Snow storm sweeps through Northwoods causing power outages, hazardous conditions

A winter snow storm affecting much of Wisconsin swept through the Northwoods the evening of Dec. 28 and lasted through the afternoon of Dec. 29. 

According to the National Weather Service in Green Bay, there was over a foot of snow reported in many parts of north central Wisconsin.

“The main impacts of the storm: several thousand people lost power, roads became ice or snow covered resulting in hazardous travel, heavy snow and blowing snow along with gusty winds resulted in very low (visibility) for motorists,” according to the weather service. 

Woodruff received 12 inches of snowfall, as reported by the National Weather Service the morning of Dec. 29, and Rhinelander was said to have received 10.9 inches.

St. Germain was reported on Dec. 29 to have received 13.5 inches of snowfall, Boulder Junction reportedly received 14 inches and Sayner received 12 inches.

Hurley reportedly received 15 inches on Dec. 29.

“Rain transitioned to a wintry mix and then snow Sunday afternoon evening,” the weather service said. “The snow became heavy at times Sunday night with snowfall rates of 1-2 (inches) per hour across northern WI.”

The strongest winds in the area were recorded in Rhinelander on Dec. 29 at 40 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. 

Winds as strong as 38 miles per hour were recorded in Arbor Vitae on Dec. 29. 

WPS crews working ‘non-stop’

Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) reported 792 customers still out of service in Oneida County and 320 customers still out of service in Vilas County at about 4 p.m. on Dec. 29 when the snow storm was nearing its end. 

Total WPS customer power outage numbers from the snow storm for specific counties weren’t available as of press time Tuesday, Dec. 30. 

However, WPS spokesman Matt Cullen said the total number of customers impacted by the storm was about 28,000. 

He said the power company had employees out working on the power outages “non-stop” once the snow storm began to affect customers’ electricity. 

“When we started to see that (it) was about 3 o’clock … Sunday, that’s when we first noticed the outage reports starting to increase as a result of this storm,” Cullen said. “So we’ve had crews that have been responding and working around the clock since that time. And, as of right now, 4 o’clock Monday afternoon, we have been able to restore power to more than 23,000 customers who have been impacted by the storm (in north central and north east Wisconsin).”

He said the “hardest hit” communities from the snow storm included Minocqua, Rhinelander, Wausaukee, Marinette and Menominee. Door County, he said, encountered major power outages as well. 

“Really, the impacts that we’ve seen have been because of the multiple inches of snow, the ice and then the very strong winds that we’ve seen that came through with the snow and ice, but also have remained kind of over north east and north central Wisconsin throughout the morning and into the afternoon (Dec. 29),” Cullen said.

He said people should have an “emergency kit” packed and ready to use in power outage situations, which could include items such as flash lights, blankets, bottled water, battery powered charging devices for smart phones or larger electronics. 

“And then when you’re out in your community or near your home … if you notice a down power line, stay at least 25 feet away from that downed line and report it to WPS or your local law enforcement agency immediately,” Cullen said. “That way we can send a crew out to the area to make that area safe and make sure that that line and any other pieces of equipment that may have fallen down are no longer energized and we can start the process of repairs to restore power.”

He added people who lose power should also try to contact a family member or friend who has power and maybe stay with them until power is restored or check to see if their municipality has a warming shelter available for those types of instances. 

Cullen said people can call 211 for further assistance as well, which is a confidential helpline that connects people to local health and human services.

‘It’s been difficult’ 

Oneida and Vilas county highway commissioners Alex Hegeman and Troy Schalinski said this snow storm posed certain challenges that were difficult to maneuver, though all county and state highway routes were still able to be covered by plow drivers. 

“It’s been difficult weather with a wet heavy snow combined with the wind … it’s been difficult,” Hegeman said. “We’ve had a little bit of drifting problems. Temperatures have not been real great for trying to melt a lot of the snow. We’ve got quite a bit of hard pack around the county just due to the type of snow we had.”

He said Oneida County highway department employees were out working for long periods of time. 

This snow storm was hard to prepare for too, Hegeman explained, due to rainfall at different times leading up to the snowfall. 

“When you have that rain transitioning to snow, you’re never sure what the timings like,” he said. “One to two degrees can make a really big difference when that snow switches and then how it reacts on the pavement as well. Obviously, when it switches, later in the afternoon, the sun starts going down, you lose the heat of the sun, it just makes things a little more difficult to deal with.”

Hegeman said salt was applied to state highways and sand was applied to county highways on Dec. 29. 

“Depending on the storm, we do try to do some anti-icing, where we put some brine down ahead of the storm to try and keep that chemical bond from forming on the pavement,” he said. “When you have that rain, it makes it really difficult to do any of that pre-treatment, that anti-icing, just because that rain washes off a lot of your material. It makes it difficult to do anything when you get that rain ahead of that snow.”

Hegeman said managing the highway department’s work when major snow storms hit the area is a “balancing act.”

“So … you try to make sure the guys are getting some time to rest and recuperate,” he said. “We tried to get them home at a somewhat decent time (the night of Dec. 28) so they could get some sleep before coming in early again (Dec. 29). It’s definitely a balancing act trying to make sure to keep your guys fresh and keep them safe, but also making sure we’re out on the road taking care of things.”

Schalinski said Vilas County highway department staff was out plowing once the snow started accumulating the afternoon of Dec. 28. 

Staff, he said, returned to the highway department at about 10 p.m., but were back on the roads plowing by 3 a.m. on Dec. 29. 

Like Oneida County, Vilas County’s highway department was unable to pre-treat any of its routes. 

“With the ice in the morning (of Dec. 28), they were out yesterday morning too because we had freezing rain on Friday (Dec. 26), we had freezing rain again Saturday night into Sunday morning, so they were in yesterday morning, they did that, and then it continued to rain yesterday until it turned into snow, so there was no pre-treating ahead of time because of the rain, it would’ve just washed everything away,” Schalinski said.

The decision made on Dec. 29, he said, was plowing the snow over top of the ice base instead of salt. 

“With the wind and the continuing lake effect snow, we just felt it was best not to salt and to just plow and … sand intersections,” Schalinski said. 

There were no issues covering all of the county’s state routes, county routes and the town of Cloverland, he said, because the highway department had a full crew working. 

“This (snow storm) was endless, it’s challenging,” Schalinski said. “With having the rain, the freezing rain … and then it starts snowing, and it being the wet heavy snow to begin with … it is a challenge. This (was) one of the more challenging (weather) events.”

Schalinski and Hegeman both said members of the public who see county highway staff plowing should allow them space to get their job done properly and safely. 

“They’re out there for a reason, they’re not out there to get in anyone’s way,” Schalinski said. “They’re trying to do their job and I just ask that everybody gives them their space to do their job.”

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].