As snowfall from today's storm across much of southern Wisconsin continues to add up, Emergency Management officials say it is causing some power outages. Heavy, wet snow sticking to branches weakened by the summer's drought is causing some branches to fall onto power lines. Shortly before 1pm, about 7500 customers in Wisconsin had lost power, though officials say that number could increase as rain turns to snow in the far southeastern part of the state. A blizzard warning is in effect until midnight tonight for much of southern Wisconsin. Winds of 30 mph or more are expected by late this afternoon. Some snowfall totals as of about 1pm today: 12 inches in Beaver Dam, 10 inches in Berlin (Green Lake County), 12.5 inches in Rock Springs (Sauk County), 10 inches in Lone Rock, 5 inches in Sparta, and more than 9 inches in Madison. Wisconsin Emergency Management officials are urging people to stay home if possible. Spokesman Todd Pritchard told WPR this morning, there would be "A lot more snow where snow has already fallen, and snow where they haven't seen snow in this storm, which I think might be kind of a shocker to some of the folks. UW campuses in Madison, Platteville, Oshkosh, Baraboo, and Marathon County are among the universities and school districts closing today. UW-Green Bay closed at 1pm today. And, Madison Metro has canceled regular service for today. It expects to announce late tonight or tomorrow morning whether buses would run on Friday. Governor Walker has declared a state of emergency in much of southern Wisconsin today, and closed state office buildings to the public. However, the Capitol Building will remain open for business. State road conditions can be found at 511wi.gov or by calling 5-1-1.
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