Winter Weather Advisory issued

Models are coming into agreement on this winter storm set up and what they are saying is the heaviest snow looks to fall to our south, including the Milwaukee and Madison metro areas.

But that doesn’t mean we escape from any accumulation. We still look to get in on the fun with a few inches falling and a winter weather advisory has been issued for pretty much the entire state. All except for the northern most counties.

The snow is courtesy of a clipper type system, which usually aren’t heavy snow producers, but this one is originating from and moving a bit farther south then what we generally see these systems form. Clippers generally come down out of Alberta or Saskatchewan and move across the upper Midwest, bringing mostly cold winds with it and a dusting of snow, but this one originates more over the Pacific Northwest and dips farther into the central portion of the country in the Nebraska area. This allows it to tap into some gulf of Mexico moisture which then turns into heavier snowfall.

Models show the heavier snow starting in our area overnight tonight after midnight, but there could be some scattered light snow as early as 7 o’clock, but the first snow
to fall usually has trouble making it to the ground because the dryer air causes it to evaporate before it reaches the ground. As more and more snow falls however, it starts to saturate the air above us and the snow then reaches the ground.

Snow initially starts out pretty consistent over the state, but models are pointing towards a band of heavier snow setting up along the I-94 corridor between Madison and Milwaukee around 7 AM tomorrow morning which is really going to cause some travel issues for people during their morning commute. It wouldn’t be out of the question if a couple counties in that area get placed under a winter storm warning when and if that enhanced band makes itself present.

When its all said and done around noon tomorrow, we will likely see 3-5 inches on the ground while areas to our south could see more in the 4 to 8 inch range, depending on exactly where that heavier band of snow sets up.

With temperatures in the low 30s for much of this time, it will be a wet snow so be careful when out shoveling as you may need to take some breaks to avoid over exerting yourself.

Then attention turns toward an even bigger storm system coming in at the end of the weekend, but after starting out as snow, we should see most of the precipitation fall as rain as warmer air moves in due to that storms track being more to our west.