus all the other vehicles off the road, so conditions could be improved. He estimated about 120 vehicles were either stuck or within the seven-mile stretch when it closed.
The slippery driving conditions were made worse by strong winds and freezing temperatures. He said it was so bad a trooper's car got hit twice because cars couldn't stop or even slow down. There were no reports of major injuries.
Shortly after reopening, five more cars got stuck in ditches, he said.
"The roadway is still icy and treacherous," he said.
No weather-related fatalities were reported all weekend, said Jon Morrison, a Madison-based dispatcher for the Wisconsin State Patrol.
"Things have settled down," he said Sunday evening. "It's mainly been runoffs, things like that."
The tough driving conditions and cold weather didn't turn away sturgeon spearers on Sunday, the second day of the spearing season.
Terry Gerhartz, of Chilton, said no one in his group opted to stay home because of the temperatures. He made sure not to have any exposed skin when we went out to his shanty Sunday morning on Lake Winnebago, in north central Wisconsin.
"If you got stuck out there, you'd get cold in a hurry," said the 48-year-old, who was warming up at a restaurant in nearby Hilbert.
The entire state was under a wind chill warning throughout much of Sunday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bob McMahon, although the cold snap began to ease by late afternoon.
The weather agency said the wind chill values were expected to improve through Monday morning, but some four to six inches of snow were forecast across the southern third of the state.
Roads in Green and Lafayette counties were drifted closed at times throughout the weekend because of high winds and blowing snow.
Green County Highway Commissioner Dallas Cecil said all county roads were open as of this morning. But over the weekend, roads throughout the county were impasseable at times.
"They were plugged several times," Cecil said. All parts of the county were bad, with north-south roadways, County J and County FF being particularly prone to drifting.
Green County crews were out Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and again Sunday afternoon into the evening, he said. There were two of the large V-plows out on the roads this weekend trying to keep roads clear.
While there weren't a large number of motorists getting stuck in drifted areas, the county helped several townships plows get unstuck. "We help each other out," Cecil said.
In addition, there is quite a bit of ice on county roadways. "It's too cold for salt," but the county is laying down a chip mix, Cecil said.
Lafayette County got an additional 1 1/2 to 2 inches of snow Saturday. "It came hard for a couple of hours," Lafayette County Highway Commissioner Tom Jean said.
Like Green, Lafayette County had a lot of drifting snow blocking some roads starting late Saturday. Jean said the county had 24 different trucks out trying to keep roadways clear.
As of this morning, Lafayette County roads were open. Ice isn't bad in the county, Jean said, although many roads are snowpacked. The county is putting down a chip mix making their condition "decent," he said.
Both Cecil and Jean reported they and their snowplow drivers are just waiting to see what tonight brings - an additional 3 to 5 inches of snow is predicted for the southern part of the state late Monday and into Tuesday.
The Wisconsin State Highway Patrol closed a seven-mile stretch of Interstate 39/90 just south of Madison for about an hour and a half Sunday because of icy driving conditions. Strong winds blew snow around to create near-whiteouts and snow drifts.
It was the same area - but in the opposite direction - where thousands of motorists were stranded for as long as 12 hours in a snowstorm last week. Gov. Jim Doyle has said authorities did not initially grasp the scope of the backup and ordered a review.
Sgt. Les Mlsna said on Sunday there were many vehicles stuck in ditches in the area in Dane County, near Stoughton. Authorities had to clear those vehicles, plus all the other vehicles off the road, so conditions could be improved. He estimated about 120 vehicles were either stuck or within the seven-mile stretch when it closed.
The slippery driving conditions were made worse by strong winds and freezing temperatures. He said it was so bad a trooper's car got hit twice because cars couldn't stop or even slow down. There were no reports of major injuries.
Shortly after reopening, five more cars got stuck in ditches, he said.
"The roadway is still icy and treacherous," he said.
No weather-related fatalities were reported all weekend, said Jon Morrison, a Madison-based dispatcher for the Wisconsin State Patrol.
"Things have settled down," he said Sunday evening. "It's mainly been runoffs, things like that."
The tough driving conditions and cold weather didn't turn away sturgeon spearers on Sunday, the second day of the spearing season.
Terry Gerhartz, of Chilton, said no one in his group opted to stay home because of the temperatures. He made sure not to have any exposed skin when we went out to his shanty Sunday morning on Lake Winnebago, in north central Wisconsin.
"If you got stuck out there, you'd get cold in a hurry," said the 48-year-old, who was warming up at a restaurant in nearby Hilbert.
The entire state was under a wind chill warning throughout much of Sunday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bob McMahon, although the cold snap began to ease by late afternoon.
The weather agency said the wind chill values were expected to improve through Monday morning, but some four to six inches of snow were forecast across the southern third of the state.